The Paducah evening sun. [volume] (Paducah, Ky.) 1906-1929, 1908-08-14

tasks Il. Nothing could be more
touching than the obstinate faith OF
this one man, that some day. some
how, the people SHALL rule-and he
will know the people rule, when they
have elected William Jennings Bryan
president. For twelve long years he
has chung to this faith, and II has not
been misplaced. In his very first
campaign the people were with Bryan
the common people, the great mass
es of plain people-these were all
with Bryan-and IL enough OF them
had voted for him, nothing could have
prevented his election In his second
campaign the people were with him
again only more So And again the
scepter was wrested from the hands
of freemen by the pertinacious loyalty
OF the majority TO William Mckinley.
As Mr.. Bryan declared IN his vale
dictory OF the campaign Of 1896, re-
corded on page 625 OF The First
Battle: "ln spite OF the efforts of
the administration and its supporters;
In spite of the threats of money loan
ers at home and abroad; in spite of
the coercion employed by corporate
employers; in spite of an enormous
Republican campaign fund; in spite
of the influence of a hostile daily
press. bimetallism has ALMOST tri-
umphed in its first great fight.
See: Bryan knew that all he lacked
that time was votes. AS he flung out
again his great defiance-.:"You shall'
NOT cruelty us on a cross OF gold;
YOU shall NOT place a crown of thorns
upon our (composite) brow" he
looked ahead. THE year 1900 is not
far away, he said on page 626. BE
fore that year arrives the evil effects
of a gold standard will be even more
evident than they are now and the
people will then join with us in the
immediate restoration of the free and
unlimited coinage of gold and silver
at the present legal ratio of 16 to t..
Let the advocate of bimetallism
not despair; nothing is ever settled.
until it is settled right"
Alas, The things that have been
settled, and settled finally. before and
since then, There was Grover Cleve-
land. the only Democrat elected to
the presidency in 40 years. He was
read out of his party, and that settled
him. Then came Bryan and free Sill
yer, denounced by Col. Henry Wat
terson; who shouted for Joy when Al
ton b. Parker in 1904 stood on a
single gold standard platform-and
free silver was settled right. Now,
comes Bryan with the peoples rule"
slogan. and Watterson denounces
Parker as a doggone shitepoke. that
belongs to August Belmont and Tom
my Ryan, and that settles him
+ Issues have come and gone, but
Bryan's faith goes on forever. We
have nothing left of the free silver
issue but THE First Battle" and
''Coin" Harvey's little volume After
that came-let US see-Ah, yes, I'm
perialism". Do you all remember the
bitter campaign OF 1909. and the Ter
rible cloud that seemed hanging over
the nation? All that is left. to re-
mind us of imperialism" Is shaft
in the cemetery at Canton, Ohio, in
scribed:
To the memory OF
WILLIAM M'KINLEY.
And 80. imperialism" was settled.
Next it was Alton B. Parker. Even
Mr.. Bryan will admit that he was set
tied right.
All these old things have been set
tiled. It seems, once for all; and In
stead of bimetallism, imperialism
free trade and the crown of thorns,
Behold. II is Mr.. Bryan who has
never been settled right, and keeps
bobbing up every four years. But
he'll be settled right this time.