Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1894-04-06
SHORT SIGHTED POLITICIANS.

Mr.. Cleveland has laid his country under
another lasting obligation to him by veto
ing that wildcat silver scheme called the
seigniorage bill. One proposition that he
makes to the silver majority in Congress
whether in irony or not we will not say
goes to the root of the whole matter. He
says you can have the seigniorage if you
will vote the government authority to boz
row gold to redeem it when it is brought
back to the Treasury again. The Treasury
has been nearly bankrupted in the last year
in its efforts to keep gold aud silver on a
parity; it has had to borrow fifty millions
of gold on bonds to do it; now If you
wish to try the experiment over again, you
must provide for borrowing gold to meet it !!
But no Congressman meets shy intro
ducing bill authorizing the government
to borrow the gold. No; they have accom-
plished their demagogic purpose. They
have fixed it so thai they can in their fight
for denomination this summer, tell the
silver Democrats, Of whom they imagine
there are many among the people, that they
did all they could for silver but Cleveland
who held the veto power spoiled it all
They are now preparing for carrying out
this programme, 10y dismal stories of the
great havoc Clevcland's veto will play with
the Democratic party i'll the South and
West.
There are few things more short sighted
than politicians. They are doubly afflicted;
they are short sighted i their hind sight as
well as their foresight. The men who are
antagonizing the Democratic administra
ton to day Oh its silver policy, are making
the mistake of their political lives-a mis-
take that is about to end many Of those
political lives, as the number OF new can
didate5 for the congressional nomination s
in Virginia already shows. These new can
didates for Democratic nominations have
found out that they have good ground to
weapon to use against a congressman THAI!
the charge that he is antagonlziHg Demo
cratic administration that has its roots III
the hearts of the people. Why, think you,
are Democratic candidates springing up
against the incumbents in almost every
district in Virginia-a most unusual sight
in this State? 1t is because the aspirants be-
lieve that the people are with Cleveland, and
that the congressman are not.
But are the Democrats Of the South and
West against Cleveland as alleged by those
silver congressman, OF are they against the
congressman For reliable information Oil
this question we Shall have to refer these
latter to their hindsight. Three years ag O.,
in the year 1891, and the month Of Februa-
ry, there was an overwhelming demand
among the rank and file of the Democratic
party for the denomination Of Grover Cleve-
land. That honest and frank man took
that year and that month, as the time to
write his famous letter against the idea Of
free silver coinage without some safe guard
to keep silver ON a parity with gold. Con-
gress was in session at Washington, and it
may here be remarked that since his first
term congressman as rule had not been ell
thusiastic for Cleveland. They gave their
opinions freely Mr.. Bland, the author OF
the just killed seigniorage bill, sail Mr..
Cleveland's letter makes his candidacy for
the Presidency ridiculous. He will have
no following west Of the Allegheny noun
tains." Mr.. Tillman, the present Cover
nor OF South Carolina, who as a congress
man was a Democratic Populist OIL Popu-
listjc Democrat it was hard to tell which,
said: 81 regard MI. Cleveland as po]iti-
cally dead, and l would not like to kick a
dead man." MI. Hurd of Missouri, said
the letter puts Cleveland oat OF the race.
Sayers of Texas, thought the letter would
give life and activity to the Third Party
Movement. And so they went. We all
remember how it was with the Virginia
delegation III congress; ont Of twelve Dem
Ocratic Senators and congressman from
Virginia, Eo5 more thln three favored
Cleveland denomination. o.. ole point Il
large majority of the Democrats serving in
that congress were solid, and That WAS that
after his letter taking that position Oh sill
yer, the Democratic people Of the country
would never renominate him. They were es
pecially certain that the people of the West
and South could not he induced to give their
voice for his denomination, just as they
are to-day that the people Of the South and
West will be driven off from supporting
his administration by the veto of the seig
niorage bill. The result showed that the
people OF those sections did not back the
congressman, and that their confidence in
Cleveland was supreme. Here is the vote
of the two sections named, in the single
ballot taken in the Democratic National