The Dalles times-mountaineer. [volume] (The Dalles, Or.) 1882-1904, 1895-03-16
DEMOCRATS AND SILVER.

DEMOCRATS AND SILVER
The list made public few days ago
of the Democrats who signed the sill
yer proclamation to the members OF
their party contains many prominent
names Among them are those OF
Bland, Bryan of Nebraska, Fithian of
Illinois, Whiting of Michigan, Money
of Mississippi, and Evan P. Howell of
the Atlanta Constitution. The greater
part of the west and south is repre-
sented on the roll. Sixteen states and
two territories contribute signers. All
of them are not members Of congress,
hut all are in high standing in the
party. No senators are on the roll OF
names, as the senste was SO busy clos
ing up the work of the term when the
address was brought to that body that
no signatures we're sought. Cndoubt-
edly. however, most of the Demo-
cratic senators from the south and
west favor the position taken in the
address, and would have signed it if it
were presented to them.
AS the object of the address is to
make the money question the dominant
issue in 1896. says the Globe Democrat,
the course pursued is direct and intel
lIgen,. IL seeks to commit the De-
mocracy to the immediate restoration
of the free and unlimited coinage OF
gold and silver at the present legal
ratio of l6 to l without waiting for
the aid or consent of any other nation,
as it existod prior to 1873, such coin
to be full legal tender for all debts,
public and private" This has been
the position Of the Bland section Of
the party, which is the larger section,
all along. That element has never
cared much for international monetary
conferences. 1t has not troubled itself
about the attitude. of England and
Germany teward general bimetallisu.
According to its contention the United
States should be law unto itself in
the-mstter Of silver coinsge. The
opinion held by the great majority Of
political economists. statesmen and
fnanciers that the United States can
not safely throw its mints open to sill
yer except under general remoneti-
zatien of that metal by the great ma
tions of Europe, is considered BY the
Blands, Bryans and their disciples to
be delusion and a superstitution
which is inficting untold harm Oh tie
country.
But, Notwithstanding the imposing
array of names of 81 gners which the ad-
dress bears, it will hardly commit the
Democracy to the policy advocated.
The Cleveland section of the party will
beat the Bland section on the silver
question in the convention of 1895, as
it always did in the past and as it
usually has done in congress. An
earnest and persistent effort was made |
in 1892 to force the party to make a
free silver declaration in it's platform.
The platform did, indeed, pronounce
for the coinage of both gold and silver,
without discrimination against either
metal or charge for mintage," but it
contained also the saving clause that
''the dollar unit of coinage must be of
equal intrinsic and exchangeable value,
Or be adjusted through international
agreement" etc. A majority of the
delegates at the convention of 1892
probably favored absolutely free coin
age, but they were overawed by the
eastern element and by the fear that
an extreme declaration would lead to
political disaster. Bland, Fithian and
Howell will be beaten also in the
of 1896. Fate is against
Them in their crusade. They may
spit on the platform, as Horace Greely
did on the Whig dellverance on one
historic occasion, but, like him, they
will be constrained to support the
ticket.