Jasper County Democrat, Volume 2, Number 16, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 29 July 1899 — BRYAN IN CHICAGO. [ARTICLE]

BRYAN IN CHICAGO.

GREAT THRONG GREETS HIM AT THE AUDITORIUM. Cheer Him Loudly at Entrance and During His Speech Leader Talks Strongly Against Imperialism and Trusts. The old leaders and the old platform were reindorsed by the great Democratic meeting at the Auditorium in Chicago held under the auspices of the Chicago platform Democrats. Bryan and AJtgeld were the old leaders whose names and whose presence evoked tumultuous cheers. The principles of 1896 were cheered at every reference, and equally emphatic and enthusiastic were the bursts of applause and cheers that greeted every denunciation of the war of conquest in the Philippines. These were the four features of the meeting that stood out boldly and in even measure seemed to hold the affection of the 7.000 men and women who thronged the immense interior. To Bryan was given a welcome the manifestation of which was limited only by the power of human expression. Ihe audience was singing "America” and the big organ was rolling out its volume of music to the rhythm of voices when Mr. Bryan stepped upon the stage. There was a cheer from the stage and the singing was converted into a roar of answering cheers. Mr. Bryan was rechived with long-continued applause, the people standing up and cheering for some minutes. He said: Mr. Chairman and Ladies sad t.ent.eaien. I am not going to tresiws supon your t-iue. Toil have already listened for is long a time as you are accustiwneu t • attend a meeting, and It would not be proper for me to eater at any great length upon any of the que> tions winch are now before the public. 1 am sosneit hat embarrassed in speaK.ng in CuicagJ, because the auvvc.stes of :he Chicago platform are divided ;nt > two kinds aud it is not my Lus-ness to eaipioy the secret servie t> a-oTta.u what Democrats are firmest believers in the party s creed. All Chicago platform Demo rats "look alite to me,” aud n v atiu is not to drive out of the Democratic party any professed beilev ers in the t’h'.eago plattonu. but to so impress upon all Democrats the imp r *" i the principles tit siake that all local differences will be forgotten in the d**terhi»nai..*a to carry this g verumeiit back to the foundations laid by the fathers. When Lincoln was appealing :•» the people of the country in ISSS ne gave ntt» rance to a sentiment th<t must tn* the wuiiment if every one who rt-a ixes the magnitude of thStruggle iu which' we are engaged. Af.c. paying a tribute to the f -under- of the country and to th— declaration of independence he used these words: **l charge you .o drop every pal ry and insignificant tu-itigat for any man s success, it is nothing: I uui n -thing. Judge Douglas is nothing; but do not destroy" that immortal emblem -if humanity, th ■ declaration of Amer can iudepe <le <•*.” So in this country to day we find some dis Cussing pets ns. s line d>ucssiug whether this man or that man or some other man is the best representative of Democratic doctrine. 1 appeal tv you as Lincoln did. to drop every paltry thought about any man. and think only of the principl -s enunciated by the Democratic party in isytf; principles that carry us luck to the landmarks of the constitution. We are inter sted first in writing a platform and we want a pi st form that fits tae Democratic imr.y, a patform wr.tten like the last platform. u : by party b»s *s. but by the voters of the Dem--cratic party sap piaus l. When we get a .plats •nu that fits the Democratic party it will be easy enough to find in state aud nation candidates who fit the platfurai. but it i- th principle above the man, and no man is tit to be a lead-r when he is wanted to lead who is not tit t*> be a follower when some one else is wanted to lead. In the brief time that I shall occupy y.iur attention I desire to crowd into a few pr> p;> sitions an argument on three subjects. 1 need not tell you that the Denn-cratie platform of IS. <5 w.li be reaffirmed as the first plank of the Democracy-of ItKtO. Occasionally s me one talks about getting off of that platform, but on investigation it is generally found that the man who wants to get off of it Was never, iu fact, upon the platform. The people who mad • the fight and who by winning the fight saved the Democratic party In lS9t» are still firm in the faith, a,,nd there is only one plank In that'platform of which 1 shall speak tonight. and that is the on-* plank toward which most of the criticism is directed.

Ready to Defend Ml Hanks, I would' defend every plank where every plank is assaded. But there are some who Say that if we will just drop the money ques lion we will make it easy for th.>se who left us to come back. The tight in 189 d was wou on th? money question. It was the money question expressed lu a speeim- remedy that afforded t:s the means of distinguishing the believer in bimetallism from the believer in the gold standard. And if they tell you to-day that events have vindicated the gold standard you can answer them, first, that when Mr. McKinley sent a commission all the way to Europe to" get rid of the gold standard he admitted that we were right in 1895 when we said the gold standard was not satisfactory. Some of y u may be s> prejudiced that you can not do justice to Mr. McKinley, but 1 am so fair minded that I can give him credit for sincerity when he app inted three distinguished ni< n and sent them all the way to Europe to cry out in,every market place: “Help. hi 1? the Amer can people out of the hole that the gold standard has put them Into!" Xot only ean you point to "the fact that - the commission went to Europe as an evi-dem-e that the g old standard was nut then satisfactory, but you cSn point to the ..fsjjfc, iire of the commission to secure international aid as an evidence that Independent action Is absolutely necessary to secure success. If they toll you that the discovery of gold in the Klondike and the importation of gold from abroad has given us more money and made better times you can reply to them that when they say that they confess the truth of the quantitive theory of money and you ean add that if a little gel 1 from the Klondike or a little gold from Europe is able to make a little better tunes, that if we would open the mints to the coinage of silver aa well as gold and take the money out of our own mountains and have our own money now and at all times we could have a great deal better times, and not depend on English gold either from the Klondike or from our own exports. You can remind them that when we were discussing the silver question and our ability to maintain the parity they said that because of an increasing production of silver we could not keep the metals together. If that argument bad weight when they made It wo can now say that, an Increasing production of gold makes it easier to keep the metals together than it used to be when they found fault with us. Bal this Is an old question and one about which we have talked many times. ’ There la another question half new and half old—the trust question—that was iu the campaign of 1896. enough to’ get all th? trusts onto the other side, and yet not enough to make the people understand what the trust question means. And even m>w you will find people who say that the Republican party is doing all that it can do. Why. the trust ia so bad and so indefensible that even In Ohio in a state convention controlled by Mr. Hanna they had to adopt a resolution declaring trust* to be bad. and when that conveutitn condemn* the trusts who in all the world will dare defend the trusts? The trust is bad because of the monopoly feat are. When a few people control a product neceaatry to human existence dhen those few control to a large extent the fives and the happiness of all who produce those articles, all who work In producing and all who furnish the raw material used In Its manufacture. And can we afford to build up In this nation a system by which a few shall transmit wealth from generation to generation, where

the masses can only hope for a clerkship under some trust, and if they say that there is no way to stop the trusts, that the Itepubli< ans are doing all they can: remember that it is within the power of rhe'president to appoint an attorney general who will enforce the law against trusts even If he has to go out of the Republican party to get the attorney general. And if the law upon the statute books is insufficient it is within the power of the attorney general to propose laws which are sufficient, and if the constitution stands in the way it is within the power of the attorney general to recommend an amendment to the constitution which will give to Congress plenary power to deal with this subject Fc«ren the Republicans. But rhe Republican party is powerless to annihilate the trusts so long as the trusts furnish the money to keep the Republican party in power, so that the administration has it in its power to extinguish the trusts if it so desires. When we come to the Philippine question again they say: “What can tut* administration do?” There were two months between the signing of the treaty and the breaking out of hs.iti'hs. two months lacking six days, and when we asked them what they were going to do they said they hadn’t had time to decide what to do—not time to decide what to do. Why, there are but two sources of government, force and cons-nt. Monarchies -are founded upon fqrce, republics upon consent. Our declaration of independence declares that governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed. Is that doctrine true or is it false? If It Is false how long ought it to take us to decide what to do in the Philippines? We recognized the trirth of that declaration when we went to war with Spain. We su'd the people of Cuba are and of right ought to be free. Why? Because they live near us? No. Bera us * they are part Spanish? N>*. They were and of right ought to l>e free becinnse they wanted to be free and governments come up from the people. If they were and of right ought to lie free. wh<» can draw a line between them and the people of the Phtllp > ne-? Where i sth-* philosophy that enthl ts one to liberty and another to vassalage? You say you don't kn< w what to do? If you find a pxketbo k and on it the name of the owner, do. • o .* have to count the money iti th - p cie'b ok before you know what to do with the pock tbook? If the doctrine s -t forth in the declaration of independence s .round th. n we -.can not rightfr. y acquit - - title by cinques:. If the doctrine s-t rih iu the d 'claration of independvnls - un-.t we can not rightfully purchase S-Comuo of people at S 2 apiece from an alien ’n-'tiareh. whose rebellious subje ts we • -u:selves armed to tight agaifist tbeir m- narcti. Th. r- is a t-rfn-iple involved, and when the principle ; s ouee understo.h! its application is not difficult, an 1 if the people of the l-htlippm Is-a mis are and of right ought to l» free, then thus nation shoui 1. without one moment’s -I 1 »y. auu-ume to those iteople that we art* there as friends and not as enemies to establish a government which shall be their government and not our government when it is es abilshM. Not -’illy ought we t- do that now: we ought to. bare done it in the beginning; and if 11*0 promise made to Cuba ba 1 been made to the E:1 piin.s cot one dr p es niood would have b-eti sh.-I in the I’h lippiue Islands. An-1 we w> ill I be s tiding si-a-tpl tea- iiers t<- Manila to t a--h th -ni instead of s-ldi-Ts to t-dl them that the d-claratiou was a lie. The Filipinbs cam ■ into our hau ls by nec’det.t - fwar, and c.cning into our h inds they must l*e dealt with a- c r iing to American principles and not ap- ■ rd.ng to European principles. They s y that if we were :o git-• thesr t-e -p -* their independence other nations - f Europe would laugh at us. Not At'r-id of Ri>!ictile. Are we afraid to be laughed nt? Why. more than is»> years ago. wne.-i th-.-o were but l«o iw p ople i.i this couu: ry. otir forefathers dare 1 to give the world a dev-l.ir.iri-.-a at whi h the pc ode of the old world laughed, but for which - nr people f ugh:. -Win ■ tile framers of the ileclarati -n -j-f in-lepcudeuee wrote among the s--ls evident truths that all men are created equal, endowed ' witli inaiietuibie rights, that govern, meets are instituted am mg men to s-s ure thes* rights, derivli g their just ;w»wers from the onsent of the governed, tin* people of the oid world laugli -!. But they didn't laugh long. 1-e ause our foref-ithers mamt-iinei their declaration and f- r more than a century this republic has been the most potent factor in all th ■ w orld in infiueneing the destiny of the huiujti ra--,*. Snail we be .islia-c--I to admit now th w • believe in the declaration of itid.*pe:ul••lice? I r. peat that we must dial vviih these p-»ple ae -ordi: g t > American principl. s. They desire i heir indep- ndeMrie.vj z et us say to them, as we said to Cuba.'"Stand tip, be free! ' end th n to ail the w rid say, "Hands off. and let every repaldi ■ live:'' Tei! me that we don't know what to do? AH we have to do is to read our nation's his tory. to wa eb the nation as it traveled the pathway to lead from the tittle name of might to the lofty name of right, and then you can tei! what this nation must do if it is true to its past. You have in your city a poet who has written the best poem on the Philippine question. Dr. Taylor has crowded .into a single verse more philosophy as well as poetry, more philcsnphy than you will find In a whole speech on the side of Imperialism, and if he never does anything else he has ddne.enough in that writing of this one poem to give him a claim to the consideration of his fellow men. L.*t me quote the verse, although it may be familiar to you: “Did our liberty bill ring iu vain; was the declaration a lie? Must we turn to the old world again, with tHe penitent prodigal’s cry? Mast we remain so and remain in the vein of Europe and barbar.c parade. And boom out a gun to open a pathway of trade? Must we strut through the world and blust- r aud brag .' That the -1 liar mark's stamped on the brave old flag? I ask the question of you. did our liberty bell ring in vain? Why. history tells us that when the declaration was about to be signed the people gathered in the streets and waited for the sgnal. and finally when th se immortal n.imes were fixed to that Immortal d-cument the old liberty bell rang ou: aud the people - aught up the sound and cEWted aml cbeefied again. And fr, ui that -lay to this that- great relic of revolutionary days has b e:i carried from state to state and from city to city, and eyes are filled with tears as they look upon It. Did our liberty bell ring in vain? Shall its tones no more be heard? Was the declaration a lie? Have we been false for 10t» years in teaching that governments come up from the people? Must we turn to the - Id w rid again with the penitent prodigal's cry? Th s nation is not a pr-nllgaj son.

This nation has not wasted i:s substance in ribtons living. Tit's natl, n is not ready to turn back and with trembling voice ask to be classed among the hired servants of royalty. This nation has not sinned against heaven, and Hod grant that the crowned heads of the old world may never have occasion to kid the fatted calf to celebrate tld* return of this republic from independence back to the creed <f Cain. VVbat should the Democratic party do? Why. there Is but one thing that it can do. Sometimes 1 hear the people say that If the party Is not carefn! about this question of Imperialism it is going to lose votes. My friends, when the declaration of independence is repealed there will never more be a Democratic party in this country of a need for one. OUT faith Is built upon it an I we can not turn our backs upon the teachings of the fathers. Every wrphg to be righted finds I’s Inspiration in that document. We can not ask for a single r-form without showing that all we ask conforms to the principles of the declaration of indepeudemie. And so the Democratic party must be true to the foundation principles of this government. It believes in the independence of the individual in industrial life ami says to the trust, "Yon shall not erjish the life out of lhe struggling manhood of this country." It believes In independence In the fimincutl world and says to the foreign financier. "You can not make the policy for 70,000.000 of American citizens.” It b«i|eres In the doctrine of liberty nnd independence everywhere. and when we plead for the right of people to govern themselves, although they differ from ns In color and in race and lii history, we are not pleading for them. We are pleading for the safety of our own inetkutlons. Lincoln said that the safety of thia na-

tlon was not In its army or Its navy, but In the spirit of liberty, in the spirit that prizes liberty as the heritage of all men In all lands everywhere, and he said that if we destroyed this spirit of liberty we plant the Seeds of despotism at cur own doors. i Answers a Ounvtion. You ask me why the Democratic party believes in giving independence to the Filipinos. I reply, because we can no-t destroy self-government iu the orient without endangering self-government in the United States. It Is not for the Filipinos that we plead. It Is for 70,000,000 people, the greatest in the world, and yet a people not great enough to do harm to the humblest people in all the world. We are preparing for the campaign of 1900. The national committee met to-day and prepared for its work. We are going out to fig-fit. You ask me whether we are going to win. I tell you I believe we ought to win and there is no way upon which you can predict success except to deserve success. We are not going to ask. “Is this thing popular?" or “Is the other thing popular?" We are going to tisk. "Is this thing right? - ’ and if this thing is right the Democratic party would rather go down as the champion of the right than to win as the champion of the wrong. Don’t be afraid of defeat. I can speak from experience, and having met face to face a large number of those who were kind enough and generous enough to give me their support in DOH. I can say to you without flattery that having seen them. I would rather go down with them to eternal defeat than be president and have to ask England what to do for my country. Long continued applause followed the conclusion of Mr. Bryan’s speech.