Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1894-03-31
SATURDAY.......M MARCH 81, 1894
The Veto Message-Again

No one can read carefully the Presi-
6ents message vetoing the seigniorage
hill without pcrceiving that it caused
him much regret TO be compelled by his
sense OF public duty to differ in opinion
with the friends of that measure. inns
fact crops out in every part OF the mes
sage. and gives to it tone which ought
TO convince every reader what IL was
that Influenced him to withhold his as
sent from the bill in question. Indeed
IL may bc said that the President SHOWS
SO manifest a disposition to concede al
that he could conscientiOusly coneede 10
the advocates of the seigniorage bill, mat
his message almost seems to come from
some per, unaccustomed to his outspoken
manner In former messages. We make TINS
remark 10 call attention TO the Presi-
dents earnest effort TO show that his
view of the matter IS the correct one,
and not because we suppose that he had
in writing his message any assistance
from his Cabinet or other persons, ex-
cept such assistance as a President al
ways has in preparing such documents.
We are inclined to the opinion that this
veto message is the ablest State paper
which has ever been prepared by Mr.
Cleveland. It's arguments may not con-
vince the public that he is right in his
views. but they will surely satisfy them
of his power with the pen. Mr. Bland
seemed to think that he had made a
H.. Il N
as representing the views OF college pro-
fessors and sticklers as TO grammatical
accuracy: but It seems 10 us that the
President was careful not to stick in the
bark" nor 10 become anceps verborum.
on the contrary. he appears to have been
oppressed with a sense of the grave ma
ture Of the responsibility which he as
sumed in thus running counter to the
wishes of the people. His language shows
that he realized the fact that majority
of his own PARTY friends. IL not OF the
people of the entire country, would con-
denim his message, if not himself
II the platform of the last Democratic
National Convention had candidly stated
the position Of the Democratic party or
the silver question, all differences Of opin-
ion on that subject would have been ad-
tusted Iong ago. But that platform was
made susceptible of two constructions.
Silver Democrats placed one construction
upon it. and gold Democrats placed an
other construction upon it. Both fac
tions professed to endorse the following
utterance:
eve hold to the use of both gold and
silver as the standard money of the
country. and to the coinage of both gold
and silver without discrimination against
either metal or charge for mintage. but
the dollar unit of coinage Of both metals
must be of equal intrinsic and exchange
able value" etc. etc.
One faction construed this language to
mean that a silver dollar must have
a gold dollars worth of silver In it.
and the other faction construed the same
utterance TO mean that silver ought 10
be coined free of charge, and that the
ratio between silver and gold ought TO
be 16 to /. 1t was inevitable that veto
should follow the attempt to put the free
coinage constructions upon that language.
So. too, the language Of the bill TO
repeal the Sherman law perpetuated the
same two differing utterances as to the
position of the Democratic party on the
silver question. What else could the
President hold the following language
to mean If not what the bill itself seemed
TO declare TO be the creed Of the Demo-
cratic party? That bill declares for
1.-THE maintenance of the parity in value
Of the coins of the two metals, ard the
equal power of every dollar at all times
IN the markets and in the payment of
debts"
We might almost say that by the use
of the language last above quoted, as
well as that of the Chicago platform on
the same subject the Democrats who
made those utterances deceived them
selves, not the public. They fattered
themselves that the two factions could
and would come together. and the Demo-
cratic party be saved from dissensions
and the country from ruin. The veto
message IS based upon the New Eng
land and New York construction OF the
language we have quoted, and the con-
tention of the free-coinage Democrats is
based upon the southern and western
construction OF the same language.
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