Abilene weekly reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1888-1935, 1900-03-01
Burtou's strong Address.

j. r. Burton Of Kansas delivered
an address before the Union League
club Of Brooklyn Wednesday night on
the political issues Of the day, he
having been chosen by the club to re-
ply to W. J. Bryan's recent speech in
that city. A large and enthusiastic
audience listened to the eloquent
Kansan, who spoke in part as follows
The text from which Bryan talks
may be expressed in his own words,
viz: "That the Republican party
has exalted the dollar above the
man. This is the thread upon
which he hangs all his arguments.
All he says is but a finger-board
pointing to this expression. Whether
he talks about the income tax, free
silver, trusts or Imperialism, he
comes back to his text, that we have
exalted the dollar above the man.
Bryan claims that the Republican
party stands with the rich and
against the poor, with capital against
labor, with the employer against bis
employe, with corporations and
against the people, and with the east
against the west and south. lie
claims that there is a malevolent con.
spiracy on the part Of the banks, cor
porations and rich men Of the world
to rob the great masses, and that this
conspiracy leans on the Republican
party for support, and in turn II
supports the Republican party by
giving it whatever money is necessary
to debauch the voter and maintain
itself in power, and, in this way, the
Republican party debases mankind
and exalts the dollar.
On our part, we claim that all legit.
innate enterprise is interdependent,
that labor and capital are more than
twin brothers, that there Is an UNI
bilical cord between them, the sever
ance Of which is the destruction Of
both; that what helps capital helps
labor, and what hurts labor hurts
capital as well; that the employer and
employe have a common interest,
that you can not help or hurt the one
without helping or hurting the other
at the same time; that the banks, rail.
roads and other corporations make
money when the masses make money,
and lose money when the masses lose
money; that seotionalism was shot to
death long ago in this country and
received its final interment at 'Ap-
pomatox, and that now there Is no
north, no south, no east and no west,
but one united country, stretching
from Porto Rico to Manila and.
finally, that the betterment Of labor
is the basic idea Of our party, the ex-
tension Of our commerce, its present
great work, that the acquisition Of
property is conducive to virtue and
not to vice, and that tho dollar,
however useful, is the servant and
not the master Of mankind.
What has Bryan or his party done
Tor mankindp
| know that Bryan ridicules the
dea that an overriding providence
had anything to do in directing our
in the Spanish-American war
md | know how practical and earthly
IRE political parties; it may have been
Nj an accident, that we came so sud.
lenly and unexpectedly, face to face
With the marvellous opportunities
hat now lie before US. 1t may be
that He whom we are taught to be-
ieve numbers the very hairs Of our
heads and takes note Of the falling Of
The sparrow, left this and other ma.
lions affected by that war, to a blind
ate, for | know and we all know that
t was not seen or devised by man.
It may be the hand Of God is not in
T.; but for one do not, ! cannot be-
ieve it. Hugo, after carefully sur.
Veying the field Of Waterloo inch by
nch, had to turn his eye toward the
ky to find an explanation for Ma
poleon's defeat When we remember
The holy inspiration that led us to
'uccor Cuba and see the splendid re-
suits that followed our acts, who will
not believe that we were and are but
The instruments in the hands OF God
TO carry forward the blessings Of our
better civilization and knowledge Of
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