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About The Alliance-independent. (Lincoln, Nebraska) 1892-1894 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 6, 1892)
u i'i. THE ALLIANCE-INDEPENDENT. 1 0 v. t In I"' i: 1: VICTORIOUS VAN WVCK The i Republican Champion Completely Vanquished Oroucse Slanders Van Wyck and Slaps the People in the Face. THE OLD GENERAL CARRIES EVERY THING BY STORM. A Full Account of the Van Wyck Crounse Joint Discussion in Bo - hanan's Hall Septcmb:r 29 By.two o'clock last Thursday after noon Bobanan's imroorso hall was filled with people, and still ihey con tinued to pour in till most of tho stand ing room was occupied. To all ap apcarances ropublcms and indepon dmts wcro thcro in about equ4 numbers, and thcro was also a goodly number of democrats. Tho crowd was exceedingly good naturcd and when tho speakers en tered their friends took turns in givii g (hem a hearty and noisy welcome. Lawyer Cha. E. Mago?n of Lincoln presided. Crouiso introduced and re ceived with cheers. IIoFaid: "I have al ways received good will and favor from the people of Nebraska. I owe a great deal to Nebraska. I am horo to-day as a Nebraskan, and a republican, and I am proud to appi ar as such. I couldn't be tempted to bo anything but a repub lican. I will never follow oiT after any false gods or false heresies to becure a governorship." Mr. Crounse then referred to tho de bate at Beatrice, and charged that General Van Wyck presented no issue. Now he would try to do better. He was for tho republican platform. He then read the tariff plank of the Minneapolis ptforra, and mado somo rambling comments on it. He said Van Wyck voted for the tariff of 1883 which placed a higher tariff on lumber than McKinley did. Now he said tho Genoral was complaining that farmers must leave their machinery out in tho weather because they couldn't buy taxed lumber to build sheds. Ho said ucder the influence of pro tection self -binders had fallen from $300 to $150. He enoeringly remarked that he understood the al'ianco people passed the hat at their meetings in the country to raise campaign funds. He said if they would keep tho money they throw in the hat and buy lumber they could have sheds for their machinery. He said all the talk indulged in by Gene ral Van Wyck and other independent speakers consists of appeals to ignorant prejudice and passion for the purpose ! J J i L 01 starring up uiscument. Ho wanted to know why Van Wyck hadn't framed a tariff bill while he was in congress. He said it took brains to frame such a bill. They had found a man with brains in McKinley. Any man could pop away at an item in a bill, but only a man of brains could . make a tarift schedule. He then begun a bitter assault on congressman Bryan. Said he was try- ' ing to ride two horses. He had no busi ness talking free silver when his party was against it. - Bryan shou'd have re nounced free silver and gone with his party. (Hisses from denu crats ) He said: I am an American from top to bottom, and I point with prids to the McKinley bill. (Applause.) He then told of the comforts and luxuries found in the homes of American woikingmen. He told how the tariff on lumber gavo employment to American labor.r He then read the reciprocity plank, and spoke of , the great man who origi nated tho idea, James G. Blaino. (Ap plause.) lie sad reciprocity had open ed markets for American products. Ho refemd especially to the removal of Gernrtn restrictions on American pork, as a result of meat inspection. Next Mr. Crounse read tho silver plank. He said: "I am in favor of an honest dollar. At Beatrice, General Van Wyck said ho was in favo. of an honest dollar, but he afterward declar ed that he favored a fiat money. Iam not in favor of fiat money." lie then tidicuKd Van Wyck's Beatrice speech ia which he went back and traced tho history of the uso of silver as money frcm tbe time of Abraham down. He said this talk about silver being stricken down in the dark was nonsense. He was proud of his vote in congress for the resumption of sp?c'o payments. He said the man who would compare tho money paid to tho soldiers to that paid to the bond-holders was belittling American patriotism. lio said the money to prosecute the warcamo largely from old men and thoso who were unfit for service at the front who brought out their hoards. Widows sold their jewels o'c. All this cry about boud-ho ders and ' Shylocks was simp'y an appeal to prejudice and pass'on. Ho compared independents to Cain who was jealous of his brothor Abel's prosper.ty, and therefore slow him. Ho repoated the charge that Van Wyck drew double pay during tho war, as congressman and Colone'. Tho greenbacks were not tia . money. They were promise t pay. He referred to Van Wyck as being worth half a million, and spoko of his palatial mansion in Washington. He hid just ben up tho Republican Val'ey. Jb rom the stories he had hoard of 172 foreclosures n farm, etc , he expected to soj harrowing scenes of des'ltution, poor pe p!o watder.ng along the roadside hungry and half clad But he sa " nothing of tho kind. When he got to Culbertson he asked tho banker (great laughter from inde pendents) and re said there was noth ing of it. Nearly all tho foreclosures were on fellows who had left the country. Rascals had taken claims and got their neighbor alliance men to ap praise them away above thor real value, and thus got big loans on them and left the country. He said instead of destitution he ..ound prosperity. Tbe farmers in the Republican Valley this year had crops of corn that go from 80 to 100 busheis to the acre. (Laughing by tbe farmers.) "Van Wyck goes hand in hand with grasshoppers, and drouth and potato bugs, and devils who raise the value of their pre-emptions." He favored using the American pro duct of silver. Ho wouJd put a dollar's worth of value behind each dollar. He took greenbacks to Europe, and they passed readily. Why? Because the credit of the United States was behind them. He had no objection to Genoral Van Wyck getting an office if he would get it through the republican party, but he didn't want him to get it by fraud and imposition on tho people. Ho spoke very slightingly of General Van Wyck's record in the stats legisla ture and in congress. He said he would like to know what bill in the interest of the people General Van Wvck ever introduced and championed. "Van Wyck has done NebrasV a in finite damage. Everywhere I go I have to defend and apologize for the state." "Thers is only ono honest dollar, that which has the intrinsic value of a dollar. Tho men who want to pay their debts in depreciated currency are scamps and scoundrels. They ought not to belong to the republh an party. I don't w ant to be elected by the votes of such men. (a voice: "You won't be.") I am a proud man and belong to a proud family, and will never truckle for votes. I don't want to be elected except by the honest votes of honest men." (Many voices: "You won't be elfcted.") The talk cf such men as Van Wyck and other independent leaders was anarchistic. If these men had been at Chicago and talked so at the time of the Haymarket riot, they wrould have been hung up with Spies, the anarchist. The speaker then severely ridiculed Ignatius Donnelly. He read a para graph from the people's platform and ridiculed it. He then turned to tho record of the last legislature. The in dependents were always ho a ling , about corruption. They hail furnished the first man who sold out, Taylor. (A question: "Who bought him?") You furnished the cattle for sale and they wero bought. Some claim that Mr. Crcunso said "we bought them" but ethers heard It as above. We give the speaker tho benefit of tho doubt. Editor. Next he to-k up trusts. R?ed'a con gress had passed a jaw against trusts. He read part of the law. At Beatrice Van Wyck had attacked trusts and re flected on Carnegie. He was glad we had such mtn as Carnegie. We have thirteen mil.ionaires in Nebraska, and he wished we had fifty. "The man who whoups against tho millionaires simply lacks capacity in his top-piece. If ycu farmers would quit standing round the 6treet corners talking poli tics, and would save tho money jou throw in tho hat to buy frocks and shoes for your ch.ldren you'd get on letter." (Hisses from all parts of the hall.) He then referred to Shrader as tho man who "damned the constitution," and charged that a bi 1 against trusts had been referred to Shrader'e com mittee in tho legislature and he had reported that it be indefinitely post poned. Ap a reward for that he had been made General Van Wyck's run ning mute. McReynolds was also at tacked on similar grounds. He said they had not passed good bills introduced simply because that would use up their political capital. Hero time was called and Mr. Crounso sat down amidst lively chier ing from the republicans. His speech however had roused tho blood of all tho independents present and cast a ser ous damper over the republicans. Wheu General Van Wyck arose fo speak there was a perfect storm of ap plause: Men stood shouting and wav ing hats for somo minutes. Tho Gen era 's speech was devoted largely to re plying to tne insinuations and slurs cast ut'on him. Ho said ho had coma here to oiscuss principles, but his oppo nent had thrown dirt. Referring to the claim of the republi cans that they wanted every dollar to be as good as any other dollar, he said the soldier who fought at the front was paid in greenbacks which as compared with the bond-holders' gold was not worth fifty cent oa the dollar. Then after the war was over, under pretense of "strengthening tho public credit," they had made the principal as well as the the interest of the bonds payable in coin. Had they ever enacted a law making up to tho old soldier the dif ference between what he received and gold? (Grea applause.) He acknowledged that the last con gre -s had legislated against trusts. But they had not enforced tho law, and the republican administralion never intend ed to. Ho described the great sugar trust which is now in full torce and is still protected by a tariff on refined sugar. Claus Spreckels, the great sugar king of California, had come over to Philadelphia, and the people had given him 3 million dollars to build a sugar factory. He did so, and last spring he sold out to the trust, cleared 3 million, and now the factory is closed, and 600 people thrown out of employ ment. The trusts knew that the re publican party didn't mean to hurt them. While the Minneapolis conven tion was declaring its hostitlity to t rusts, a great wall paper trus was be ing formed in the east. The republi cans showed no disposition to enforce the law. Jodgo Crounse had said he was an enemy to the state. He bad said years ago in the senate that freight rates were so high in Nebraska that the peo ple burned corn, because it was more f profitable than to ship it out and ship in coal. He had told the truth. A great howl had gone up that he would check immigration He thought the contrary. People would want to come to a state that was rich enough to stand such oppression. Judge Crounse didn't know what he had ever done. He would show him. Ho had introduced a uury bill while he was senator making the legal rate of interest 8 per cent. In spite of his efforts, the bill was amended by mak ing it 10 per cent. Then he had secur ed a very important provision in tho bill to prevent agents from evading the law by pretending to bo agents of the borrower. J his biil he had got through. He had introduced in 187D a bill re ducing passenger f ire in this state from 5 to 3 ctnts per mile. It was defeated. Then he introduced it ith the prov'so, that it should bo submitted to the people for decision before going into effect. But this was defeated also. In congress he had intreduced a silver bill and fought it for two year3. He had introduced and fought through a bill forfeiting 15 million acres of un earned rjilroad land. (Applause.) Ho had fought to make railroad land subject to taxation, and finally got it through the senate. He gave Mr. Crounse credit for get ting such a b'll through the house, and said he might mention other good things that Mr. Crounse had done if ho had time. (Laughter.) The General then told how ho had fought against the tariff on lumber while in congress. He said for all Judge Cr-unse's ridicule it was a fact that much valuable machinery stood out be cause farmers wsre unable to buy lumber; also there were still a great rqany people living in sod houses yet for the same reason. He asked why every man who buys a thousand fret of lumber should have to pay a dollar to go into the pocket of a monopolist. As to fostering American labor, these lumber lords hire Canucks because they can get them cheaper. (Ap plause.) We are told that the object of putting oi a tariff is to bring prices down. But the State Journal and republican speakers have b. en shouting: "Behold choap sugar under tbe McKinley bill!" How was it mado cheap? By taking the tariff off. If that was a good thing why didn't they go on and make somo other things cheap in the same way? Years ago when he was battling for free sugar, tho Journal had called him a demagogue, then a dtmocrat, and lastly a free trade democrat. But now it sings the praises of McKinley for giving us free sugar. Tho General then picked up a late number of the State Journal and read an article in which the Jour nal had quoted from a speech he had mado in congress in 1861, just before tho war, while the southern members were still in congress. The Journal tried to show that he was not in favor of tho war, that he wanted to let tho south secede. "This paper is run by cowardly scoundrels" remark ed the General as he drew a sheet of paper from his pocket. He said ho had jut baen up to look at the records in the state house to see what he really did say in that speech. He then read showing that tho Journal had cut his sentences in two, so as to give the con trary meaning. As he read on he was greeted again and again by bursts of applause He said the Journal ought to print the whole speech; The Journal readers would have something worth reading. Referring to the charge that he had received double pay, he said he was glad of an opportunity to discuss that matter He was in congress at the time of the battle of Bull Run. A number of con gressmen thought they would go down ard witness tbe battle. He advised them not to go. Ha said a better plan would be for them to get through with their duties and go home and raise re giments for tho service. Several of them went to see the battle and were taken prisoners. At the close of the session he went back to his district and raised tho strongest regiment in the service. It contained 15 companies, 1 3 infantry one artillery and one cavalry And he enlisted with the rest and was made Colonel. There were a lot of fellows in his district a'mo3t as mean as the men who are now hounding him with these slanders. They raised the cry that the soldier would be paid-in "greenbacks, and that by the time the war was over they would'nt be worth anything, a bushel of them would n't pay for a bushel of beans. To reassure the members of his regiment, ho told them that he had faith in the government, and that he would waite tM the close of the war for his pay and would take it in greenbacks whatever they might be worth. (Ap plause. ) They went to that beau' if ul spot on ho Hudson where Washington once
