The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1893-10-31

/ am in favor OF the immediate and un.
; conditional repeal of the purchasing
clause of the so-called Sherman law
In order to bring this matter square.
ly before the Senate and the country
J will suppose that the quotation have
J made from the Presidents letter had
been offered in the Chicago convention
as the financial plank in the Demo.
cratic platform. 1t would have read as
follows:
.The Democratic party is opposed
to the free and unlimited coinage OF
silver by this country alone and fnde-
pendently; and in favor Of the imme-
diate and unconditional repeal of the
purchasing clause OF the so.called
Sherman law"
How many States in the West and
South would have voted for such de-
claration in the platform lam sure it
would not have received the support OF
a single Southern State.
do not believe that single dele
gate from any Southern State can be
found whe will say that it was his un-
derstanding or that Of any other dele
gate in the convention, or that such
an understanding was suggested in the
convention, that the platform as adopt
ed could possibly be construed to mean
or that it could be perverted or dis
torted to mean that the Democratic
party was opposed to the free and un-
limited coinage of silver on any ratio
between the two metals by this coun-
try alone and. Independently of any
agreement with foreign nations. The
platform as adopted expressly declared
for the equal use of both gold and sill
YER as standard money and not the use
of one as standard and the other as
subsidiary money-pin money in the
retail trade-and the free coinage of
both without discrimination on ratio
to be determined by an international
agreement OF this country alone and
independently by Congressional legis-
lation.
The demand for the unconditional
repeal of the purchasing clause of the
so-called Sherman law for The purpose
publicly avowed by the President in
his message and his Northen letter,
and repeated by 90 per cent. of his
Democratic supporters and all OF his
Republican friends, of closing the door
to any more expansion of our silver
currency by this country alone and in
dependently unless we can in the in
definite future restore silver to coin
ago in the mints of Europe as we'll as
in the United States by some interna-
tional agreement, is an Interpolation
which materially changes the Demo-
cratic platform by striking out the
only provision in it which secured the
support of the Democrats of the South
and the West, and that is the plain de-
claration that the bimetallism defined
in the platform could and would be Sc
cured in one of two oways-internationa
agreement or by Congressional legisla-
tion by this country alone and indie
pently of any agreement with foreign
| nations.
But now the Southern and Western
Democracy are informed for the first
time, after they have put Mr.. Cleve-
land and the Eastern Democracy in
power, that there must be an immedi-
ate repeal OF the Sherman law and no
more coinage of silver by this country
alone and independently and that we
must wait and depend upon European
nations for any more expansion of our
silver currency.
And yet the President expresses his
" astonishment at the opposition in the
Senate to such prompt action as would
relieve the present unfortunate situa-
! tion." Action demanded alone by the
bankers and bondholders and money
lenders of New York and Boston and
the editors and correspondents in their
service action that would relieve the
|
that there was to no more "silver coin
age by this country alone and inde-
pendently" and only by an interna-
tional agreement which Wall street
| money kings would have an influential
part in formulating.
] am satisfied that nine-tenths of the
unconditional repealers do not desire
free coinage or any coinage of silver
by an international agreement, and l
| \ l~11.
land desires it, or will make any earn
est effort to secure it. He has never
said ho expected or desired any inter-
national agreement. My opinion is
that the President entertains the sim
cere conviction that we now have as
much silver as we can possibly utilize
in our circulation, in accordance with
his gold-standard opinions ,ana 'h"t "e
can go n" ss;,o. H., 40 doy s,nvor ,;n Goltdse thst
separates us from silver monometal-
lism. That is the opinion OF the Presi-
dent and the Eastern Democrats and
Republicans on the question of the ex-
| pansion Of our silver currency and the
undertaking to hold on to both silver
and gold as standard money, and the
coinage OF both gold and silver with
| out discrimination against either
| metal.
IL ~ GnlS opinion Vi Uno GreSlQenG
and the East that unites them in MAX
| ing the persistent and uncompromis-
ing demand for the unconditional ree
peal Of the purchasing clause of the
sO-called Sherman law; and it is this
clearly defined line of radical differ
ences that separates the President and
the Democracy of the East from the
Democratic platform and the Western
and Southern Democracy, who consti-
tute 80 or 90 per cent of the elective
power of the Democratic party.
Mr.. President, the plain reason for
the difference between the East and
the South and the West on the curren-
J cy question is that the undisputedr fact
the East is the creditor section, just as
] England is the creditor nation, and the
South and the West are the debtor
sections. And this fact also explains
| why the East, in the United States,
and England agree in opinion and are
in hearty cooperation in the under
taking to force this country to the
gold basis. Lombard street, in Lon
don, and Wall street, in New York,
are the money centers In these coun-
tries, and it Is there that tho maga-
zines are located that furnish all the
ammunition in the war on silver.
Mr.. President, we have heard the
cry that the majority must rule: that
the Senate must exercise the power of
| lself-pOvernment THAT 10 oil riuht