The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1895-11-10
Exit Silver.

Among the driblets Of the eiecton alo
two items not very important III 'hein
selves. but of great signincance do -
eating the drift Of public OPINION -,
OF these is the stunning deieal Vi i-u 49,
Inc the Democratic candidate for Con
go I, tho Eighteenth District OF IL
lnois. There was a vacancy IN 'his 80
trict caused by the death or freuei'.N
Rcroann. the Congre ssman-elect. Nl.
lane was nominated for the vacancy os
the Democrats, and he made MS cdtl-
nsien ON the sole issue OF the free COIL
age OF silver Lane was meihoer U,
the last Congress. and he distinguished
himself by introducing bill 10 make an
gold contracts payable IN SILVER. l"S
monstrous measure 10 enable al ueotoiS
to cheat their creditors was actuahy re-
ported favorably by the JUDICIARY I'm
mittee Of the House. although the vote
ir favor OF II was less than a majority OF
the full committee. That shoula
have received any votes at all Is one OF
the extraordinary doings in that Won
dsrful Congress. II Is fit 10 ne com
pared with the stoppage and remaNns
OF the Wilson bill at the behest OF lhe
Sue--. Trust. and the refusal or t'e
House TO allow the saving Of Slo,r"vV
on the last bond issue.
Mr.. Lane. as we have said, made MS
campaign on the issue of the Tree ana
unlimited coinage of silver at the ratio
Of l6 10 l. lie was one Of the most Noci-
ferrous advocates Of the Illinois free-sll-
Yer. separate-actiOn convention which
Gov. Altgeld and Secretary Hinrichsen
engineered last spring. The district IN
which Lane ran for Congress is usually
Democratic by a decided majority ana
Lane himself was elected I'm 1892 by
about $500 majority. The result TINS
time was his defeat by an estimated ma
jority Of 5000 This vote must be re-
earded not merely as reputation or
the Altgeld-Hinrichsen movement. but
rejection OF the silver heresy In toto. IL
will serve this purpose not merely for
the particular district where II was cast,
but fer the entire State. because If silver
had any footing anyWf ere. It was in that
very district So the atmosphere Is
cleared at last in one very murky quar-
ter.
The State q Nebraska has given an
! equally emphatic verdict. Here the reg
ular Democratic convention was con-
! trolled by ex-Congressman Bryan, who ls
| quite as rabd on the silver question as
Lane, Of Illinois. and a much ADLER man.
The convention met in August and passed
a resolution "in favor of the Immediate
restoration OF the free and unlimited
coinage OF gold and silver at the pres
ent ratio Of l6 10 /, as such coinage ex-
listed prior TO 1873 without waiting for
the aid or consent of any other nation,
such gold and silver coin TO be full legal
tender for all debts public and private"
| The auSi-silver Democrats refused TO
attend this convention. They made sep
arate nominations on a platform reafiirm-
Ing the currency plank Of the Chicago
convention OF 1892 adding 10 II the
/ "A. 4 -. 10
/ present administration" II the Chicago
plank was equivocal I'm itself. II could
not be considered so when taken in the
| doses administered by DR.. Cleveland.
The Nebraska seeding Democrats GER
tainly left no doubt OF their meaning.
The result Of the election is n majority
OF about 5000 for the Republicans. but
even more significant is the fact that the
boiling sound-money Democrats cast
more votes than the regulars. It should
be added that In Nebraska, II anywhere
in the Northern States outside OF the
mining camps. We might expect the
silver heresy TO be rampant I'm the Dem
ocratic party. and especially with such
a leader rs Bryan, who IL a man OF
ability He is now shelved indefinitely.
but he Is still young man. and he may
live down this youthful indiscretion.
These two events. taken I'm connection
with the defeat OF Hardin and Blackburn
IN Kentucky, really make an end OF the
silver issue IN both political parties and
point the way TO currency reform OF some
eort. AS long as the uppermost question
was whether the dollar should be equal
10 p S-lO grains OF gold or 10 AZ IL
grains Of silver Nhe latter being worth
only one-half OF the former, there was
little chance TO secure attention 10 any
other question Of finance. Now II may
be taken as absolutely certain that the
gold dollar is the unqUestioned standard
Of the country in contemplation OF public
opinion as well as in contemplation OF
law. The field is therefore clear for cur
rcncy reform and the Republican leaders
will have TO take IL up. They are not
necessarily committed 10 anything or
against anythng-except, perhaps Sena'
tor sherman. who lately INDUCED In the
belief that greenbacks are the best form
OF paper money the world has ever seen
We apr ehend that this opinion IL not
entertained generally by Mr. sherman's
colleagues. but whether II Is or not
events will not pause TO meet his con
venence. The coming Congress nus
take up the currency question for dis
cussion II not for action. and the sooner
the discussion begins, the better.-Nev
York Evening Post