ch teaches, that through respect for the giver, we should
not give, barter or sell away a present. God gave the earth and all
that is in it to mankind. May we not here ask, to what mankind was the
earth given? And what is meant by man? It is plain to the student that
by man is meant all mankind, for all time so long as he shall live, for
we find in research of the scripture that "God is not God of the dead,
but of the living." I want to ask you in the name of justice and
humanity, should a great majority of mankind now, in the strongest and
most highly civilized country, give the earth and its abundance to the
money corporations, trusts and combines, that are in reality
transforming our beloved republic into a "Den of Thieves;" or should we
keep possession of the bountiful gift, that our children and the
children of the generations to follow will inherit the land, that was
so graciously presented to all mankind, by an all wise Providence?

One of the uppermost features in our civilization today is our national
medium of exchange, called "money." Reasonable men of all parties agree
that our money should be sound and honest, and limited only in amount
by the necessities and requirements of the citizens of our country, in
striving after a nobler and higher civilization in which the greatest
good to the greatest number shall be the pinnacle of ultimate
achievement.

In June of 1896, the representatives of a great party met in national
convention in the city of St. Louis, Mo., and outlined a party platform
in which we find a plank which says: "We are therefore opposed to the
free coinage of silver, except by international agreement with the
leading commercial nations of the world, which we pledge ourselves to
promote, and until such agreement can be obtained, the existing gold
standard must be preserved."

As we think of and discuss this or any other proposition, the question
foremost in our mind should be: Is that proposition, if adopted, likely
to promote the interest of an independent liberty loving, Democratic
people, or will it, if adopted, work in an opposite direction?

In my judgment, a careful examination of that plank will reveal the
fact that it is hypocritical in the extreme, and in itself makes by its
own declaration, improbable the very thing it pretends to advocate and
pledge itself to support, namely: Bimetallism, by an international
agreement with the leading commercial nations of the world.

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