The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1894-08-10

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The Republican party is IN favor OF
honest Esouey. We are opposed 20 any
scheme thai vii give the country dsprs-
Gated and debased currcocy. We favor
the use ofssilver IS q currency 20 the IL
tent only that is can be circulated on
parity vita gold.
This Is direct, explicit. uneqaiyocal
clear and concise. The largest possiols
use Of silver On : parity with gold; the
Use OF both metals. but one standard We
cannot have two standards any more than
We can have two yardsticks. as BraEiey.
3 Democratic Congressman from south
Carolina, once put il In debate. Ii We
make SILVER the standard We sink 20 the
plane OF Mexico and China. If We are 10
rank with the great commercial nations
We must preserve the gold standard. On
thai basis argued John Sherman, Justin ;
Morrill, and Allison. Let Us have the
larges: practicable use Of silver. and let rs
do everything that Is practicsbls 10 bring
other nations 20 common measure ior It's
wider circulation.
The Illinois Republicans made an equiv
alsnt declaration, though in less direct
and categorical terms. The say: 1--WE favor
bi-metallism and believe in the uss OF gold
and silver as money metals upon parity
OF values with complete interconvertibility,
under such legislative provisions as shall
make The purchasing or debt-paying power
of any dollar coined or issued by the
United States the absolute equivalent of
any other dollar so coined or issued" The
resolution of Illinois means the same
thing as that Of Wisconsin, but the Wis
connn form is more simple. direct and
easily understood.
We have before noted that the Republic
cans of California, Kansas and North Da-
kota had declared for free silver, and that
Ohio and Pennsylvania had declared in
favor Of q resumption Of silver coinage
through the Reed-Lodge idea of tariff
leagues with silver nations and discrimi-
nation against Great Britain. Neither
Great Britain nor any other country In
Europe would ever change its monetary
standard in face of a threat Of discriminate
ing legislation. The great states Of Iowa,
Illinois and Wisconsin are clearly against
free silver, and under these circumstances,
with the East and the great states of the
West against ii, it is absurd to expect that
the Republican party will abandon the
tariff for the silver issue in their coming
congressional campaign.
OF course. there will be some bidding for
silver votes on this Coast in states where
the Populists still continue to make free
silver an issue, but IL is utterly absurd to
assume that the national Republican
party will ever take any other position
than it assumed in the extra session of
August, 1888. when the Republican party.
with a very few exceptions in both the
house and senate, voted solid for the silver
purchase repeating act The Law of July,
$780, says that 1t is
1.-THE established policy of the United
States 10 maintain the two metals ON a
parity with each other upon the present
legal ratio, or such ratio as may be pro-
vided by law"
The final clause of the repeating act Of
1898 says;
And it Is hereby declared to be the
policy of the United States to continue
the use of both gold and silver as standard
into money of equal intrinsic and ex-
changeable value. such equality to be Sc
cured through international agreement, or
by such safeguards of legislation as will
insure the maintenance of the parity in
value of the coins of the two metals, and
the equal power of every dollar at all times
in The markets and in the payment of
debts. And il is hereby further declared
that the efforts OF the government should
be directed TO the establishment of such 4
safe system OF bi-metallism as will MAN.
tain at all times the equal power of every
dollar coined or issued by the United
States, in the markets and in the payment
OF debts"
This is the last word we have had from
the national Republican party speaking in
congress, and further agitation of the sill
yer question is worse than useless for the
Republican party. since it cannot afford
to trifle with the confidence of the coun-
try, which it won by its record of resist.
ance to the free silver party in the United
States.
No candid man today expects for a mo-
ment that either of the great parties will
declare in 1896 for free silver any more
than they did in 1892; it will be left to the
benIghted and befuddled Popuiist party to
try aud make the ghost of free silver walk
again: the national Republican party will
never reverse its record on this question;
1t will never undertake to load their guns
with the exploded shells of the silyerite
| faction of the Dem ocratic marty