British lion's tail. Unluckily the Republican Senators drew him into a declaration of "spirited foreign policy" six months too soon. His Message is already being ridiculed with impartial criticism. The London Stock Exchange has shown an exact and humorous appreciation of the situation by telegraphing to the New York Stock Exchange its hope that in the event of hostilities between the two countries the British warships would not have their movements interfered with by irresponsible excursion steamers issuing from New York and other ports. The New York Exchange, we understand, has replied to the effect that they hope that our warships are better than our yachts.1 In fine, the sensible people on both sides of the water have recognized that President Cleveland has played Dogberry to no purpose. He has written himself down an ass, and that is about all he has accomplished.

(b)

It is unnecessary to say that the dominating event of the past `month has been President Cleveland's stupefying effort to plunge the two great branches of the Anglo-Saxon race into a bloody war. At the time of writing it is uncertain whether he will succeed or not; now-a-days we find ourselves one moment in a tornado of sensational excitement, and the next in an almost enervating calm; and it may be that by the time these pages are in the reader's hands, affairs will have resumed a comparatively normal condition and the Americans will have recovered their sense of proportion. On the other hand it is just conceivable that Mr. Cleveland might strike a popular chord of hatred to England. The people of whom he is the official mouthpiece may be weary of peace and progress, and, having selected something"cheap" to run into, are prepared to embark on an adventure against the British Empire. In any case a grave situation has been created, and with all the goodwill in the world and we have not as a nation been unmindful of our kinship to the American people, from whom we have pocketed

1 Referring to the repeated attempts of the British yachts to "lift" the American cup in the races in New York Bay.

affronts that we should not have tolerated at the hands of any other country, and which none of the older members of the company of nations would offer one another unless war were intended — the incident, if it retains the modest dimensions of an "incident," cannot but affect the cordiality of our future relations with the United States. . . .

For the moment it is irrelevant to examine the merits of the dispute; let us assume that Venezuela is right on every point, and that the colony's [Guiana's] claim is a spurious one, which Lord Salisbury has adduced untenable arguments to support. Still the amenities of international intercourse among civilized nations are held to preclude recourse to public menace until every form of diplomatic expostulation has been exhausted. The disheartening aspect of this document to all who labor to strengthen the ties between English-speaking peoples lies in the fact that a popularity-seeking President of great experience in gauging the opinion of his countrymen, should think it worth while to read the United States out of the comity of nations in order to obtain the anti-English vote.

The chief issue before the National Democratic Nominating Convention of 1896 at Chicago was the free coinage of silver at the ratio of 16 to 1. The majority report on the platform favored the measure, but a strong minority report, supporting the single gold standard was ably supported by Senator Hill of New York, Senator Vilas of Wisconsin, and ex-Governor Russell of Massachusetts. The debate was closed by the Honorable William J. Bryan of Nebraska, with an ardent speech in favor of free silver, which won him the Democratic nomination for the presidency and brought him into the prominent position in American politics which he has occupied now for twenty years.

MR. CHAIRMAN AND GENTLEmen of the CONVENTION:

I would be presumptuous, indeed, to present myself against the distinguished gentlemen to whom you have listened if this

were a mere measuring of abilities; but this is not a contest between persons. The humblest citizen in all the land, when clad in the armor of a righteous cause, is stronger than all the hosts of error. I come to speak to you in defense of a cause as holy as the cause of liberty- the cause of humanity.

With a zeal approaching the zeal which inspired the crusaders who followed Peter the Hermit, our silver Democrats went forth from victory to victory until they are now assembled, not to discuss, not to debate, but to enter up the judgment already rendered by the plain people of this country. .

When you (turning to the gold delegates) come before us and tell us that we are about to disturb your business interests, we reply that you have disturbed our business interests by your course. We say to you that you have made the definition of a business man too limited in its application. The man who is employed for wages is as much a business man as his employer; the attorney in a country town is as much a business man as the corporation counsel in a great metropolis; the merchant at the cross-roads store is as much a business man as the merchant of New York; the farmer who goes forth in the morning and toils all day—who begins in the spring and toils all summer and who by the application of brain and muscle to the natural resources of the country creates wealth, is as much a business man as the man who goes upon the board of trade and bets upon the price of grain; the miners who go down a thousand feet into the earth, or climb two thousand feet upon the cliffs, and bring forth from their hiding places the precious metals to be poured into the channels of trade are as much business men as the few financial magnates who, in a back room, corner the money of the world. We come to speak for this broader class of business men.

...

We do not come as aggressors. Our war is not a war of conquest; we are fighting in the defense of our homes, our families, and posterity. We have petitioned, and our petitions have been scorned; we have entreated, and our entreaties have been disregarded; we have begged, and they have mocked when our calamity came. We beg no longer; we entreat no more; we petition no more. We defy them. . . .

We say in our platform that we believe that the right to coin and issue money is a function of our government. We believe it. We believe that it is a part of sovereignty, and that it can no more with safety be delegated to private individuals than . . . the power to make penal statutes or levy taxes. Mr. Jefferson, who was once regarded as good Democratic authority, seems to have differed in opinion from the gentleman [Senator Vilas] who has addressed us on the part of the minority. Those who are opposed to this proposition tell us that the issue of paper money is a function of the bank, and that the Government ought to go out of the banking business. I stand with Jefferson rather than with them, and tell them, as he did, that the issue of money is a function of government, and that the banks ought to go out of the governing business. . . .

And now, my friends, let me come to the paramount issue. If they ask us why it is that we say more on the money question than we say upon the tariff question, I reply that, if protection has slain its thousands, the gold standard has slain its tens of thousands. If they ask us why we do not embody in our platform all the things that we believe in, we reply that when we have restored the money of the Constitution all other necessary reforms will be possible; but that until this is done there is no other reform that can be accomplished. . . .

...

Mr. Carlisle said in 1878 that this was a struggle between "the idle holders of idle capital" and "the struggling masses who produce the wealth and pay the taxes of the country and, my friends, the question we are to decide is: Upon which side will the Democratic party fight?... That is the question which the party must answer first, and then it must be answered by each individual hereafter. The sympathies of the Democratic party, as shown by the platform, are on the side of the struggling masses who have ever been the foundation of the Democratic party. There are two ideas of government. There are those who believe that, if you will only legislate to make the well-to-do prosperous, their prosperity will leak through on those below. The Democratic idea, however, has been that if you legislate to make the masses prosperous, their prosperity will find its way up through every class which rests upon them.

You come to us and tell us that the great cities are in favor of the gold standard; we reply that the great cities rest upon our broad and fertile prairies. Burn down your cities and leave our farms, and your cities will spring up again as if by magic; but destroy our farms and the grass will grow in the streets of every city in the country.

My friends, we declare that this nation is able to legislate for its own people on every question, without waiting for the aid or consent of any other nation on earth; and upon that issue we expect to carry every State in the Union. I shall not slander the inhabitants of the fair State of Massachusetts nor the inhabitants of the State of New York by saying that, when they are confronted with the proposition, they will declare that this nation is not able to attend to its own business. It is the issue of 1776 over again. Our ancestors, when but three millions in number, had the courage to declare their political independence of every other nation; shall we, their descendants, when we have grown to seventy millions, declare that we are less independent than our forefathers? No, my friends, that will never be the verdict of our people. Therefore we care not upon what lines the battle is fought. If they say bimetallism is good, but that we cannot have it until other nations help us, we reply that, instead of having a gold standard because England has, we will restore bimetallism, and then let England have bimetallism because the United States has it. If they dare to come out in the open field and defend the gold standard as a good thing, we will fight them to the uttermost. Having behind us the producing masses of this nation and the world, supported by the commercial interests, the laboring interests, and the toilers everywhere, we will answer their demand for a gold standard by saying to them: You shall not press down upon the brow of labor this crown of thorns, you shall not crucify mankind upon a cross of gold!