AGRARIAN PARTIES AND THEIR POLICIES 175 



The repeal of the silver clause of the Sherman Act 

 at this time aroused the antagonism of many people 

 in the South and West who had come to believe that 

 free coinage of silver would greatly relieve the finan- 

 cial distress. The price of silver had fallen. West- 

 ern silver mines were closed and mining employees 

 were thrown out of work. That the money question 

 would become the predominant issue in the cam- 

 paign of 1896 was quite evident. The People's 

 Party had raised the money question in the plat- 

 form of 1892, and it became the predominant issue 

 in the party contests four years later. 



The democratic platform of 1896 was clearly de- 

 signed to absorb the strength of the Populist Party. 

 The "Cross of Gold" speech of William J. Bryan 

 committed this party to the free coinage of silver. 

 The party platform declared that the act of de- 

 monetizing silver resulted, among other things, in 

 the fall in the prices of farm products. Many of 

 the leading economists of the country regarded this 

 causal relationship as economic sophistry. But it 

 had the effect intended by the political leaders of 

 the Democratic Party. Bryan became the candidate 

 of the Democratic Party, and the Populists, in their 

 convention, instead of nominating an independent 

 candidate, indorsed the candidate of the Democratic 

 Party. The Republican Party was compelled to 

 defend the gold standard. McKinley became the 

 standard bearer of this party. In the general elec- 

 tion Bryan received 6,287,352 votes, and McKinley 



