Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1893-09-02
SILVER AND SOUTH.
SENATOR VANCE SPEAKS AGAINST
THE REPEAL MEASURE.
Mr, Cleveland Criticised-Democrats
Accused of Violating Party Pledges
Reply to Governor Gordon.
By telegraph to the DIspatch)

bill He spoke against repeal ana TOOK
occasion to criticise the administration
and the democrats who have arrayed
themselves on the side of repeal.
The discussion OF this question. Mr.
Vance said. was narrowed by the fact that
al parties profess bimetalism and nave
declared for the use Of both gold ana
silver In their platforms. The conditions
attached to these professions OF bimetal-
lism we're. Mr.. Vance said, so various that
It could hardly be conceived that all were
acting In good faith. With all the grave
pledges OF their party PLATFORM state
and national, staring them in the face' as
well as their own speeches, promises ana
votes in the past. blowing trumpet tongued
against the deep damnation OF the tax
ing off Of silver. some Senators clamored
al the fercer and all the louder that the
only way TO save silver was TO repeal
the one law on the statute book when
gives 1t life. In the presence OF a position
So defiant OF logic and OF fact 1t was
hard to speak plainly without appearing
tu violate those courteses which were de-
NJ nded by feelings OF personal respect
aud regard for each other. Members OF
Congress declared they loved silver
money. blmetallism. therefore they slew
It. They wanted both metals, therefore
tley abolished the one. They wanted golC
ard silver coined on terms Of equality ac-
cdrding TO their platform, and so they
stopped coming silver. They desired to
maintain the parity, but cut the only
cord that held silver up and permitted 1t
to drop out OF sight.
CLEVELAND AND THE SOUTH.
II such an Interpretation of the demo-
cratic platform as was contended for
hGfe by those who will vote for repeal,
ard presumably by the President, had
been announced during the campaign OF
the last year. Mr.. Vance said he was
quite sure Mr. Cleveland would not have
carried his State CNorth Carolina) by
5000 votes: and he believed further that
he could not have carried a single cleo
tOfai vote south of the Potomac river. 1t
WAS said that there was no abandonment
of the Chicago platform in the uncOndi-
tional repeal of the Sherman law, but
only a postponement. He wondered II in
any of our political literature. rich as IL
is TN ingenuity and device. full as II Is
OF eloquence and true genius, oyer-bur-
dened as IL Is with every conceivable and
DlfOflttlNdDit NpiHl VI NlA'tNeAAisiA "'''A
humbuggery. after n hundred years Of
free government, wherein men Of all
opinions have had n chance to ventilate
them. anything could be found approach
ing i'm absurdity the incorporation in this
bill OF a part Of the Chicago platform?
Was there ever n cat trotting throug.
the tangled tickets of the Alleghenies or
roaming over the barren wilds OF the
Rocky Mountains. so wild and untamable
as this cat? Was there ever any bug as
covered and classified by science with n
hum equal to the hum Of this bug? The
Democratic party i'm 1854, 1883 and again
i'm 1909 made certain pledges to the peo-
pie that they would make certain tinan-
cial pledges II the people would only put
them in power where they could enact
laws Last year it promised to secure
the use Of both gold and silver as cur
rency and maintain the parity or
! two. These promises were contained In
one ragraph, and In good faith are
not separable. They constituted scheme
by which the financial Tolicy of the
country was to be reformed. and honor
anG fair dealing required those promises
10 be carTied out together. Democrats
were nut In power. and Mr. Cleveland,
though known 10 be personally hostile to
the use of silver. was elected because tho
Dt0Dit UtlltFEl lildtN llt nPNtN 49, , ~f'
in g,'od faitn the promises maae for him
I'm the platform to which he acceded
I'm his letter OF acceptance In the fulfill
ment OF these promises the first thing
done was to yield to the clamor cf cap
italists and anticipate the regular session
Of Congress for the sole purpose OF stop
ping the coinage of silver and nothing
more.
REPEAL WILL COME.
Mr. Vance conceded that the repeal pro-
gram was likely to be carried out but
asked what would be done with the re-
mainder OF the platform. The banks and
stock broking gamblers were given all
they wanted under this BILL but the Amer
lean people were put off with still another
promise. II the promises at Chicago were
not good. how. he inquired. would the
promises inserted in the law become
any better? The President, In his mes
sage. did not intimate that anything more
was to be given. and the promises con-
tanned In the bill were of so general ma
ture as 70 be evasive and indefinite. III
the party intended to enact the laws 1t
had promised It should do it now. II the
party was acting in good faith it would
carry out those pledges now, and II the
friends OF that platform let go of what
they had before they got something else
In exchange how could they justify them
selves before their people? IL asked why
he could not trust the future for the
enactment OF those laws which ought
to come concurrent with the repal OF
the Sherman act. Mr.. Vance SAID ms an
swer would be more nearly the truth than
theirs-he had no confidence. Being once
deceived he could not accept any more
promises as those Of honest and re-
sponsible men.
ANSWER TO GORDON.
In reply to Senator Gordon's query why
the friends OF silver halted between un-
conditional and conditional repeal, Mr..
Vance said that by conditional repeal we
united the Democratic party, or at least
all true friends of bimetallism. BY the
proposition of unconditional repeal that
was impossible. Bimetallism was the
most popular. If not the most potential,
factor in the last campaign; 1t was the
one plank common to all platforms. "A
comparison Of votes in Congress and con-
ventlons before and after the proposed
repeal would form a contrast that would
put to shame the wonder inspiring patent
medicine advertisements-"befo and af-
ter taking"
Referring to General Gordon's change of
front. he said he believed he would be
condemned out of his own mouth, and
would be compelled to say, like the wild
eyed. long haired man who accompanied
the temperance lecturer, II go along to
serve as a frightful example" Giving
and taking was fair. but when one side did
all the giving and the other side all the
taking. it amounted to a surrender. Thir-
" days from this time all distractions TO
the business of the world would have
passed away and to-day, according to the
leading financial papers, an upward ten
dency was everywhere manifested. lie
called upon his friends TO take heart and
stand by the object OF their love little
while longer. To insist upon repeal In
the face OF the admitted fact that the
/ Sherman law was not the cause OF the
trouble was an Acknowledgement that 1t
could not be repealed without some SUBJ
stitute i'm cold blood and in times Of rea-
sonable prosperity.
APPEAL TO DEMOCRATS.
In view of the altitude OF the Presi-
dent. he knew. and other Senator's knew,
that any bill providing for either the free
coinage or the limited coinage Of silver
could not become a law, and TO permit
the passage OF this bill without attaching
some other legislation TO it-knowing that
1 F.s1a D.