Willmar tribune. [volume] (Willmar, Minn.) 1895-1931, 1895-07-02
TUESDAY, July End. 1898.

TUESDAY, JULY 2ND. 1898.
AS we have said before the
silver issue means a good deal
more than simply free coinage of
silver at the ratio of Is to of
gold. In fact there is to-day no
better way to Judge a mans pol
itical philosophy than to ascer-
tain his views on the silver
question. It is the almost infal-
lible touch stone by which you
can tell whether a man is a demo
crat or a plutocrat; whether he
believes in a government of, by,
and for the people or in a govern
ment of the privileged classes
for their own special benefit:
whether he is brave patriot, or
a servile adulator of European
customs and society. What is
the great and ever repeated argu-
ment of the gold bug? This,
that we must have a money sys-
TEN on the same plan that Eu-
ropean countries have; the Eng
lish system. That we must have
a world dollar that will suit ev-
rybody and John Bull in particu-
lar. This you hear early and
late, and no matter how often it
is refuted. you are sure to hear
it reiterated by the next gold
bug you get into argument with.
Now what is the basic essence of
this argument? Is it not a lack
OF sturdy independent Ameri-
can patriotism? For, is it not
the very same plea that the tor
les used when Washington, JEFF
ferson and Adams were trying
to establish an independent re-
public in this country over a
hundred years ago? Said they,
the tories, to the revolutionary
fathers, you can't establish a
government of the people with
out king. Look at England!
Look at Germany, Sweden, Den
mark. All have royal houses.
No, Washington and Jefferson,
you send for some Prince of
Royal blood to rule over us and
then we might do something.
Without royal blood you are sim
ply going to make failure and
we shall all be hung for our fol.
ly.' This was the tory argu-
ment 120 years ago, heard wher.
ever it dared to speak out. But
the revolutionary fathers were
made of steamer stuff, and pos.
sessed of greater minds. They
were men that knew their rights
and dared to maintain them
What was their answer to this
kind of reasoning? ''Give us lib.
erty or giveus death!'' Grant, =
said they, THAT England has a
king, that Sweden has a king
that the whole world is under
the lash of royalty, that is ne
reason that we should not assert
our God given right to rule our
selves. We defy England and
the world in defense of our right
tolife, liberty and the pursuit Of
happiness That was the spir
it of rs, that established Ameri
can independence.
AT that time it was the quest
ion of political autonomy-polit
ical independence. To-day the
question at issue is industrial
independence. The parties in
the contest are the same. Eu
ropean Lords and their .Ameri
can admirers and adherents on
one side the common American
people on the other. The form
err are asserting that we must
have gold mon etalism because
forsooth, European monarchies
have adopted it, eh? Whenever
we hear this argument repeated
our old revolutionary blood boils
in our veins. For although we
were not born in this country
our ancestors have fought 5on
battlefield after battlefield in
Northern Europe for human lib.
erty from the National Guard 81
France a hundred years ago tc
this day. And the last parting
advice from a tender parent was
this: Ny son, liberty and JUS.
tice TO the common people is i'm.
possible here. Go to the great