The Waco evening news. [volume] (Waco, Tex.) 1891-1894, 1894-05-21

| ana sllVe', anu P"Pei
coin. or, as declared in the plat
form of 1880, "honest money, con-
sisting of god and silver and paper
convertible into coin on demand. !"
That the last Chicago platform is in
full accord with this long estab'
lishei policy is easily dem onstrable
by a mere statement of the case.
From our earliest times until 1873
gold and silver were coined without
discrimination against either. Sill.
yer was then demonetized. AS I'M
ding this friendly legislation and
rebuking the Republican party, the
act of 1878 was passed, providing
for the coinage of silver dollars
over the veto of the Republican
president. On the resumption of
power by the Republicans in 1890,
the coinage act Of 1878 was
repealed and the Sherman law
substituted. This law provides for
the compulsory purchase of $780,
900 ounces Of silver per month by
the secretary Of the treasury, and
the coinage, each month, Of 2 000,-
600 ounces of silver into standard
silver dollsrs, until the fret day of
July, 1901, aud after that time for
the coinage Of only so much ss may
be necessary for the redemption of
tr, asury notes provided for by the
&C.. 1t is bullion purchase act
with incidental coinage features
only, and its passage Was solidly op
posed by the Democrats. While
this is true, and while
neither it nor the B and
law anthoriz d the free and unlim.
tied coinage of the product of our
silver mines, yet it is manifest that
the Sherman act is now the only au.
thority for the coinage of silver dol
lars in any quality. Recurring to
the platform it will be observed
that its demands upon this question
are two fold, viz, the repea! of the
Sherman law and the free coinage
of gold and silver without discrim-
nation against either metal No
candid person can doubt that by
this declaration the National Dem
ocracy intended to reverse the Re-
publican policy by substituting the
fr4e coinage of gold and silver for
the bullion purchase provisions EN-.
bodied in the Sherman law.
If, however, the Sherman law is
unconditioaally repealed, only q
portion Of the party pledge will be
redeemed, for 70 authority will exist
for the coinage of silver dollars.
Silver will again in some measure
have been demonetized, but this
time by those who have protested
to be its friends, and who for
twenty years have denounced the
Republican party as its mortal
enemy. But it is said the Sherman
law must first be repealed, and the
coinage of silver will afterwards
be provided for. This is a danger.
Gus policy. Probably every Demo.
crat in the South and West will
vote both for repeal and free coinage.
This Is not the case with those from
the New England and Mid.
die states, many of whom
favor a single gold stand
ard and the stoppage of silver CON-
age, and if az unconditional repeal
is effected, these, with thu Repu oil
can monom atallists who favor repeal
simply, may successfully resist all
eff lrts for the remonetiz ,tion and
coinage of silver at the present
time. BY Others it is insisted that
there should be repeal and subse
quently a coinage act, leaving the
responsibility with the executive.
Besides the danger alluded to, the
suggestion is unworthy of accept.
ace, for the question is not OF
placing or shifting responsibility,
but courageously discharging that
which already rests upon
the party by solemn compact with
Che people 1t ID not always just TO
use \ bad law as club, but in this
case justification lies in the proba
bility of reaching correct results
without injury to public interests
and the moral right of every charac.
ter Of honorable resistance to the
revolutionary proceedings OF an ag-
oreasivo and unrolcrtinY pnaar a