The Ketchum keystone. [volume] (Ketchum, Idaho) 1885-1899, 1892-01-02
A Confirmed Habit.

the matter was so extraordinary a
to justify the mention Of it in tn
bible. Nowadays, however, speech
making by the descendants OF tn
Balaamic beast has become 80 com
mon as to be regarded as confirme'
habit, and it rarely serves to excit'
comment even. The speeches 0
the animals of late years general,
concern the free coinage of silver
about which they know as little a
does a parrot about the significance
of the mimic profanities in which i
seems to delight to indulge. Nov
and then, however, an ass with mor'
lungs than is possessed by the av
erage of his tribe speaks in notes o
such torturing loudness as to cal
for reproof. A case in point is founc
in the late utterances Of James G
Carlisle, of Kentucky. That emf
nent donkey got himself interviewed
by a Salt Lake Herald reporter or
the subject of free coinage, anc
lacking originality to produce ar
idea of his own, plagiarized the i'd
iotcy put into the mouths of Cleve
land and Harrison by Sherman
and with that ready-made imbecil
ity to serve him, declared that hi
thought every dollar in circulation
among the masses should be al
good as any dollar that circulate:
in financial circles" He opposes {
free coinage plank in the democratic
national platform; thinks Govern
or Hills proposition to adopt 9
standard of 154 to worse than free
coinage under our present ratio
The free coinage of the American
product would, in the alleged opin.
ion of this barbarian oracle, be
"worse for the people than any plan
yet adopted" insomuch as it would
donate all the difference between
coinage value and the bullion value
to the owner of the mines, and to
Spectators" 1t is strange and dis
couraging to find a man of Mr.. Car
isles reputation so totally blind as
to be unable to see that in case of
free coinage, silver, like gold, would
have but one value, and that its
coinage value. But when Mr.. Car
Isle talks about this difference
amounting to $72,O00,OOO in thir-
teen ycars-going into the treasury
to the credit of the taxpayers, he
talks still more like a fool; for it is
shown by that fact to be a special
tax unlawfu]ly levied upon the sill
yer miner, fact Mr.. Carlisle con-
veniently overlooks.
Moreover, Mr.. Carlisle would
keep silver out of the campaign in
1892, but he will find that to be an
impossibility. The silver question
will be in the campaign in 1892, and
will be powerful factor in decid-
ing the result of that campaign,
and this will be so whether it is in
the democratic platform or not, and
whether a free coinage bill shall
pass this winter or not; but it will
affect the democratic more imme-
diately and more benefcially or in
juriously than it will the republican
party, no matter what action is
taken or omitted to be taken. Two
thirds of the people outside of New
England are favorable to free coin
age. These people have learned to
look to the democratic party rs the
champion of that measure. They
look to the democratic party and to
them alone for relief from the finan-
cial stress into which they were
forced by the demonstration of
silver. Therefore, if the present
Congress shall pass a free coinage
law and Mr.. Harrison shall sign it,
the fact will go out to the country
that the democratic party has forced
President Harrison to accept the
alternative Of free coinage or the
odium of having vetoed a measure
so wholesome and SO popular with
the masses. Should Mr.. Harrison
veto the bill, which he would prob
ably do, the act would make the
democratic party a million votes,
as it could then 60 before the coun-
try in 1892 and say, 1--WE enacted a
free coinage law, and republican
president vetoed it. Now, if you
really desire free coinage, give us
democratic president and we will
'eenact the law, our president will
sign it and we shall have what we
lesire." With such record we
could carry Colorado, Idaho, Mon
ana and Nevada. We could go into
New York, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio,
Wisconsin, Minnesota, Nebraska
md all the Southern states greatly |
strengthened, and with the prece-
lent Of having legislated in con-
ormity with the will of the people. |!
Ne would be weakened only in New
england, and possibly not there,
g those states are anxious for tariff
eform and would accept silver
oinage as sooner than sacrifice the
Measure they love more than they
late bimetallism.
But to attempt to leave silver
oinage out of the campaign in 1892
would be to make it more powerful
=, Tho coropo;rn and if tho DEM |