The western sentinel. [volume] (Winston-Salem, N.C.) 1887-1926, 1893-08-10
VANCE ANSWERED.


Few people can admit that Sena
tor Vance has added to his reputa-
ton by his recent letter to the Meek
lenburg county Alliance or by his
more recent letter to the Charlotte
Observer. The Senator objects to
the intinuation in the Charlotte paper
that in refusing ''to favor the IN
conditional repeal of the Sherman
law" he occupies a position Eat
variance with that of his party"
The Baltimore Sun contains an
able editorial which we take the
liberty of reproducing almost entire
ly, and which seems to us to dispose
quite ef1ectually of the argument of
the Senator from whose letter is
taken this quotation:
He says: 1.-The Chicago platform
demands inter altos the repeal of the
Sherman law as a cOwardly make
shift, an obstruction to the free coin
age of silver, &c. The obvious mean
ing of this is, if that law was out OF
the way we could have free coinage
Il quote from memory, having no
copy of the platform before me-
This is one of the things | propose to
put in the place of the Sherman law;
aud | propose to vote against it's
repeal unless that be done. If my
party is opposed to that, then its
utterances at Chicago were insincere
and intended to deceive; if it was
sincere, then | am trying to stand on
the platform.
Quoting from memory is always
dangerous, when the question is one
of words and their meaning. 1t is
unnecessary to say that there is no
such language in the Chicago plat
form as that the Sherman law is IAN
obstruction to the free coinage OF
silver" or anything like it. The con-
clusion on Senator Vance's part that
| 1.-THE obvious meaning" of this Ian
guage is that eff that law (the Sher-
man law were out of the way we
could have free coinage" is, there
fore, without foundation in fact, and
a matter OF opinion merely.
Hereis what the platform does say,
and it is quite different from what
Senator Vance suppOses:
1--WE denOunce the Republican leg
| islation known as the Sherman act
of 1890 as a cowardly makeshift
| fraught with possibilities of danger
in the future, which should make all
[ of it's supporters as well as its
author, anxious for its speedy repeal.
We hold to the use of both gold and
| silver as the standard money of the
country, and to the coinage of both
gold and silver without discrimina-
ton against either metal or charge for
mintage, but the dollar unit OF coin
age of both metals must be of equal
intrinsic and exchangeable value, or
be adjusted through international
agreement, or by such safeguards OF
legislation as shall insure the main
tenance of the parity of the two
metals, and the equal power OF
every dollar at all times in the
markets and in the payment ofdebts,
and we demand that all paper cur
rency shall be kept at par with and
redeemable in such coin.
Eve insist upon this policy as
especially necessary for the protec-
ton of the farmers and lahorlng
classes, the first and most defense
less victims of unstable money and a
fuctuating currency.
This is the exact text of tie plat
form, of which, unfortunately, Sena-
tor Vance confesses that he had no
copy before him, when he wrote. lie
would have done well to have re-
Trained from writing until he had an
opportunity of refreshing his recol-
lection. 1t will be observed, particu-
larly, that the free coinage of silver
and gold, without discrimination
cor charge for mintage," is that of
coins of equal intrinsic and exchange
able value. It is not the free coinage
of sixty-cent or seventy -cent or a
ninety cent silver dollar, but of a
silver dollar of equal intrinsic value
with the gold dollar 1t is further
to be observed that the alternate
plan of an international agree
ment, or safeguards of legislation