Idaho semi-weekly world. [volume] (Idaho City, Idaho Territory) 1875-1908, 1890-09-16
DEnotRAIIC AEa,rlxG.

evening, in the court house. He
was greeted with good-sixed aud
ience. Charley waded through the
intricacies of the tariff. gave history
of silver legislation, aud stood up for
Republican principles to the extent
of favoring protective tariff on lead.
The speaker advocated free and un-
limited coinage OF silver, which is not
a party issue IN Idaho nor anywhere
on the Pacific coast. The people are
almost unanimous for free coinage.
The present silver law, passed by
Republican votes and opposed by
every Democrat in Congress, did no.
meet with the approval of the speak
er, but silver miners welcome it as
an improvement over what is known
as the Bland law. His objection to
the present law is that under it the
price of silver fuctuates. True, sill
yer does fuctuate, and that is one
solid objection to the law, but it
fiuctuates between SLIP and $1.19
per ounce; heretofore the price has
'sinonkeyed' up and down in the
nineties. Quite an improvement. 1t
is very evident that many Democrats
who voted for free coinage did not
vote their true sentiments. Would
they have voted that way if Cleveland
had been President? Not much.
Hannah Marial Cleveland's admins
traton was the arch enemy of silver.
II Cleveland had been filling the
Presidential chair the Democrats
would not have voted so strongly for
free coinage. They know that he
would have vetoed the bill, and that
would have injured the political
standing of their Chief. The recent
vote in the Senate surprised great
many. The Democrats knew that
Harrison would veto free coinage
nill, and knew that even if it passed
the House it would not become a law.
The veto would injure President
Harrison on the Pacific coast, and
that was their game, but they were
not smart enough to make their moves
to win. If the bill had gone to Har-
rlson the Democrats would have gone
before the people and loudly pro-
claimed that they stood shoulder to
shoulder for free coinage, but that
President Harrison wouldn't have it
that way, and they would nicely
bamboozle the silver producing
States, and the sharp people way
down East would understand that it
was only a trap set for Harrison. The
Republicans did vote for measure,
one that they had hopes would be-
come a law, and it did, and is a big
Improvement over the Bland law, al
though not all that the silver produc-
ing States and Territories desire.
Although Harrison is not as staunch
friend of silver as many of his par
ty would like to see him, ueverthe-
less he is big improvement over
Cleveland and his administration
AT the last national Democratic con-
ven,ion some one proposed silver
plank. A great Democratic leader
simply said, "Damn silver" That
settled it. The silver plank was
omitted. The Democrats solidlv op-
posed the silver bill that is now
law. The Democrats in Congress
have also solidly opposed a protect
i've tariff on lead, so we don't see
how they can with good grace con-
demn Republican rulings to the eff
feet that when the silver in the ore
was of greater value than the lead,
the ore was classed as silver ore, and
was admitted free of duty. 1t was
not admitted free when the lead was
of more value than the silver. Dem
ocrats ought to uphold that decision.
1t is free lead-or lead admitted free
of duty-or almost free-that the
national Democratic party favors.
When they can't get whole loaf, a
slice ought to be better than nothing.
1t our memory serves us right, Cleve-
lands Secretary of the Treasury
made the same ruling that Window
did. 1t was a Republican, Idaho's
honored Delegate, Fred T. Dubois,
who introduced an amendment to the
Mills bill, providing that lead in
combination with silver should pay
the duty of Il cents per pound, no
matter which is of greater value, the
silver or the lead. The Democrats
defeated this amendment, and IN at;
dition voted for reduction of the
tariff to three.quarters of cent.