Willis George Emerson

“ To-day, I am a bimetallist, an ardent and devoted one, in the sense that I desire to see both gold and silver circulating side by side as money, and in the sense that we can have a greater per capita of money in this country by using both gold and silver as currency, than we possibly could by driving gold out of circulation, but fellow citizens, I disbelieve utterly in the possibility of a double standard. ”

“ Fellow citizens, go forth and tell the misguided advocates of free silver and believers in the false theories of "Coin's" Financial School to rejoice in their strength while it is called to-day, for, by the living God "truth has its boots on" and is marching triumphantly out among the people, tearing away the webs and veils of delusion and hypocrisy and appealing to the people, not to their passions, but to their intelligence, their reason and their honor. ”

“ As Americans we are justly proud of our birthright—proud of the air of freedom that kisses the stars and stripes—our nation's ensign, emblematical of mighty victories in the past, a guarantee of protection in the present to all who stand beneath its folds and laden with rich promises of future prosperity. Our country is greater than the men whose election it is our pleasure to advocate. ”

“ If we were unable to keep both metals circulating side by side when there was a slight discrepancy of only two or three cents in their intrinsic value, does any intelligent or sane man believe for a moment whether he is a student of Coin's Financial School or not, that if we throw open our mints to the free and unlimited coinage of 52-cent dollars, that they would not at once drive out of circulation the $630,000000 of gold, now constituting more than one-third of our circulating medium? ”

“ In the golden casket of his great soul rests the immortal principles which we advocate, and in his heart burns the undying fire of love for America and American institutions. The righteousness of our cause is our strength, while he is our hope and will lead us triumphantly on to certain and splendid victory. ”

“ It has elevated the manhood of every American citizen, dignified labor, and instilled a more universal education throughout our land than can be found in any other civilized country on the face of the globe. It has made the flag of our nation emblematical of love, liberty, protection, reciprocity, honor and all that is great and grand of human thought. Major William McKinley is our Bruce at Bannockburn in this struggle for national honor, unlimited labor and higher wages. ”

“ We do not differ in a desire for good government. We may differ and differ widely, however, in our opinions and ideas as to what laws will insure the greatest blessings to the people of this nation. Fortunately for the Republican party the American people are a reading and a thinking people, and the problems of the present campaign are now on trial before a jury of 70,000,000 of honest peers, not one of whom am I willing to believe would wantonly strike down the flag of our country, or any of its cherished institutions. ”

“ Wages are the last schedule to advance, and as fully 95 per cent, of the male adults in the United States are wage, salary or fee earners, there would be almost universal want, misery and suffering bequeathed to these people, because of such a reckless, unpatriotic and unbusiness-like experiment. What party then is the real friend of silver? The party that is trying to maintain the parity of the two metals, or the party that is protesting friendship in unstinted terms and yet committed to the folly of reducing silver to its bullion value? ”

“ IN THE DARK AND TURBULENT DAYS OF THE REBELLION, THE REPUBLICAN PARTY, WITH THE ASSISTANCE OF DEMOCRATIC PATRIOTS, SAVED THIS NATION, WHILE NOW IN THE CLOSING DAYS OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY, BY THE LIVING GOD, PATRIOTS WILL SAVE AND PROTECT OUR NATION'S HONOR.
Ours is the greatest nation on earth, and the possibilities of the future are almost limitless; if we make no mistake in the great principles of protection, reciprocity and a sound currency, which have for their immediate object the betterment of the conditions of the wage-earners of this land. ”

“ Our great commercial institutions have fallen into a most deplorable and unhappy state, misery and want, with pinched and sorrowful countenances are walking hand in hand up and down by deserted workshops. The honest face of toil blushes as hunger drives him to eat the bread of charity. The stilled wheels of industry throughout our land, and deserted and idle farms are indeed eloquent in their silence in behalf of a protective tariff. ”

“ My friends, I believe, and believe most earnestly, with every throb of my heart, that in the present campaign the Republican party is the only true friend silver has. We seek to elevate the silver dollar, our opponents seek to debase it. The Republican party has provided a redeemer for every silver dollar. Our opponents seek to destroy and alienate this redeemer. If the silver dollar was not exchangeable with gold, it would not be worth any more than a Mexican dollar, or not as much, for there is less silver in it. ”

“ If you ask me what has been the most unfortunate and appalling result of this wonderfully shrunken pay roll, I will answer by saying that American workingmen by the thousands have lost the roof that covered their heads for themselves and families, have been turned into the highways and are beggars to-day in the most unfortunate sense of the word. The questions of free trade and protection however, have practically been relegated into the background this year, and the sixteen-headed monster of free silver pushed to the front. ”

“ MARCHING TO GREATEST VICTORY. Following the leadership of our gallant standard bearer, that brave civilian soldier on the field of battle, that statesman without a peer, that friend of the toiling millions, that companion of every old soldier, that invincible leader of men, Major McKinley, we are advancing proudly on to the greatest political victory of modern times. ”

“ FREE TRADE SHOULD BE UNDONE. Eight years ago, and again four years ago, through the influence of the Cobden Club, England attempted to subdue America. She succeeded in prostrating our industries, impoverishing our people, and increasing our public debt, but let us hope that the intelligence of American citizens will rise up in its full might and undo the free trade blunder of 1892. ”

“ A craft manned by a free silver captain, piloted by free tradeism, and ballasted with bombs of anarchy and repudiation; a craft whose very slimy plank is reeking with condemnation; whose mutinous crew are ready to scuttle her in mid ocean; whose worthless and shoddy sails are fanned by the angry breath of high heaven ”

“ The student who really gives thought to the financial question will early discover that Coin's Financial School rests upon a false foundation and the superstructure must surely fall when beat against by the irresistable and truth capped waves of facts and history. No better answer can be given to these misleading and false theories than a plain, truthful statement of our coinage laws and the effect of legislation relating thereto. Fellow citizens, whatever else we may be, we are all Americans, either by birth or adoption ”

“ I am pretty well acquainted with the mining business, have spent many years of my life in the mining districts of the west, and am the owner to-day of mining properties in Oregon and in Colorado, and also largely interested in one of the most noted silver mining properties in Old Mexico, and I know whereof I speak, when I say to you that English capitalists and American silver kings own a majority of the stock of nearly every incorporated silver mining company in this country of any prominence. ”

“ The people are not ready to advance by going backwards, they are not ready to be Chinaized, to be Japanized, South Americanized, Mexicanized or subsidized by a coterie of silver barons and English capitalists, who are attempting by stealth to nail the wage earners and farmers of this country to an unholy cross of depreciated silver. ”

“ My countrymen, it is not alone the volume of money which the people want, but they demand its activity in trade and commerce. If you ask me how this can best be accomplished, I will answer by saying, protect American industries and universal confidence will surely follow. ”

“ THIRD. THERE IS NOT A SILVER STANDARD COUNTRY IN THE WORLD THAT USES ANY GOLD WHATEVER AS MONEY; AND
LASTLY, THERE IS NOT A SILVER STANDARD COUNTRY TO BE FOUND IN THE GREAT OCEAN OF COMMERCE THAT ROLLS ALL 'ROUND THE WORLD THAT HAS ONE-FOURTH AS MUCH MONEY PER CAPITA AS HAS THE UNITED STATES AND OTHER GOLD STANDARD COUNTRIES.
China, Japan, India, Mexico and most of the South American states are on a silver basis. The United States, England, France, Germany, Belgium, Sweden and others are on a gold basis. ”

“ Personally I have every respect for a conscientious, earnest opponent in this crusade of education, and while honestly differing from them, yet will endeavor to wound the feelings of none. If I speak bitterly of doctrines which I believe to be pernicious in theory and ruinous in practice, do me the justice of not interpreting my remarks as in any sense personal. ”

“ THE PEOPLE A JURY. This audience is a part of that great jury, who, after the evidence is all in, will decide one way or the other, with an avalanche of snowy ballots, as spotless in their purity as the honest hearts of the voters who cast the verdict into the ballot boxes. ”

“ WE ARE WILLING AS AMERICANS THAT AMERICAN INDUSTRIES AND HOME COMPETITION SHALL ADJUST PRICES, BUT WE ARE NOT WILLING THAT PRICES OF LABOR SHALL BE ADJUSTED IN THIS COUNTRY BY AMERICAN WORKMEN ENTERING INTO COMPETITION WITH THE PAUPERIZED LABORERS OF EUROPE.
From the same reliable statistics and undoubted authority we find that wages have materially advanced in this country during the last third of a century. ”

“ I will admit that the price of wheat has declined and declined rapidly since 1892, but you must remember that Grover Cleveland was elected president that year and is still in the White House. Give us back a protection that protects, and we will not only insure abundance of labor for all our people, but will guarantee that farm products generally will command better prices. ”

“ Many of the old time democrats who are proud of the traditions of their party, proud of the principles which they have cherished for so many years, are refusing to follow the platform adopted by the degenerate democracy of 1896. ”

“ MORAL QUESTIONS INVOLVED. Fellow citizens, this is a campaign embracing both political and moral questions. It is a political conflict, which the people will sooner or later acknowledge, to be one of patriotism. A moral conflict, which they will acknowledge to be indeed sublime. ”

“ Standard means "correct measure," and you cannot have two different correct measures of value any more than you can have two different correct yard sticks, or two different correct results from a mathematical problem, or two different correct cyclometers on a bicycle. ”

“ AND MAKE THE COMMERCIAL RATIO BETWEEN GOLD AND SILVER 15 TO 1, THE SAME AS IT WAS IN 1792, OR BETTER STILL, IF IT IS A BLESSING TO HUMANITY TO LOWER THE RATIO BETWEEN GOLD AND SILVER, THEN APPLY A LITTLE MORE OF THIS OCCULT POWER AND MAKE THE RATIO 13 TO 1, THE SAME AS IT WAS IN 1620, WHEN OUR ANCESTORS CAME OVER IN THE MAYFLOWER ”

“ You might just as well go out and from the housetop proclaim that the horse has been dehorserized, because of a huge conspiracy entered into by electricity and the bicycle. Why not ask that the noble animal be rehorserized, so that its selling price will be $150 or $200, the same as it was in "ye olden times." ”

“ It seems this ratio undervalued silver, that is to say, the gold dollar was still worth 100 cents, but the silver dollar was worth from 102 to 103 cents. Gold at once became the hard money circulating medium in this country, silver the higher priced money, was entirely retired by the money changers, bullion dealers and silversmiths. This is another illustration where the cheaper money drove out of circulation the higher priced money. ”

“ We find the balance of trade, instead of being in our favor, was against us to the enormous amount of $70,494,044, or an average of $4,699,603 per month, or $153,653 per day. That, fellow citizens, is a pretty good sized daily loss. ”

“ That, fellow citizens, is what we call good business methods. Selling to other nations more than we purchased from them to the extent of $28,245,641, or an average of $1,129,822 per month, or $37,660 per day. ”

“ When the earth is proven to be flat instead of a globe, when water runs up-hill, when the law of gravitation ceases to be operative, when the tail wags the dog and not the dog the tail, then, and not till then, may we seriously consider these perpetual motion, "Keeley Motor" theories of Mr. ”