The morning call., 1891-09-19
GovEKNoK oAMPBELL's SPEECH.

Governor Campbell opened the Ohio CAM
paigu the day after the Democrats of New
York adopted their platform. In New York
both free silver coinage and the present
silver policy were denounced, but in Ohio
free silver coinage was made the leading
point in Governor CampbelPs opening
speech. The significance of this Ohio dec
laration is the greater. as the Democratic
party in each State is led by an aspirant for
the Democratic Presidential nomination.
Should Campbell carry his State in Novem-
Der, lie will take his place among the fore
most of three Presidential aspirants. 1t
will then be Campbell, Hill and Cleveland,
OF Campbell, Cleveland and Hill. Demo-
crat who can carry Ohio is much needed by
the Democratic party, and Campbell is the
only Democrat who is believed even by his
own party 10 be able to carry that State in
a Presidential year. 1t appears, therefore,
that if Campbell succeeds in Ohio the
Democratic party will favor free silver
coinage, but if Flower succeeds in New
York the Democrats viii become a gold
party. In both States the Republican pol
icy which promises to bring silver up to
parity with gold is derided. In his opening
speech Governor Campbell says; "Ihere is
no good reason why the Government should
not store pig lead or pig iron as well as pig
silver. and issue circulating notes upon
them" The zeal of the Democratic eandi-
date outrunS his discretion. The Federal
Constitution recognizes gold and silver as
the metals from which money may be
coined. 1t does not recognize pig lead or
pig iron as fit for such purposes. The sill
yer stores of the Government may be coined
into legal tender money at the discretion Of
the Secretary of the Treasury or by direc
ton of law of Congress. The fact that
these silver stores may he coined into
money and that pig lead and pig
lion may not would seem to the ordi-
nary comprehension good reason why
pig silver may be stored and pig lead
and pig iron relegated to the rank of COM
modities The argument of Governor Camp
bell, that ''the next step in logical sequence
if you follow out the Republican theory
would be 10 store wheat, corn and oats in
Government elevators and issue currency
against them," is hardly worthy of atten-
ton. AS the Republican party stores moth
ing that cannot be readily converted into
money 1t establishes no precedent upon
which wheat, corn and oats may be stored
as a basis for currency. Governor Campbell
continues the argument, asking, "Who de-
tends demonstration of silver?" The Re-
publicans certainly do not. The 412%-
grain silver dollar was dropped from the list
of American coins at time when silver
was on the legal ratio higher than gold.
Consequently no silver dollars were being
coined. The country woke up to the fact
that there was no authority to coin silver
dollars when the depreciation Of silver made
the coinage of silver dollars a commercial
possibility. Five years later, in 1878, Con-
gress, by a tWo-thirds vote in each house,
restored the silver dollar to the list Of
American coins, and made it a legal tender.
1t has remained legal tender ever since,
and is now. Every Administration since
1878 but one has been Republican, aud the
only attack made upon the silver dollar was
by the one Democratic administration. 1t
appears. therefore, that the Republicans
have as good a right as the Democrats to be
considered advocates of bimetallism.