The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1894-10-22

most competent and most likely to be
come the exponent of financial reform.
There are three sectional political
units involved in the question, any two
of which, by combining on the DOM
inant policy, either for single or double
standard, may control it. The section
east of the Alleghenies and north of
North Carolina, may be considered
solidly monometallist. and with the pos
sible exception of Virginia and Mary
land, would go solidly with any party
that would favor monometallism, and
against any party that would agitate a
revolution from the single standard
basis.
From the Alleghenies westward to the
Pacific, and north of the line of the
Ohio river, lies vast population favor
able to the double standard, and polit-
ically SO evenly divided that it would
follow the fortunes of either party that
would earnestly advocate it, so that
thus far the chances of the two par
ties to inaugurate a reform policy
would there be equal.
South of the line of the Ohio river
and from the Atlantic to the borders
of Arizona, lies another vast popula-
ton, that is equally favorable to finan-
cial reform with the section to the
north Of it, but through historical asso-
Citations would never be induced to vote
with the Republicans on any issue
whatever, and that party, therefore, is
compelled to rely for existence on the
political section controlled by the single
standard policy-New England, New
York and Pennsylvania, together with
such of the northwestern states as it
may control on local and historical is
sues.
Were that party to champion the sill
Yer cause, and the issue once be square,
ly divided, it would lose the entire cleo
toral vote of this section. 1t would
probably regain three or four of the
states in the west it has recently lost
through its shuffling and oligarchic pol
icy, that have gone to the Populists by
plurality. But it would not control
single southern state, and would at
once fall into a hopeless minority.
On the other hand, if the Democratic
party were to champion the silver is
sue, it would retain the solidarity of the
South, and also carry every western
state. 1t has nothing to gain in New
England by retaining the single stand
ard as party policy, while it has the
alternative before it of losing its hold
on the syrnpathies and loyalty of the
South if it does not clearly advocats
the complete reconciliation of silver.
On the squarely divided issue the
Republicans of the North would as GER
tainly vote with the Democrats for
free silver, as the Douglass Democrats
Of the North supported the war policy
of Mr. Lincoln and the Republicans in
1861. That the South has an undying
hatred, or at least distrust, Of the Re
the success of the northern armies as
to the criminal mistakes of the recon-
struction era
Ohio and Georgia have spoken, and
the tide of public sentiment of the West
and South is gathering to the flood.
Parties will be driven into the newt
able conflict by events that neither of
them can control, and must range on
that side of the issue in the line of
their strongest and most coherent DO
1itical units. The withdrawal of the
Nevada senator was not so much due
to his divergence Of views with west
ern Republicans as to his perception
that the championship of bimetallism
by the Republican party was impossi-
BILE for the above reasons, as any stu
dent of American politics will clearly
see.