The World. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1891-1896, 1892-05-02
Speech Of Hon. william y. Hatch. Of
Missouri, In the House Of Represen-
fatIves, March ~, 1893.

Speech Of Hon. William ~. Hntcn, o.
Missouri, In the House Of Represen-
tatIves, March -, 1893.
The House having under consideration the
bill (H. r. 400 for the free coinage Of gold and
silver for the issue Of coin notes, and for other
purposes
Mr.. Hatch said;
Mr.. Speaker: In the brief time al
1otted me shall address myself to the
billnnder consideration from the stand
point Of an earnest, consistent, and
hopeful Democrat, n resident OF the
Mississippi valley, Representative Of
the people of Missouri, and by choice
and interest farmer. / believe that
this question is national one and
therefore, Of necessity, party ques-
ton. It is utterly impossible for the
Democratic party to ignore its past
history, its promises and its pledges to
the people, upon this subject.
No amount Of sophistry, no selfish
or sectional appeal, can withdraw from
this question the pledges made by the
Democratic party in twenty-eight
States of the Union, in which, in their
State conventions, the Democrats Of
those States have not only asserted
but have pledged themselves to the
people that whenever they should come
intospower they would see that silver
was restored to the coinage position
which it occupied in 1873, when it was
demonetized, not by a Democratic
Congress, not by Democratic votes,
but by the Republican party then iii
power in both Houses of Congress, the
bill being signed by o Republican Ex-
ecutive.
So far as am concerned as Rep
resentatiye of district in the State Of
Missouri, ! am in hearty accord with
the position Of the Democratic party
of my State upon this question, the
position it has unwaveringly held since
1873. Every gentleman in this Con-
gress who holds his seat by the vote Of
the Missouri Democracy comes here
pledged, pledged by the action Of the
last Democratic State convention, to
support blu for the free and un-
limited coinage Of silver. have never
seen the time, sir, in the past ten years
when ! would have accepted nomi-
nation from the district have the
honor to represent if the platform
upon which / was nominated had not
embraced clear and unequivocal dec
laration for the restoration Of silver.
] support this bill as consistent DEM
ocrat, and / do not indorse the senti-
ment which certain Democrats have
expressed upon this floor that this is
simply an independent question.
This, sir, is a question, that is going
to be settled by the Democratic party
when it meets in national convention
in Chicago during the year 1892, and
the effect of that settlement will be
the same that we saw when for ten
long years the Democratic party stood
here and contended that the tariff was
a national, and therefore of necessity
a party question, and the minority Of
the party in this House, led by one of
the ablest Democrats that this genera
tion has produced, were driven by the
necessity of party action to take their
stand within the ranks Of the party,
Tor to go to the other side of the cham
Der. [Applause.l
In support of my position as DEM
ocratic Representative from the State
of Missouri / reproduce the declaration
on this subject embodied in the plat
form adopted by the State convention
held at st. Joseph, Mo-, June IL, 1890,
which was as follows:
We are In favor of the free and unrestricted
coinage of silver and the increase of currency
TO meet the legitimate demands of trade and
we believe that the power to issue and control
the volume of such currency should be exercised
by the government.
The last expression on the part OF
any representative body of Democrats
in the State of Missouri upon this sub
ject was series of resolutions passed
by the General Assembly of the State
of Missouri, copy of which / pre-.
sented to the House, and which was
published in the Record, in which they
declared that in order that the
volume of money may be increased We
favor the free and unlimited coinage
of silver
This was on the 10Th day Of January
1891.
Since the resolutions of the Missouri
Legislature that have referred to were