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Hero Of Gettysburg

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Parent Issue
Day
7
Month
October
Year
1896
Copyright
Public Domain
OCR Text

I sometimes in these days ask myRclf. "Why is it that I am taking part in this great debate'? I am an old man, past 70. Whatever ambition I may hare had is more than satisfied. No party has anything to offer me that I desire or would accept. My race, in the course of nature, is nearly run. Why need I take part in such strife?" My answer to niyself is: "I could not help it. (Great applause.) I could not look on iudifferently and see the institutions and welfare of my country menaced by a powerful political organizatious and lift no hand, feeble though it might be, to avert the blow." And therefore I am here tonight - not for the first time before a Chicago audience. I was here in your city in 1864. I came at the request of the greatest statesman and the greatest mier, Lincoln (Great applause). I was on my way to the Southwest ou a duty of some importance, and the great martyr asked me if I would find it iiiconveuient as a Democrat. (A voice: "Louder.") Yon must not build such big halls. (Laughter.) I cannot raoasure my lungs by your Auditorium. I will do the best I eau to be heard, but the deaf people must come nearer. The Chicago Platform. I gave something of vitnlity and body to niy country on the field of battle, as your chairman has kindly mentioned. Why should I not irive what is left of me now to mj country (loud and prolonged applause). and for niy country's force? Why am I here, I ask myself again - a Dernoerat? (Laughter.) By lineage, by tradition, by father and forefathers, from the begiuuing of the government to this hour, a Democrat? Why am I here? Certainly not because I take any particular interest in tariff, which makes my friend Howard so enthusiastic. (Laughter.) There are many differences of opinión between the Republican party and myself and between your illustrious candidate for President and myself, and the tariff is one of tliem. But, I say, if my house is on fire, should I stop and ask the firemen who on me to put it out what they thought about the tariff? (Laughter and applause.) Gen. Howard can keep his tariff notions and salt thein down, and I wijl salt mine down. (Laughter.) (A voice: "I will go you.") But I feel as your great Douglas, when he wrote to Lincoln offeriug his services to save the Union and flag, "Let me and my childreu have a country to live in, and we will settle all politieal differenees afterward." (Prolonged applause.) As a Domocrat, of course I read the Chicago platform with some solicitude. I had read a great many Democratie platforms; I had stood on a good many of tliem, but I was unable to recognize in the last Chicago platform any trace of the Democracy I once knew. (Applause.) I read about silver from the free-silver platform. I read about Populism from the Populistic platform. I read about anarchy and mob ruk- I won't say from any platform ever framed in this" country, because up to the day of the Chicago platform, no party in this country ever dn red present for the approval of the American people the doctriues of anarchy, repudiation and mob rule. (Applause.) Not Good Policy for America. I read, as I told you, something about silver. I did not read any recognized ideas of American finance. A very good platform for Mexico, about silver, for that country is on a free-silver basis because it cannot be anything else. It woukl like to be on a gold basis, but it cannot be. A platform that would bo vcry well for Russia, which is on a five-silver basis, because for many years it could not do otherwise, but it is struggling very hard to put itsëlf on a gold standard platform. A very good platform for the East Indies, or for China. But are we to go there to learn finance for America? My old Democratie friends are extremely indignant in these days that we should have anything to do with England in the way of money, but they do not seem to have any objection at all to standing on the same basis with China and Japan and India and, countries far more removed from our civilization than Englar.d. I am no great lover of land because England is not a very good friend of the United States. Ñot iu Bnaneial mattere, because in trade there is no friendship; interest controla the world of commerce, and nothiug but interest can control it. The irritation between England and America is political; their trade relations are more intímate than those of any other two nations of the world. But notwithstandïng this Eact, we have had more difficulty in setiling our controversies with England than with all the rest of the world put together, and the volume of our diplomatic history when written will be occupied, nine-tenths of thern, by the dis- ïussions that we have had with England n regard to political questions. Nevertheless, I trust better days are coming: 1 hope before I die to see a treaty signet referring for all time and foreyer every controversy between the two branches of the Anglo-Saxon race to boards of impartial arbitration. (Great applause and ;hpering.) Little, as you see, my poitical sympathies may go out to Eng.and, yet I recognize the faet that there is very much in our institutions, in our laws, in our ideas and habits and ways of thought, very much in common. And our iuterests. commercial and financial are so interwoven, and the laws of tradè and commerce and oí destiny have required it and made it inevitable, that it caunot be surprising to any intelligent man that both of these great commercial nations, the two greatest in the world are standing today, as they have heretofore stood and will ever stand, upon a great standard, for their common interest and prosperity. (Great applause and eUeering.) Challenge to BIr. Brj-an. Why should we go to silver countries to learn finance? Ia it in the interest of the wage-earners? I challenge Mr Bryan to show me a country that stauds on a silver basis where the workman rcceives one-üfth of the wages given today to the American workmen (Applause.) The wages in Englaud are moving every day, upward, upward, upward, as they ought to do, approaching slowly but surely the American standard of wages, which belongs to the dignity and manhood of American meehanjcs and workingmen. (Applause.) Is there any difference in China and Japan or Russia, or Mexico, or the Argentine Repubhc Not a bit. Not a etep forward. In Mexico, in 1884- and there is no more difference today than then- I hired twenty-four men for $2.40 a day- the whole lot of them (laughter)- and they worked for me faithfully for nearly a. month, when the emergency passed which required me to employ them. I was ashamed to pay workmen such wages, and it afforded me much gratiiicatión to offer them a handsome gratutitled to. (Applause.) Now, I know Mr. Bryan quite well I eeryed !n Congreso with liim. Perhaps it was my blindness and stupidity ' but I never any presidential timber in him. (Laughter.) He was an amiable man- an agreeable companion I said today when I talked to the drqmjaers tiiat Joe had a winning smile, but I was correeted by a drummer there who said that there was nothiug winning in it; he couldn't win. (Laughter.) But he knows all about fiuance. He kiiuws all about the working and management of this government - he has bad so much experienee. (Laughter.) To be sure as a lawyer, he had never had any praotice. As an editor, he never received more pay than the salnry of an average reporter, but for statesrnanship, he is the shinihg Hght of the century. (Laughter.) Chance íor Young Men. You know, he was noniinated becanse he made a pretty speech. A wonderful convention, that Chicago body must have been. (Laughter.) And now, I learn on good authority, that since the suecess of the boy orator's speech at Chicago there are one or two boys practicing at every college of the United States for the next Chicago Democratie convention. (Laughter and applause.) I don't object at all to young men having a chance. I have had my chance. Why shouldn't the boys have had their chance? It isn't at all necessary you know to elect them. (Laughter.) But give them a chance and let them run. (Laughter.) Let them practice, you know. Twenty-five or thirty yeara henee who knows but Bryan might make a pretty fair presidential candidate, if he studies hard. (Laughter.) But one of the troubles with Bryan at this linie is, that although a good man, so far as I know. he has too many vices running with him. (Applause.) He couidn't go up into Maine. He was afraid to because Sewall was there. (Laughter.) Perhaps if he could have gone without making Watson madder than he is, he might have stopped Sewall's sou l'rom making speeches against his father, and his brother from making speeches. There is au awful amount of irregularity going on in the Democratie party. (Laughter.) Why it just breaks families right up in two, the families of the candidates. I don't know where Watson's boys and brothers stand, and fortunately for Bryan. his are too small to fight about politics yet. (Laughter.) Now, just take Watson. I wish I had his photograph. I would like to have it enlarged to show up here on the sl:i;n. Now, Watson was in Congress, and all that I remember about him was rhat he made a speech. It wasn't so long as some of Bryairs but it had about the same quality of stuff in it. (Laushter.) He got muddled in the middle of his speech- that wasn't to be wondered at. He got kind of turned around as people do on the road once in a while and don't know what is north or south or east or west, and he stood for a minute and looked around, and then said. "Where am I at?" (Laughter.) That is :he only thing remembered of Watson in :he Congress of the United States. (Laughter.) And he will repeat that wise, proround rernark on the Ith of November next, "Where am I at?" (Great laughter and applause.) Bryan and his Tices remind me of a couple of Irish soldiers that belonged to the Irish brigade. This is one of mv friend Mulholland's stories which he tolil me a coupie of weeks ago. A couple of Irish soldiers in the Irish brigade were talking about the war, and ïim said to Mike, "Mike, phat did you come to war for anyhow? You had a nice little grocery shop in First avenue and you had a nice little wife. Phat did you want to go to the war for?" "Oh, Tim," said he, "I know I had a nice little grocery store, and, yes, I ïad a nice little wife; but, Tim, I ïad two of them (laughter), and, ïim, '. had come to the war for peace." Laughter and applause.) Now, poor Bryan, he keeps on in Georgia and he keeps on in Maine, for eace, and he travels with Mrs. Bryan, a good selection, for everybody says she s a devoted, tender and true woman. Prolonged applause.) And I will back ïor against Bryan 16 to 1, every time. More laughter.) Now, my friends, I want to hear Gen. 3tewart. I have never heard him. I ïave heard of liim, and I know we shall Til eujoy his address. I want to hear Corporal Tanner. (Applause.) I want ;o hear him now beonuse I have heard ïim often. And it is discourteous for me to occupy much more of your time o the prejudice of your enjoyment of hose two orators. They are orators. I am not. Opposed to Sectionalism. And yet, before I take my leave of vou, I do waut to say a very few earnest words suited to the gravity of what is jefore us. This leads me to ask again, 'Why am I here?" I am here becau.se [ am opposed to sectionalism, and sec:ionalism is foreshadowed in the proceedngs of the Chicago convention and in the attempt to divide this country once more nto sectional lines. The Rebellion grew out of sectionalism, and the veterans who are here, and their comrades all over the land, know too well what it cost us to put that Rebellion down. Five hundred thousand lives and uneounted millious of treasure. A million homes left desolate. Widows, sisters, fathers and mothers. Our country oovered with graves of the noble leroes sacrificed to maintain and preserve our unity. We cannot tolérate, will lot tolérate, any man representing any arty who attempts again to disregard :he solemn admouitions of Washington to frown down every attempt to set one lortion of our country against another Applause.) That farewell address of Washington was written and given to his countrymen just a century ago on the lj-Jth of September. 1796. " Will the Ainencan peopiü uscen io tne toachings of a Tillman and close their ears to the admonition of a Washington? (Cries of "Never.") Never. An Incident of the Encampment. My friends, I wish you could all have been with me at St. Paul a few weeks ago. I wish you could hnve seen that column of vfteraas, 20,000 tíixan$. marcbing throngh the streets of that beautiful city, decorated with the generosity of a patriotic people. Many veterana were unable to march, but they were there. standing on the ilanks of the column. The column itself contained too many bent shoulders and iufirm steps, but they marehed ou, their eyes flashing ever and anón, as they moved. From among thoso in the flanks came up voices. For a time the column heard thein without response, for the rigors of discipline in the marching column of a Grand Army permits no political demonstration. But the tide became too strong, too irresistible; the cry from the people along the line was "Three cheers for McKinley!" (Great apiilause.) From block to block this cry was repeated, until at last the column responded. "Three cheers for McKinley! (renewed applause), and when those in my party had ridden to the end of the march with me, I remarked to one of them: "How strange it is we have not heard Bryan's name mentioned once today." Truc it was. That all the louder claims from 100,000 voices were for McKinley and in that patriotie mass we never heard the name of Bryan mentioned. But a few moments afterward we did hear his name mentioned. "Oh," said I to Mulholland, who was with me there, "the exception proves the rule; there is a Bryan man." "But," said Mulholland, "did you hear what he said'.'""Yrs: he s:iiil 'Bryan.'" "Sure, but he said 'No Bryan for us.' " (Laughter and applause.) Now, my friends, before I say farewell, let me enter a prophecy, that the cry of that soldier, "No Bryan for us," will be echoed by the American people in November, and that wiü be their verdict.

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Subjects
Old News
Ann Arbor Courier