The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1892-09-01
SETH SHEPARD CALLS COKE TO
TIME

| IIME.
If Senator Coke was at all familiar
with the history of the creation of the
Democratic platform in Chicago, his
late reconciliation of the Hogg plat
torm with it, indeed entities him to
the sobriquet OF sold Brains"-brains
to excuse, palliate and extenuate. But
the Hon. Seth Shepard thus pointedly
calls him back to the facts in the case:
The position of Senator Coke, that
there is no conflict between the na-
tional and state platforms on this point
is utterly untenable. Ex-Senators
Reagan and Chiffon took no such posi-
ton in the debate. The great import
ance of this silver question was 1ully
realized by the platform committee at
Chicago. Cleveland's views were we'll
known and his friends constituted a
majority of the committee. EX-Con-
gresham Patterson of Colorado and
Senator Daniel of Virginia, both free
silver men like Senator Coke, were on
the subcommittee, and it was under
stood that the point was discussed for
many hours. Patterson brought
the matter before a full COM
mittee and begged for a change,
which was denied. He appealed
to the convention, combining his mo-
ton there to the insertion of one word,
and was voted down. He returned to
Colorado, repudiated the platform and
has carried over his paper, The
Rocky Mountain News, the hitherto
Democratic organ of Colorado, to sup
port Weaver. The Chicago platform
demands an honest silver dollar.
worth 100 cents in gold. 1t means a
return to bi-metalism upon sound,
honest and permanent basis. To OBJ
tain sure and lasting ratio between
silver and gold it relies upon agree
ment with the leading commercial
nations of the world, by which it
alone can be obtained at anything
like the present one and upon legis-
lation confirming the same. The es-
Adjustment Of the original ratio of
5 to by act of congress in 1902 was
Upon the supposition that this was
the true prOportionate value of the
two metals throughout the world.
This was afterwards found to be erro-
neous and by an act of 1884 the change
was made to the present ratio
of l6 to l by reducing the
number of grains in the gold
dollar. The question was then re.
garded as it should be now, as one of
economics and not politics To illus.
trate the extreme thinness of the SEN
ator's statement l read the clause of
the Weaver platform adopted at Oma-
ha July 4: "We demand the free and
unlimited coinage of silver and gold
at the present legal ratio of ID to ~
There is certainly no difference be.
tween this and the Houston platform.
The latter demands the free and un-
limited coinage of silver at the cratic
heretofore provided by law" which is
OF course the "siXteen to onen demand
at Omaha. This is what the senator
voted for and for what he is commend
ed by the Houston platform. He
should also receive the thanks of the
ihlrd party in convention assembled.
ANY man with ordinary sense can see
that the Houston convention rejected
the platform of Cleveland and &C.
cepted that of Weaver. The awk-
wardness of the situation will be bet
ter realized when the Third party
electors and congressional nominees
meet ours on the stump and demand
TO know upon which platform they
stand.
1t is privileged to every man to
state his own views and convictions,
put these cannot altar the standing of
cold facts. That the Hogg conven-
ton refused point blank to adopt the
silver plank of the national Democratic
platform is matter of history. That
IL did so for purpose Mr.. Chiffon can
De taken as authority. And that
while refusing to adopt the national
utterance on the silver question it re-
cited aplank totally at variance with
the wishes of the national Democracy
Senator Coke nor anyone else can sue
cessfully dispute or deny.
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A "COMPOSITE NATYON.u
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