The Ocala banner. (Ocala, Marion County, Fla.) 1883-194?, 1894-05-25
THE WORD MAKEsHIFTD tn THE
PLATFORM.

meaning OF the word 'makeSnliC, as
given by Webster, is temporary
expedient.n Then for what was the
Sherman act a temporary expedi-
ent?' Silver had been demonetized.
The whole country had been clamor-
ing for its restoration. 1t may be well
to explain here in passing that the
decentralization of silver does not
mean the destruction or the lessening
of the value of the silver coins already
coined, but it means that no more
shall be coined. The west especially
had been clamoring for its recoinage,
but instead of adopting recoinage in
| its fullness the Sherman act was Sub
stituted for it. 1t was something boz
gus substituted for something genuine.
Instead of recoinage this act made it
compulsory on the government to pur-
chase 100000 ounces of silver per
month. The democratic platform de-
nounced this act as a ''cowardly make
ship" for free coinage, and said it was
"fraught with possibilities of danger
in the future which should make all
of it's supporters, as well as its author,
anxious for its speedy repeal Why
fraught with possibilities of danger?
Because it destroyed the money value
| of silver and instead made it an arti-
Gle of commerce. Then to make its
declaration beyond the peradventure
of doubt the platform makes this
announcement in explanation of its
position: "We 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
discriminating against either metal or
charge for naiatage." Now, if this
does not mean the free coinage of
silver we confess that we do not un-
derstand the plain meaning of the
English. language. Our democratic
friends, who have become recent con-
verts to the single gold standard, tell
us that the words without charge for
mintagen does not mean free coinage
because the word free was voted down
in the convention. 1t was voted down
because the words without charger
meant free. To have injected the
word "freen in the sentence would
have been Pathology. 1t would have
been violation of one of the plalnest
rules of grammar, and would have
subjected the makers of the platform
to ridicule. If the word 'sfreen had
been inserted here is the way the SEN
tence would have read: 1--WE hold to
the use of both gold and silver as tie
standard money of the country, and
to the free coinage of both gold and
silver without discriminating against
either metal or charge for mintage.n
If the word free had been inserted the
grammatical construction of the sem
tence would have been spoiled, and the
meaning would not have been any
clearer.
Let us see what Senator Daniel, of
Virginia, the most classical and
learned of our Senators, has to say on
the subject:
A few words, Mr.. President, about the plat
forms. Everybody in the United states, as mat
tiers stand to-day, is committed to silver as stand
ard money. will speak now of the democratic
platform. 1t said "we denounce the sherman
law as cowardly makeshift" A inakeshift is
kind of bogus substitute Now, the sherman
law was makeshift and bogus substitute, but
for what2 For the free coinage of silver So. if
you take the language in its proper and accepted
sense and inject into it the meaning of the thing
that it applied to- it means that you denounce
the republican party for making a "cowardiy
makes1iftn for the free coinage of silver and for
not giving us the genuine article The next SEN
tence is equally significant:
We
The democracy
hold to-
Hold to-, Mr.. President. A good word that.
hold" Whatever other meaning .shold to-, may
have beg to suggest to the learned gram1na-
rians that it does not mean Iet co. If il be ac-
knowledged that hold to" does not mean "let
go, ought to hold on to the silver that we have
and look forward faithfully and hopefully to that
which we desire for we said
We hold to the use OF both gold and silver
Now, say you promised to hold on Let us
hold onto what -
both gold and silver
III what character2
as the standard money OF the country
The standard money of the county Y How
long has the patron of the Sherman law been
trying to convince this people that we want the
single gold Standard How long has he been
trying to subvert all ideas OF historic finance by
regarding dollars as debts redeemable and con-
vertible into each othera We are not on the gold
standard and we do not intend to go to the gold
standard but we hold to gold and silver as the
| standard money of the country Now, how are
we going to sustain the standards
and to the coinage OF both gold and silver
For that is the way it reads They would coin
both metals. They were not going TO float lot
| Of paper on bullion uncoined That is what the
republicans had wanted to do, but the democrats
were going to coin both metals. They said :
I'VE are going to coin both metals, and say do
it, How are they going to coin them?
without discriminating against either metal
Without discriminating against either The
| republicans have been discriminating against
one metal. but the democrats would not do it
and not only without discrimination against
eitherof the metals but the platform says
or charge for mintage.
That is. they were going to have free mintage
without charge,
But
| They said
the dollar unit Of coinage Of both metals must be
of equal intrinsic aud exclangeable value
l did not like that language, because if dollar
IS of equal exchangeable value ii it is all one
wants, commerce is exchange and value is ratio
in exchange, and there is an equal ratio between
the dollar and exchange; but some gentlemen
like to accumulate words they are fond of lit
tie ambiguity and they put in the words sin
| trinsic value
| It was just there that the Presidenl OF the
United States in his letter of acceptance, but lit
tie of the white Of an egg into the coffee grounds
and clarified them by clear expression He said
that he was in favor of equal intrinsic value or
purchasing power There Il the trre tt,eor,, ,e