THE BATTLE OF THE STANDARDS 189 



Party, went so far on the eve of the election as to 

 advise all members of the party to vote for Mo 

 Kinley; and in Texas there was an organized bolt 

 of a large part of the Populists to the Republican 

 party, notwithstanding its gold standard and pro- 

 tective tariff platform. 



No campaign since that of 1860 was so hotly and 

 bitterly contested as the "Battle of the Standards " 

 in 1896. The Republicans broke all previous 

 records in the amount of printed matter which they 

 scattered broadcast over the country. Money was 

 freely spent. McKinley remained at his home in 

 Canton, Ohio, and received, day after day, delega- 

 tions of pilgrims come to harken to his words of 

 wisdom, which were then, through the medium 

 of the press, presented to similar groups from 

 Maine to California. For weeks, ten to twenty- 

 five thousand people a day sought "the shrine of 

 the golden calf." 



In the meantime Bryan, as the Democrat-Popu- 

 list candidate, toured the country, traveling over 

 thirteen thousand miles, reaching twenty-nine 

 States, and addressing millions of voters. It was 

 estimated, for instance, that in the course of his 

 tour of West Virginia at least half the electorate 

 must have heard his voice. Most of the influential 



