The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1894-11-16
HONEST MONEY WINS.

votes. 1t may succeed for time, but
the opposition which fosters it can
always outbide you, and in the long
run defeat will surely come.
1t cannot be denied that year ago,
and even less, there was considerable
free silver sentiment in this district,
and there was also an effort on the
part of few Republican papers to
create a sentiment in their party in
that direction, but the result shows
that they signally failed in such an
attempt.
There was, however, considerable
buster on the part of the free silver
ties and the noise they made, led the
Democrats to think the district was
on the verge of going over, body and
soul, to that idea, so they abandoned
all principle, repudiated the sound
money plank of their national plat
form in 1892, and made a big bid for
the vote of the believers in fiat money.
The result shows that instead of gain
ing by such course they lost. Gen.
Baker did not poll half the vote of Mr..
Hammond two years ago. They did
not gain Populist vote, nor save a
Democrat who was thoroughly i'm
pregnated with the free silver view,
while the hard money Democrats
finding themselves without a candi-
date were forced to vote with the Re-
publicanS or not at all.
Such was the situation that con-
fronted the Republican party, and
Congressman McCleary in his contest
for reelection. But Mr.. McCleary did
not finch; he believed in honest
money, and he determined to stand by
it and take the consequences, and in
this the party was unit behind him.
1t believed the Minneapolis plank up
on the money question to be the cor
rect one, and on this line the issue was
fought to a finish.
The issue in the congressional fight
was therefore a square one on the
money question, as to whether we
should have an honest money system,
or whether we should have a system
based on tiatism. From the start Mr..
McCleary had the advantage over his
competitors on two points. First, he
was advocating system of sound fl
nance, and second he had thoroughly
studied his subject and was right at
home with every feature of it. In
fact, it is not too much to say that
few men in public life are better
equipped for it's discussion than is he.
He presented the question to the
people in plain matter-Of-facG way.
He showed them that it was not a
matter for merely bankers and stu
dents to understand, but one which the
masses could also get hold of. He eX-
plOded the stories which the Populists
have put FORTH showed that silver
had not been demOnetized; that there
is more of it in circulation today than
ever before in the history of the ma
tiOn; that it was not Disseminated
against by the act of 1878, and that
the assertions of the Populists and
free silverites generally that that act
cut our money volume in two was
pure fiction. He explained the Cir
culation of the two metals from the
foundation of the republic to the
present day, and showed that with
free and unlimited coinage they had
never circulated together as money,
and he quoted freely from history to
fortify his assertion they never
would. In fact he showed beyond
all question that the market fuctua-
tion would prevent it for twenty-four
hours at a time.
He further tore away the mask and
revealed the fact that the majority
of free silver advocates are advocating
it's free coinage simply as scheme to
advance their fiat paper money idea.
His fight was bold one; it was ag-
gressive in every particular. In their
strongholds he combatted the idea of
the tiatists, and what was the result?
In those counties he received plu-
rality. His plurality of about 1000
OF two years ago, in the district, has
swelled to over $4,000. He will have
a clear majority of several thousand
over his combined opposition. And
this with an increased vote of some
1900 nearly or all of which went to
him.
His brave, manly stand foran honest
finance has been endorsed by the peo-
pie, and the free silver views of the
POpulists and Democrats most
thoroughly repudiated. The result
shows that in square fight for
honest money, the Republicans have
nothing to fear. Let them present
the question everywhere in the
same straight forward manner. in