_—- .-._.___ The Democratic Candidate’s Formial Acceptance of the ' Presidential Nomination. The Full Text of His New York SpeeCh. MR. CHAIRMAN, GENTLEMEN or run COMMITTEE AND FELLOW CITIZENS—I shall at a future day and in a formal letter cept the nomination which is now ten- ered by the notification committee, and I shall at that time touch upon the issues presented by the platform. It is fitting, however, that at this time, in the presence of those here assembled, I speak at some length in regard to the campaign upon which we are now entering. We do not underestimate the forces arrayed against us, nor are we unmindful of the impor- tance of the struggle in which we are en- gaged; but, relying for success upon the righteousness of our cause, we shall defend with all possible vigor the positions taken ‘ by our party. We are not surprised that some of our opponents, in the absence of better argument, resort to abusive epithets, but they may rest assured that no lan- guage, however violent, no invectives, however vehement, will lead us to depart a single hairbreadth from the course marked out by the national convention. The citizen, either public or private, who assails the character and questions the pa- otism of the delegates assembled in the icago convention assails the character nd questions the patriotism of the mil- ions who have arrayed themselves under the banner there raised. It has been charged by men standing high in business and political circles that our platform is a menace to private secur- ity-and public safety, and it has been as- serted that those whom I have the honor for the time being to represent not only meditate an attack upon the rights of property, but are the foes both of social order and national honor. J‘ Thdse who stand upon the Chicago plat- form are prepared to make known and to defend every motive which influences them, every purpose which animates them and every hope which inspires them. They un- derstand the genius of our institutions, they are stench supporters of the form of ernment under which we live, and they build their faith upon foundations laid by the fathers. Andrew Jackson has stated, with admirable clearness and with an em- hasis which cannot be surpassed, both he duty and the sphere of government. He said: “Distinctions in society will al- ways exist u'nder every just government. [quality of talents, of education or of ‘wealth cannot be produced by human in- stitutions. In the full enjoyment of the gifts of heaven and the fruits of superior , dustry, economy and virtue every man is equally entitled, to protection by law. ” We yield to none in .. nr devotion to the doc- trine just enunciated. Our campaign has not for its object the reconstruction of so- ciety. We cannot insure to the vicious the fruits of a virtuous life; we would not in- vade the home of the provident in order to supply the wants of the spendthriit; we do not propose to transfer the rewards of in- dustry to the lap of indolcnc'e. Property is and will remain the stimulus to endeavor and the, compensation for toil. We be- lieve, as asserted in the Declaration of In- dependence, that all men are created equal, but that does not mean that all men are or can be equal in possessions, in ability or in merit. It simply means that all shall stand equal before the law, and that gov- ernment officials shall not, in making, con- struing or enforcing the law, discriminate between citizens. ' Quotes From President Lincoln. I assert that property rights, as well as the rights of persons, are safe in the hands of the common people. Abraham Lincoln, in his message sent to congress in Decem- ber, 1861, said, “No men living are more worthy to be trusted than those who toil up from poverty, none less inclined to take or touch aught which they have not honestly earned. ” I repeat his language with unqualified approval and join with him in the warning which he added- namely, “Let them beware of surrender- ing a political power which they already possess, and which power, if surrendered, will surely be used to close the doors of ad- vancement against suCh as they and to fix new disabilities and burdens upon them till all of liberty shall be lost. ” Those who daily follow the injunction, “In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread.” are now, as they ever have been, the bulwark of law and order, the source of our nation’s greatness in time of peace and its surest defenders in time of war. But I have only read a part of Jackson’s utterance. Let me give you his conclusion, -"‘ But when the laws undertake to add to these natural and just advantages artificial distinctions, to grant titles, gratuities and exclusive privileges, to make the rich rich- 'cr and the potent more powerful, the bum- ble members of society, the farmers, me- chanics and the day laborers, who have neither the time nor the means of securing like favors for themselves, have a right to complain of the injustice of their govern- ment. ” Those who support the Chicago platform indorse all of the quotation from Jackson, the latter part as well as the former part. We are not surprised to find arrayed against us those who are the beneficiaries . . of government favoritism. They have read our platform. Nor are we surprised to learn that we must in this campaign face the hostility of those who find a pecuniary advantage in advocating the doctrine of noninterference when great aggregations of wealth are trespassing upon the rights of individuals. We welcome such opposition. It is the highest indorsement which could be bestowed upon us. We are content to have the co-operat‘ion-of those who desire to have the government administered with- out fear or favor. It is not the wish of the general public that trusts should spring into existence and override the weaker members of society. It is not the wish of the general public that these trusts should destroy competition and then collect such tax as they will from those who are at their mercy. Nor is it the fault of the gen» eral public that the instrumentalities of government have been so often prostituted to purposes of private gain. Those who stand upon the Chicago platform believe that the government should not only avoid wrongdoing, but that it should also pre- vent wrongdoing, and they believe that t 6 law should be enforced alike against a l enemies .of the public weal. They do not excuse petit larceny, but they declare that grand larceny is equally a crime. They do not defend the occupation of the high- wayman who robs the unsuspecting trav! eler,but they include among the transgress- KM om?- ' of despotism. Free government e ‘WEEKLYLNORWALK- ors those who, through the more polite and less hazardous means of legislation, appro- priate to their own use the proceeds of the toil of others. The commandment, “Thou shalt not steal,” thundered from Sinai and reiterated in the legislation of 'all nations, is no respectcr of persons. It must be ap- plied to the great as well as the small, to the strong as well as the weak, to the cor- porate person created by law as well as to the person of flesh and blood created. by the Almighty. No government is worthy of the name which is not able to protect from every arm uplifted for his injury the humblest citizen who lives beneath the flag. It follows as a necessary conclusion that vicious legislation must be remedied by the people who suffer from the effects of such legislation and not by those who en- joy its benefits. The Income Tax Decision. The Chicago platform has been con- demned by some because it dissents from an opinion rendered by the supreme court declaring the income tax law unconstitu- tional. Our critics even go so far as to ap- ply the name anarchist to those who stand upon that plank of the platform. It must be remembered that we expressly recog- nize the binding force of that decision so long as it stands as a part of the law of the land. There is in the platform no sug- gestion of an attempt to dispute the au- thority of the supreme court. The party is simply pledged to use “all the constitu- tional power which remains after that de- cision or which may come from its reversal by the court as it may hereafter be consti- tuted. ” Is there any disloyalty in that pledge? For a hundred years the supreme court of the United States has sustained the principle which underlies the income tax. Some 20 years ago this same court sustained without a dissenting voice an in- come tax law almost identical with the one recently overthrown. Has not a future court as much right to return to the judi- cial precedents of a century as the present court had to depart from them? When courts allow rehearings, they admit that error is possible. The late decision against the income tax was rendered by a majority of one after a rehearing. While the money question overshadows all other questions in importance, I desire it distinctly understood that I shall offer no apology for the income tax plank of the Chicago platform. The last income tax law sought to apportion the burdens of government more equitably among those who enjoy the protection of the govern- ment. At present the expenses of the fed- eral government,collected through internal revenue taxes and import duties, are espe- cially burdensome upon the poorer classes of society. A law which collects from some citizens more than their share of the taxes and collects from other citizens less than their share is simply an indirect means of transferring one man’s property to an- other man’s pocket, and while the process may be quite satisfactory to the men who escape just taxation it can never be satis- factory to those who are overburdened. The last income tax law, with its exemp- tion provisions, when considered in con- nection with other methods of taXation in force, was not unjust to the possessors of large incomes, because they were not com- pelled to pay a total federal tax greater than their share. The income tax is not new, nor is it based upon hostility to the rich. The system is employed in several of the most important nations of Europe, and every income tax law now upon the statute books in any land, so far as I have been able to ascertain, contains an exemp- tion clause. While the collection of an in- come tax in other countries does not make it necessary for this nation to adopt the system, yet it ought to moderate the lan- guage of those who denounce the income tax as an assault upon the well to do. N ot only shall I refuse to apologize for the advocacy of an income tax law by the national convention, but I shall also refuse to apologize for the exercise by it of the right to dissent from a decision of the su- preme court. In a government like ours every public official is a public servant, whether he holds oflice by election or by appointment, whether he serves for a term of years or during good behavior, and the people have a right to criticise his official acts. “ Confidence is everywhere thiparent ists in jealousy and not in confidence. ” These are the words of Thomas Jefferson, and I sub- mit that they present a truer conception of popular government than that entertained by those who would prohibit an unfavor- able comment upon a court decision. Truth will vindicate itself. Only error fears free speech. No public- official who con- scientioudy discharges his duty as he sees it will desire to deny to those Whom he serves the right to discuss his official con- duct. ~ The Paramount Question. Now let me ask you to consider the para- mount question of this campaign— the money question. It is scarcely necessary to defend the principle of bimetallism. No national party during the entire history of the United States has ever declared against it, and no party in this campaign has had the temerity to oppose it. Three parties— the Democratic, Populist and Silver par- ties—have not only declared for bimetal- lism, but have outlined the specific legisla- tion necessary to restore silver to its an-' cient position by the side of gold. The Republican platform declares that bimetal- lism is desirable when it pledges the Re- publican party to aid in securing it as soon as the assistance of certain foreign nations can be obtained. Those who represented the minority sentiment in the Chicago con- vention opposed the free coinage of silver by the United States by independent ac- tion on the ground that, in their judgment, it “would retard or entirely prevent the establishment of international bimetal- lism, to which the efi'orts of the gove n- ment should be steadily directed.” W en they asserted that the efforts of the govern- ment should be steadily directed toward the establishment of international bimetal- lism, they condemned monometullism. The gold standard has been weighed in the balance and found wanting. :Take from it the powerful support of the money owning and the money changing classes, and it can- not stand for one day in any nation in the world. It was fastened upon the United States without discussion before the peo- ple, and its friends have never yet been willing to risk a verdict before the voters upon that issue. There can be no sympathy or co-opera- tion'between the advocates of a universal gold standard and the advocates of bimet- allism. Between bimetallism, whether in- dependent or international, and the gold standard there is an impassable gulf. Is this quadrennial agitation in favor of in- ternational bimetallism conducted in good faith, or do our opponents really desire to maintain the gold standard permanently? Are they willing to confess the superiority of a double standard when joined in by the leading nations of the world, or do they still insist that-gold is the only metal suitable for standard money among civi- lized nations? If they are, in fact, desirous of securing bimetallism, we may expect them to point out the evils of .a gold standard and defend bimetallism as a sys- / . tem. If, on the other hand, they are bend- ing their energies toward the permanent establishment of a. gold standard under cover of a declaration in favor of interna- tional'bimetallism, I am justified in sug- gesting that honest money cannot be ex- pected at the hands of those who deal dis- honestly with the American people. What is the test of honesty in money? It must certainly be found in the purchasing power of the dollar. A'n absolutelyhonest dollar would not vary in its general pur- chasing power. It would be absolutely stable when measured by average prices. A' dollar which increases in purchasing power is just as dishonest as a dollar which decreases in purchasing power. Professor .Laughlin, now of the University of Chi- cago and one of the highest gold standard authorities, in his work on bimetallism not only admits that gold does not remain absolutely stable in value, but expressly asserts that “there is no such thing as a standard of value for future payments, either in gold _or silver, which remains ab- solutely invariable.” He even suggests that a multiple standard wherein the unit is “based upon the selling prices of a num- ber of articles of general consumption” would be a more just standard than either gold or silver, or both, because “a long time contract would thereby be paid at its maturity by the same purchasing power as was given in the beginning. ” Purchasing Power of the Dollar. It cannot be successfully claimed that monometallism or bimetallism or any oth- er system gives an absolutely just stand- ard of value. Under both monometallism and bimetallism the government fixes the weight and fineness of the dollar, invests it with legal tender qualities and then opens the mints to its unrestricted coinage, leaving the purchasing power of the dollar to be determined by the number of dollars. Bimetallism is better than monometalliSm not because it gives us a perfect dollar— that is. a dollar absolutely unvarying in its general purchasing power—but because it makes a nearer approach to stability, to honesty, to justice, than a gold standard possibly can. Prior to 1873, when there were enough open mints to permit all the gold and silver available for coinage to find entrance into the world’s volume of stand- ard money, the United States might have maintained a gold standard with less in- jury to the people of this country, but now, when each step toward a universal gold standard enhances the purchasing power of gold, depresses prices and trans- fers to the pockets of the creditor class an unearned increment, the influence of this great nation must be thrown upon the side of gold unless we are prepared to accept the natural and legitimate consequences of such an act. Any legislation which lessens the world’s stock of standard money in- creases the exchangeable value of the dol— lar. Therefore the crusade against silver must inevitably raise the purchasing pow- er of money and lower the money value of all other forms of property. Our opponents sometimes admit that it was a mistake to demonetize silver, but insist that we should submit to present conditions rather than return to the bi— metallic system. They err in supposing that we have reached the end of the evil results of a gold standard. We have not reached the end The injury is a continu- ing one, and no person can say how long the world is to suffer from the attempt to make gold the only standard money. The same influences which are now operating to destroy silver in the United States will, if successful here, be turned against other silver using countries, and each new con- vert to the gold standard will add to the general distress. So long as the scramble for gold continues prices must fall, and a general fall in prices is but another defini- tion of hard times. Our opponents, while claiming entire disinterestedness for themselves, have up: pooled to the selfishness of nearly every class of society. Recognizing the disliosi- tion of the individual voter to consider the effect of any proposed legislation upon himself, we present to the American peo- ple the financial policy outlined in the Chicago platform, believing that it will resultin the greatest good to the greatest number. The farmers are opposed to the gold standard because they have felt its effects. Since they sell at wholcsalh and buy at re~ tail they have lost more than they have gained by falling prices, and besides this they have found that certain fixed charges have not fallen at all. Taxes have not been perceptibly decreased, although it re- quires more of farm products new than formerly to secure the money with which to pay taxes. Debts have not fallen. The farmer who owed $1,000 is still compelled .to pay $1,000, although it may be twice as difficult as formerly to obtain the dol- lars with which to pay the debt. Railroad rates have not been reduced to keep pace with falling prices, and besides these items there are many more. The farmer has thus found it more and more difficult to live. Has he not a just complaint against the gold standard? Effect on Wage Earners. The wage earners have been injured by a. gold standard and have expressed them- selves upon the subject with great cm- phasis. In February, 1895, a petition ask- ing for the immediate restoration of the free and unlimited coinage of gold and sil- ver at 16 to 1 was signed by the represent- atives of all, or nearly all, the leading la- bor organizations .and presented to con- gress. Wage earners know that while a gold standard raises the purchasing power of the dollar it also makes it more diffi- cult to obtain pegsession of the dollar. They know that employment is less per- manent, less of work more probable and re—employment less certain. A gold stand- ard encourages the hoarding of money be: cause money is rising. It also discourages enterprise and paralyzes industry. On the other hand, the restoration of bimetallism will discourage hoarding because when prices are steady or rising money cannot afford to lie idle in the bank vaults. The farmers and wage earners together consti- tute a considerable majority of the people of the country. Why should their interests be ignored in considering financial legis- lation? A monetary system which is pecun- iarily advantageous to a few syndicates has far less to commend it than a system which would give hope and encouragement to those who create the nation’s wealth. Our opponents have made a special ap- peal to those who hold fire and life insur- ance policies, but these policy holders know that, since the total premiums received ex- ceed the total losses paid, arising standard must be of more benefit to the companies than to the policy holders. AMuch solicitude has been expressed by our opponents for the depositors in savings banks. They constantly parade before these depositors the advantages of a gold standard, but these appeals will be in vain because savings bank depositors know that under a- gold standard there is increasing danger, that they will lose their deposits be- cause of the inability of the banks to col- lect their assets, and they still further know that, if the gold standard is to con- tinue indefinitely, they may be compelled ‘_ >1" , .. . for r1.- to withdraw their deposits in order to pay living expenses. It is only necessary to note the increas- ing number of failures in order to know that a gold standard is ruinous to mer- chants and manufacturers. These business men do not make their profits from the people from whom they borrow money, but from the people to whom they sell their goods. If the people cannot buy. retailers cannot sell, and, if retailers cannot sell, wholesale merchants and manufacturers must go into bankruptcy. Those who hold as a permanent invest-7' ment the stock of railroads and of other enterprises (I do not include those who speculate in stocks or use stock holdings as a means of obtaining an inside advantage in construction contracts) are injured by a gold standard. The rising dollar destroys the earning power of these enterprises with- out reducing their liabilities, and, as divi- dends cannot be paid until salaries and fixed charges have been satisfied, the stock- holders must bear the burden of hard times. L Salaries in business occupations depend upon business conditions, and the gold standard both lessens the amount and threatens the permanency of such salaries. Official salaries, except the salaries of those who hold office for life, must, in the long run, be adjusted to the conditions of those who pay the taxes, and if the present financial policy continues we must expect the contest between the taxpayer and the tax eater to increase in bitterness. The Professional Classes. The professional classes, in the main, de- rive their support from the producing classes and can only enjoy prosperity when there is prosperity among those who create wealth. I have not attempted to describe the ef- fect of the gold standard upon all classes —in fact, I have only had time to men- tion a few—but each person will be able to apply the principles stated to his own oc- cupation. It must also be remembered that it is the desire of people generally to convert their earnings into real or personal property. This being true, in considering any tem- porary advantage which may come from a . system under which the dollar rises in its purchasir. g power it must not, be forgot- ten that the dollar cannot buy more than formerly unless property sells for less than formerly. Hence it will be seen that a large portion of those who may find some pecuniary advantage in a gold standard will discover that their losses exceed their gains. It is sometimes asserted by our oppo— ncnts that a bank belongs to the debtor class, but this is not true of any solvent bank. Every statement published by a solvent bank shows that the assets exceed the liabilities—that is to say, while the bank owos a large amount of money to its depositors it not only has enough on hand in money and notes to pay its depos- itors, but in addition thereto has enough to cover its capital and surplus. When the dollar is rising in value slowly, a bank may, by making short time loans and taking gocd security, avoid loss, but when prices are falling rapidly the bank is apt to lose more because of bad debts than it can gain by the increase in the purchasing power of its capital and surplus. It must be admitted, however, that some bankers combine the business of a bond broker with the ordinary banking busi- ness. and these may make enough in the negotiation of loans to offset the losses arising in legitimate banking business. ’As long as human nature remains as it' is there will always be danger that, unless restrained by public opinion or legal en- actment, those who see a pecuniary profit for themselves in a certain condition may yield to the temptation to bring about that condition. Jefferson has stated that one of the main duties of government is to prevent men from injuring one another, and never was that duty more important than it is today. It is not strange that those who have made a profit by furnishing gold to the government in the hour of its extremity favor a financial policy which will keep the government dependent upon them. I believe, however, that I speak the sentiment of the vast majority of the peo- ple of the United States When I say that a wise financial policy administered in be- half of all the people would make our gov— ernment independent of any combination of financiers, foreign or domestic. Contraction of the Currency. Let me say a word now in regard to cer- tain persons who are pecuniarily benefited by a gold standard, and who favor it not from a desire to, trespass upon the rights of others, but because the circumstances which surround them blind them to the effect of the gold standard upon others. I shall ask you to consider the language of two ‘gentle- ' men whose long public service and high standing in the party to which they boxing will protect them from adverse criti sm by our opponents. In 1869 Senator Sher- man said: “The contraction of the cur- rency is a. far more distressing operation than senators suppose. Our own and other nations have gone through that oper- ation before. It is not possible totake that voyage without the sorest distress. To ev- ery person, except a capitalist out of debt or a salaried officer or annuitant, it is a period of loss, danger, lassitude of trade, fall of wages, suspension of enterprise, bankruptcy and disaster. It means ruin to all dealers whose debts are twice their business capital, though one—third less than their actual property. It means the fall of all agricultural production without any great reduction of taxes. What pru- dent man would dare to build a house, a railroad, a factory or a barn with this cer- tain fact before him?” As I have said be- fore, the salaried oflficer referred to must be the man whose salary is fixed for life and not the man whose salary depends upon business conditions. When Mr. Sher— man describes contraction of the currency as disastrous to all the people except the capitalist out of debt and those who stand in a position similar to his, he is stating a truth which must be apparent to every per- son who will give the matter careful con- sideration. Mr. Sherman was at that time speaking of the contraction of the volume of paper currency; but the principle which he set forth applies if there is a contrac- tion of the volume of the standard money of the world. Mr. Blaine discussed the same principle in Connection with the demonetization of silver. Speaking in the house of represent- atives on the 7th of Feburary, 187 8, he said: “I believe the struggle now going on in this country and other countries for a single gold standard would, if successful, produce widespread disaster in and throughout the commercial world. The destruction of silver as money and the establishing of gold as the sole unit of value must have a ruinous effect on all forms of property except those invested which yield afixed return in money. These would be enormously enhanced in value and would gain .a disproportionate and unfair advantage over every other species of property.” Is it strange that the “hold- ers of investments which yield a fixed re- turn in money” can regard the destruction of silver with complacency? May we not [CONTINUED ON PAGE ’3] . Gizarre. DORLON HOUSE GREGORY’S POle. I new OPEN FOR THE sham or a —.—_ Shore Dinners, Rhode Island-Glam Bake. ' Bathing. Boating. Fishing. Electric cars to Hotel, every twenty minutes. JOHN E. O‘SULLIVAN, Manager. DRINK HAT-Huh ' SPRING ’ WATER FOR THE Stomach, ' Bo wels, Liver and Kidneys. FOR SALE BY The Holmes, Kaela Halal to TEARN ' BICYCLE AN D DE @ONTBNT.‘ ‘ is known throughout cycling as alight, staunch, stylish, speedy mount. 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