Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1893-10-05

A reporter of THE GAZETTE met L.
Irving Handy, chairman of the Demo-
cratic State Central Committee, Satur-
day, and said: "Mr. Handy, you are
generally supposed to be candidate for
the Congressional nomination next year,
but it has been said that you are in favor
of free silverp Mr.. Handy replied:
81 am free to confess that l should much
like TO have the Democratic Congress-
ional nomination, but in view of the de-
preciated value of silver bullion / am
emphatically not in favor of free silver
coinage. Thatpart of the rumor is alto
gether wrong.
II have been taught and have always
held that the hard money doctrine was
sound doctrine. Gold and silver is the
money of the American people. All
paper money should be redeemable in
coin. When it comes to the coin am
q bimetallist. / believe in the use Of
both gold and silver for money, and
want silver dollar TO be worth just as
much as a gold dollar when both are
coined and also when both are melted.
The last national Democratic platform
expressed my sentiments fully on tine
money question. l do not need to
change letter in that plank.
1.-THE Democratic party, as | under
stand, is for the double standard, and is
equally opposed to the English way,
where they have single gold standard,
and to the Mexican way, where they
have a single silver standard Our
presentsystem of buying4 500, 900 ounces
of silver every month threatens to drive
NO 10 tho ufparla ct1uor az nHa nd fnbaf
would rob our people at one fell blow
of half Of their circulating coin, and the
best half at that; for gold would cease
to circulate as money and would become
a commodity for purchase and specula-
ton"
"You are in favor then of the Repeal
bill?"
d "Certainly. I favor the immediate
repeal Of the silver purchase clause OF
the Sherman act. President Cleveland
is right in the stand he has taken al
that point. That is the first and the
obvious step for our government to take
and it is sufficient step for the moment
The middle of the stream is no place tc
swap horses; and the false policy of the
government, under Republican leader.
ship led us to the brink and plunged u'
lat the moment the Democrats came
into power-into a torrent of danger
and disaster. Let us then repeal thu
Sherman act. When business gets it
foot on firm and prosperous ground onct
more, the time will come to conside
what can and should be done by oul
country to bring the governments of til,
world to a more liberal treatment o
silver"
"You would favor then an interna
tional agreement as to the use Of silver ?
''If the world will agree to the fire.
coinage of silver at stable ratio, thel
we as great silver producing and silve
using country will be gratiiied. If moi
we must look out for ourselves. Per
chance we are strong enough to do il
1t is to be hoped that we will not b
forced to give up the use of silver a
money, but come what may, we mus
keep on hard money basis and max
every dollar as good as the best dollar i
existence"
"How about cloture in the Senate ?"
II hardly know. notice that Sent
tor Gray, in whose judgment hav
great confidence, was quoted in the Ba
timore Sun last week, as opposed to clt
ture. Butsome way must be found will
out too great delay to bring this Repel
bill to vote in the Senate. Not th,
alone. The people want to see vote
the Senate, before the robins nest agail
on the repeal of the Federal Elections la
and on a revenue tariff bill. They wal
the Democratic policy put fully on u
statute book. That is what they sal
last November. Then, with soun
money, free and fair elections, light
taxation and unfettered business oppo
tunities the country will enter upon
career of progressive prosperity. Pa
tisan clamor, which now attempts
make political capital out of busine
disaster, will be hushed. We will
those wide Republican mouths so fu
of good things that they will forget
say bitter things. They must not, hoy
ever, expect to eat the good fruit
Democratic policy before its roots ha'
been planted in the rich soil of legisl
tion."