Letter from Joseph Medill (Bar Harbor, Me.) to William McKinley, 1896-09-05

"The political battle is now open all along the line. There is one weak place in the enemy's lines which I think can be turned by a proper flank attack, and there is no time to be lost in doing it. The object of this letter is to call the attention of the Republican Commander in chief to it. I have read nearly all of Mr. [William Jennings] Bryan's campaign speeches ... and I observe that his main contention is that in consequent of demonitizing silver in 1873, and thereby taking away from the debtors the option to pay their creditors in the cheaper local tender money of 'primary or ultimate redemption' gold has been made artificially dear, that the 'money changers' of Wall Street and Lombard Street and the Rothchilds, and 'gold bug' plutocrats have got a 'corner' on gold, and are squeezing the industrial masses to death ..."