Evening capital journal. (Salem, Or.) 1888-1893, 1892-07-18
FROM The STRIKERS.
News sf All Sorts Political,
Congress, Social, Etc.
What President Newlands Thinks
Tho Duty of the Electors.

tno Duty OF the 6iectors'
HELENA, Mont, July 1S.-Before
the adjournment of the mining con-
rress, Francis @. Newlands, Of Ne
vada, president of the congress, adj
dressed the convention on the sub
ject Of of the Independence of presi-
Dental electors. He said that he
was Republican, but that his 10y
s atty was due, not to the Republican
Z party of Massachusetts,, nor to New
York, but to the Republican party
Of Nevada; that the latter party had
mover yet hesitated to instruct Its
representative to act, independent
Of party if necessary, In the interest
OF silver, upon which industry the
prosperity of the state depended;
that silver was on the decline, and
would continue TO decline If Its full
monetary use were not restored,
which could only he done by fire,
coinage; that the Republican party
lad bimetallic plank in its plat
form, intended to have n,ie meaning
In the East and another in the
West. In the East it was intended
to mean the free coinage Of gold and
the limited coinage of silver. In The
West II was free coinage for both.
All the West demanded was In case
Afier 20 years Of agitation and dis
cussIon free'coinage bill should
hereafter be passed, the popular will
should not be defeated by presi.
dental veto. The platform Of both
parties was the same on this subject
and before the West casts its vote
f,r any presidential candidate 1t has
the right to require from him al
explicit avowal on the subject. IL
dependent electors are especially
charged to act for the silver cause,
rather than to vote for any individ.
ual. If before the next election the
question can be settled by or In
national conference, or otherwise
successfully, the electors from these
state, may cast their votes for their
party candidate; but otherwise be-
fore casting such vote, II they could
Inquire of their candidate his views
on the question Of presidential
veto, any answer 10 such question
would not be unfair To the self-res-
pect or dignity of the presidential
candidates. If, as was claimed by
some Democrats in mining states,
Cleveland would not oppose the
popular will bv veto, and If, ar
claimed by Republicans, adherents
of Harrison, he would not also, why
were not the electors of the mining
states entitled to direct positive
statement from the candidates be-
fire discharging their trust by de-
positing their votes? Were the
silver men content to win every |
redoubt and then abandon the at
tempt to secure the last redoubt but
the one without which victory was
The situation was
serious one. II the mining states
we're not careful they stood In dan
ger by their essential votes of put
lug Ia power man whose power
would be equal to two-thirds of the
lenAte and house. 1t would be
li1icult to pass free coinage bill
through both houses Of congress.
that dsht must be takeu up and
enewed with dauntless courage.
}ut how hopeless task If the pres.
Ilential veto was to be interposed.
'0ur years more of falling to pieces
nd ruin of Its money metal would
lace the country irretrieyable under |,
be slavery Of the gold trust. He
I'D the measure he advocated did
ot Involve the support Of third
Arty, 1t made q third party un-
ecessary In the mining states, as |,
oth the existing parties could nom- :
|ate party electors and bind them
exercise their trust In the interest
these states indefinitely If neces- G
~, unless requisite assurance were c
ven by the candidate. His view t
= that all parties in the mining d
ktes, Democratic, Republican or
,ople's party, should act with j
|rmony on this subject, and thus 4
election Of any candidate @
president who would propose, y
Ter so lpng an agitation, to over '
'wer and dominate the popular Il
III. G