Salt Lake evening Democrat. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1885-1887, 1886-04-09
THE FREE COINAGE BILL.

Inc Dill lOr the Tree COllldSe vi Sllsc
was defeated in the House yesterday b
vote OF 126 to 161 The result will b
deplored by the silver men of the coun
try and especially by the people of tn
silver-producing States and Territories
1t however was not, or should not hav,
been, unexpected by any person who ha'
watched the progress OF events since tht
convening oil Congress. At the com
mencement OF the session the gold bug
were highly elated and the friends
of bi-metalism correspondingly depressed
The former claimed sufficient strength
to repeal the Bland bill, while the latter
doubtless alarmed at the unexpected
position assumed by the Administration
upon the question, confined their endeay.
ors to the retention of the present law,
not dreaming of the possibility of more
favorable legislation. For this reason
much valuable time was lost, and MEM
bers who would doubtless have voted in
favor of free coinage committed them
selves to the compromise OF non-legisla-
ton upon the subject. A few
weeks, however, demonstrated the
fact that the President could
not carry any considerable portion
OF his party with him in his opposition
to what has ever been one of the cardinal
principles of Democracy, and antagonism
to which constituted gross violation of
the financial plank in the Democratic
National Platform OF 1854. Ii soon
became evident that there was no danger
OF any unfriendly legislation, and then
the ardent advocates OF silver assumed
the aggressive by urging the passage
OF the bill which was defeated yesterday.
But 1T was too late. Too much strength
had been frittered away through ground
less fears, and the result was as might
have been foretold. Had they known
their strength at the start, instead of act
ing on the defensive they would have
pursued the opposite course and yester-
days result would, in all probability,
have been reversed. There is hope,
however, that the experience OF the pres
ent session will prove beneficial at the
next, and that the defeated bill, or q sim
liar measure, will then become a law of
the land. The President has latterly
evinced less active opposition to the sill
yer interest, and it is not at all improbable
that in the course of another year he will
have withdrawn it altogether. He can
hardly do otherwise. He sees the efutility
of attempting to turn his party from its
course in the past, and he will be likely |
to yield to the inevitable, so far at least |
as to interpose no executive influence or
power against the evident policy of |
the Democracy, as manifested by its |
representatives in Congress during the |
present session. 1t will be wise in him |
to do this, for he can never reconcile his
past position to the platform upon which
he was elected, the financial plank in
which reads as follows:
We believe in honest money, the gold and
SttUer coinage of the Constitution, and a
circulating medium convertible into such
money without Joss.
This is the only allusion in the platform
to the currency question, and if it has
any significance it means that there
should be no discrimination between the
coinage of gold and silver Indeed, if
any distinction is made it should be in
avor of the latter, which is not only con-
'erted into money without loss" but its
coinage yields handsome revenue to the
Government, while the former is minted
1t nearly corresponding loss. The Adj r,
of Mr.. Cleveland has been a
model one with but this single exception.
Let him have the courage to take the ,
back track upon this proposition, contin. /,
ling in other respects in his present
course, and no power on earth can defeat !
lis election for second time. /,