The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1893-07-25
SENATOR vANcE's LETTER.

we T6DTOQuC6 AOA SN~
Observer a remarkable letter written
nv Senator Vance to Bro. r W. Elliott,
Secretary of M cklepburg County Ali
ance, after the Senator had received a
copy of resolutions passed by Mecklen-
burg County Alliance.
1t has fallen like a bomb shell in the
State. Those Democrats who have left
their moorings and are drifting after
Wall street and London ~plutocracy
will be greatly shocked. So far as
known, Senator Vance has always been
on the rightside in regard to free coin
age. But up to last year his party
favored free coinage in most Of its plat
forms. However, last year the gold
bugs got complete possession Of the
leaders, nationally, and for some time
the party organs and leaders have been
falling on Bonded knees to the gold
bugs. This, the Senator declares and
plainly and emphatically says, that he
is not going with the party to its W
ruin and the ruin of the country. He
declares that the panic is fraud, just
as we have done all the time. The
money stringency and concentration is
real, but the panic, as we now see 1t,
was p~recipitated or FASTENED for the
sole purpose of creating sentiment in
favor of gold and against silver.
The question is, has Senator Vance
repented, is he sorry for the course he
took three years ago after he intro
duced the Sub Treasury bill9 His
course then was severely criticized by
many of his personal and party friends.
They believed then and believe yet,
that he treated them very badly. They
did not lose all confidence in him, for
he had been with and for the people.
But he yielded to some influence and
left them. Yet some of them forgave
the first offence, and when he volun-
tarily gave the legislature his solemn
pledge that he would advocate every
plank in the Ocala platform, the Sub
Treasury included, provided none of
the planks were unconstitutional "he
received a decided majority for re
election TO the U. S. Senate, thoughthe
votes were given rather reluctantly by
some. Since his re election he has been
very quiet. Much of the time he has
been sick.
This letter puts him on record again.
1t is a strong document for the reform
organizations and reform party. The
declarations and admissions, coming
from that source are both unexpected
and startling.
One peculiar feature is that the Sena-
tor says he has listened in vain for
the Farmers Alliance to sound their
opinions" and that he lis glad tn So
this, the first official utterano6% If
we know anything about it, this is not
the first '~'utterance' the Senator has
heard. In 1889-9O Alliances all over
the country piled ~'utterances" in the
shape of petitions around Senator
Vance until he could not see over the
top of them. In 1891 the Alliance
legislature gave him ''oficial utter
ance" by pledging him to support these
very things before they would agree
to send him back to the Senate. Has
he forgotten all this7 Must he get
official utterances" every day in order
to keep his memory fresh9
At any rate, the Senator has broken
out in an unexpected place. He has
voluntarily gone on record against the
Wall street, gold bug, plutocratic,
cringing politician end of his party.
The future will show what the party
will do with him and what the Senator
will do with himself. Will he prove
his sincerity by his works2