istic specimens from this Waldorf essay, carefully written
down and calmly delivered: "We are gathered here to-night as patriotic
citizens anxious to do something toward ... protecting the fair fame
of our nation against shame and scandal." It is not recorded that
anybody smiled at this. Indeed, the astonishing thing about this
business is that these people seem able to impose successfully on one
another. But Mr. Cleveland is even better at the other kind, as for
example: "Agitators and demagogues," "ruthless agitators," "sordid
greed," "inflamed with tales of an ancient crime against their
rights," "unfortunate and unreasonable," "restless and turbulent,"
"reckless creed," "boisterous and passionate campaign," "allied forces
of calamity," "encouraged by malign conditions," and so on _ad
nauseam_.

This is the attitude of nearly all the defenders of the gold standard
who have the hardihood to say anything at all. Undoubtedly in many
cases it is assumed because of ignorance on the merits of the case, so
that nothing remains but to "abuse the other fellow." But occasionally
this course is adopted by men who are well informed, and who know that
the gold standard is incapable of meeting bimetallism in an honest
contest of argument with any hope of success. The strategy of these,
therefore, is to avoid fair discussion by so prejudicing the public
mind against their opponents as to forestall a hearing.

The result has been surprisingly successful. In many localities, and
in fact in nearly all localities in the East, the most intolerant
spirit has been manifested by the most prominent persons in the
community, who had never taken the pains to examine the subject on
which they so violently and fanatically expressed themselves. To
people of any acquaintance with the literature, the history, and the
science of money, it has seemed most marvellous that business men of
large affairs, of much general information, and of excellent natural
abilities, should be content to remain absolutely ignorant of
fundamental monetary principles and the overwhelmingly attested
lessons of past experience. It is infinitely pitiful to see men of
affairs led away in so-called "business men's sound-money
associations" and other similar movements, when a knowledge of the
conditions on which their welfare depends would send them in an
exactly opposite direction.

Why? Because business men are men who do business, or at any rate who
want to do business