The morning news., 1892-03-18
TWODEMOCRATSMAYRUN
THE HARD MONEY AND FREE
COINAGE WINGS MAY SPLIT.

The Scheme Locked Upon as Making
a Democratic President a Certainty
If the New York Democrats Stood
Together for the Hard Money
Ticket-Mighs Throw the Election
Into the House.
WASHINGTON. March 17.-An inde-
pendent democratic candidate for
President on u nafd money platform is the
plan which is being seriously discussed
among the democrats who oppose free COIN
age. Such q ticket will only be nominated
in case the democratic national convention
at Chicago should nominate free coinage
candidate or adopt free coinage platform.
Several democratio senators have been dis
cussing the proper course to take in such an
event, and they agree that a separate ticket
is the only means of saving the country at
once from the dangers of repu blican misruls
and from the debaSement of the currency.
FEELING OF THE EASTERN DEMOCRATS.
The eastern democrats and the hard
money men in the other states are in no
mood to permit trifiing on this question.
They might accept milk and water plat
form with a candidate like ex-Pres dent
Cleveland, Gov. Russell OF Senator Gray
OF Delaware, who was known to be against
free coinage, but they would accept no
candidate whose position was doubtful, and
no candidate who stood on a free coinage
platform. Eastern Representatives say that
a canvass for free coinage candidate or
with free coinage platform, would mean
that the democratic organization in their
state would shrink to a mere skeleton, and
that republican majorties, which are now
counted by hundreds, would then be counted
by tens Of thousands.
BOUND TO RETAIN CONGRESS.
They do not propose to see a solid block
or 100 republican representatives sit in the
next congress from the states north of the
Potomac and east OF the Ohio, it they can
help it. They believe that the people OF
those states believe in the fundamental
democratic doctrines OF local seIf-govern-
ment and tariff reform, and that they will
gladly vote for candidates representing
these ideas If they are purged Of the free
silver heresy. A separate democratic
electoral ticket headed by Mr.. Cleveland,
Gov. Russell, or ex-Secretary Fairchid,
they believe would be practically the only
ticket voted for by democrats in the eastern
states, and that even il the Hill machine
attempted to deliver the vote of New York
for the free coinage ticket the result would
be as strongly for the hard money ticket as
it was in 1S4S for Van Buren, when he ran
against Cass as the representative of the
anti-slavery democrats Of New York.
NO RISK OF DEFEAT.
The Democratic party would run no risk
of defeat if the New York democrats stood
together for the hard-money ticket. That
ticket would sweep the eastern states while
the free coinage ticket would swing Mon
tana and other silver states into the demo>
org NA4-1 r..
simply question after the elec-
tion was over whether the democratic
electors representing the two wings of the
party could be brought together upon the
hard money candidate or whe her the elec-
tion should be allowed to 60 to the House.
Whatever might be the outcome of the
presidential election, separate democratic
| tickets would probably save the House to
the democrats aud prevent the passage of
another force bill. There would probably
be no split between the two clements of the
party in the congressional districts, but local
sentiment would determine whether the
congressional candidate should be hard
money man or free coinage extremist.
ALL LAYING Low.
Democratic members do not like to be
quoted by name regarding this movement
in advance of the action of the democratic
| national convention, but several of them de-
ciAl 1uae sucn noFeulenb "lIl oe neceS"
sary in ca'e the party for the first time in
its history commits itself to the wild iinan-
cial vagaries which have heretofore charac-
terized the Republican party, and that they
might as well join such movement
as to be retired from public
life by overwhelming majorities In the
vain effort to carry their district on free
coinage platform. The more courageous Of
them argue that If the party intends to
commit suicide for the pending election they
might as well go down with their colors
nailed TO the mast of their honest opinious,
as to go down under the condemnation of
their constituents Tor yielding to a craze
which they do not pretend TO believe in.