The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1894-08-07
PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDA
VIEWS.

What the future plans Of the Vermont
| s,atesman are only Mr.. Edmunds knows.
| hated: his zeal in spreading the knowl-
edge OF the principles OF kepublcanism
| is unhagging: his patriotism and Judg-
| ment are as sound as ever they were.
| Perhaps he looks forward to "A return
| 10 public life, It's cares and respOnsib Utilities.
| He is only sixty-six. and In mental and
| physical vlgor. a comparatively young
| man. What the future has in store for
| him, who knows?
There is the milk N the cocoanut. Mr..
| Edmunds would Ike to be his party's
| candidate for the presidency in 1896. and
the interview is the announcement OF
that fact, and the publication OF his
creed.
If Mr.. Edmunds' whole platform was
what he said-and so well said-of the
absurdity Of compelling men to submit
their differences TO arbitration, and
perform the award of the arbitra-
tors. and what he said Of the vital
importance 10 all that there shall
be no debaslng Of our money, he could
not 20 far from right When he ut
tered the following language he said one
OF the truest things that was ever SAID
by any one:
If the Peoples party and labor unions
combined and were able 10 elect Coh-
gress and President. they could then
try 10 make laws such as they desire;
then they could take up ana decide directly
by result the good or otherwise, that IS
they could make fiat money. with when
il has been the universal experience OF
apparent prosperity and sudden ana most
disastrous collapse. In which event the
chief gamers are always those who are
able to take advantage Of the suterngs
OF the people.
That is as true as gospel Imitation Of
the money of the country, by either
cheapening the dollar, as with free sill
yer, or making greater quantities OF 1t
las with inflated paper than the business
Of the country wants. always has and
always Will produce apparent prosperity,
like that which the Virginia boom
brought her a few years back. which
inevitably will and must be followed
by collapse. when the great body of
the people will be plunged into the ut
most poverty and distress. while the
sharpers who trade in the sufferings Of
their fellow men get rich bargains and
make fortunes. Why the benighted peo-
pie who clamOr for a cheap silver dollar
and great quantities of paper money that
cannot be kept at a par with the true
dollar, cannot see this, is TO us absolute
~ astonishing. They are simply counting
their own destruction when they ask that
the standard of value be debased 1t
will not improve their situation in the
smallest particular TO increase the num-
Der OF dollars in the land If there were
one hundred times as many as there are
now they could not get any of them
unless they had something to exchange
which the present holder of the dollar
is willing to give it for and if they have
anything TO exchange for dollars there
is an abundance of dollars TO be exchanged
for what they have. Exchanges are not
effected with dollars but by checks on
banks which pay these checks with other
checks. and behind these checks to make
them good there may not be a cent Of
money. There may be behind them moth
ing but the credit which the drawers
of the checks have from being the owners
of property, and being known to be
men who will back their checks with their
property, without evasion or remon-
STRANGE, whenever 1t becomes necessary.
The Populist need not, therefore, concern
himself about the quantity Of money.
The modern method of doing business
through checks on banks. which steam
and electricity have introduced. has
wholly solved the money problem. 1t is
not quantity Of money that is wanted, but
quality-goOd money. What the Popullst
should concern himself about is getting
something to exchange for money. There
will always be a plenty Of money forth
coming TO exchange for his product If
he works for and gets the product.
1t is strange to find a man talking so
sensibly as Mr.. Edmunds did on arbitra-
tion and finance. utterng such nonsense.
In part, as the following. Continuing. he
said:
should advise the workingman 10
vote Tor the highest protective tariff he
can get anu SuCn financial legislation as
VIII put gold and silver on a parity as
the coin of the country and make an
paper money at all times redCcmable in
that coin
He had previously said:
Il do not know" said Mr. Edmunds.
or any change that should be made in
the tariff or financial issues. nor any
new issue that ought to be put forward
Inc protectlonist Republican party and
the so-called free trade Demo cratic party
are entities. they cannot be spnt up nor
divided. and In principle eacn is wholly
wrong or wholly rgnt. Inc principiee
that underlie the policy OF either party
cannot be changed"
Spoken like a tall man. The two parties
are entities. one of which is wholly right
and the other of which is wholly wr0ng.
The Democratic party POUNDS itself upon
this bottom principle, that all men shall
stand upon footing of perfect equality
before the laws and that TIE laws shall
show favoriilsm to. none aud impose op-
pressions upon none.
The Republican party POUNDS itse'f
upon the bottom principle. that govern
ment shall make laws that favor one set
Of men, and place unfair burdens upon
another set of men. They say they do
this wisely and humanely. and in suca
a way that deserving men are helped
But all the same they do il by maxi
ing one law for one man and another law
for another man, and by placing one sort
OF burden upon one man and another
sort OF burden upon another man. When
they do this they violate the fundamen-
tai principle upon which soc ETY. IS
founded. II they always made their dis
ordinations wisely and humanely. they
would still be determinations. and, there
fore, unfair and unjust But we know.
In practice. that the arrangement Of the
Determinations falls under the control
OF selfish men who aim at advancing
their own private interests, and that
therefore few men receive great bene-
hts. while the great mass is forced TO
submit TO great injustice and wrong.
Which OF these two theories VIII an
u a in,..ta LII IN