Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1892-04-14
The Silver Situation.

--Sp"~>> - "~>S~>~Se>~>~s
That no action will be taken on the
free coinage of silver in the present
congress is now pretty generally con-
coded. AS democrat who believes
that a free coinage law would be a
benefit to the entire country we regret
that our lower house of congress did
not put itself on record unanimously in
favor of the Bland bill. even though it
is known that the president veto and a
republican senate pledged to stand by
Wall Street stood in the way of final
passage Of the measure.
( In speech in the senate on the 9th
Senator Wolcott sized up the situation
from the stand point Of the western
republicans who favored the measure,
He said" 1.-The silver bill, has been put
to sleep in the house and the-senate
might as we'll face the truth on the
silver question. Nobody expected the
measure to become law during this
administration, because the present
chief executive last summer fore
Swallowed his veto. and those in his
counsel had openly proclaimed it since.
The friends Of silver, however, had
hoped that it would at least sc ore some
advantage at this session.
IF the votes of the two houses had
been polled in December there would
have been clear majority of SO for free
silver coinage in the other body and
majority OF II in this. But today, if
vote were had on the motion to take
the silver bill from the calendar, it
would not be carried. So the friends of
silver were lelsS fighting the air on a
series of general resolutions. It was a
proper time therefore, for the friends OF
free coinage having practically suffered
defeat, to gather up their wounded and
dead, determine where the deserters
were hidden, force their Entertainments
for the next encounter and stop, if
possible the destructive rear firing,
which had not only damaged, but
surprised them.
1.-The first great force opposed to the
silver bill was in this congress las it
had been for three years. the present
administration. No stone had been
left unturned no effort unemployed to
compass the defeat of the measure.
Tie national convention was soon
coming on and a decisive action on the
silver question was supposed to be
rather embarrassing and thing that
it would he better to avoid. The neces-
sity of veto had to be prevented if
possible; and so the miserable work
had begun.
THE offices had been peddled out,
the party lash had been cracked and
wavering members had been gained.
The work had apparently been effec-
lively done and yet there was always a
tomorrow. Nobody was deceived.
But it would have been a graceful act
in an outgoing president to have per-
mitted the two houses of congress to
vote according to their own inclination
on measure of national importance.
The spectacle, humiliating as it was
was an amazing change of front by a
great section of the democratic par ty.
1t was apparent that the party ia
power would, with negative unanimity
renominate s'the present magnetic exec
utive." Into this expression NJ. Wolcott
threw a most contemptuous emphasis
which attracted much attention.] Not
because, he added, he was the choice of
any considerable body of his party but
because since the letter of retirement
Of the great secretary who had held his