The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1895-11-30
GOV. STONE on THE DEFEAT.

Explanations of the Democratic de-
feat resemble the story of the little boy
who went to the circus and asked
which was the elephant and which was
the monkey. You pay your money
and take your choice, my little man,
responded the attendant
Governor Stone, of Missouri, is the
latest in the field with an explanation.
He regards the main cause of Demo-
cratic defeat the course of President
Cleveland towards silver. lie thinks
there was an utter abandonment of the
declarations of the party platforms Of
1884 and of 1892 on the money question,
all attributable to Mr.. Cleveland. 1t
is but another explanation of the fact
of defeat, and where explanations are
so numerous and so various each will
choose according to his taste.
Governor Stone discusses the silver
question in a very enlightened way.
Speaking of the declaration of the Chi
cago platform on the money question,
he asks: Can parity be secured by
enforcing policies which depress the
value of silver and appreciate that of
gold?"
That question goes to the very es-
sence of the whole matter. The two
metals are not allowed to stand On
their own merits, everything possible
being done to depress silver on the one
hand and enhance gold on the other.
Were the policy reversed the position
of the two metals would be reversed.
C,ln Ii of, o,,1., e
yer and the demand for gold, Cover
nor Stone says:
An enlarged use for silver would
lessen the demand for gold, and this
would result in increasing the value
of one metal and decreasing the value
of the other. AS one rose and the other
fell, they would finally meet at a def
mite point, and that point would fix
the relative value Of the metals. [ be-
lieve that if the United States should
open their minis to free coinage, and
earnestly and in good faith enter upon
a policy of bimetallism they could
bring the metals together at about the
old ratio of 16 to /.
Even the boldest goldbug will scarce
ly have the temerity to deny the cor
rectness of this. To have cut off the
very fact to increase the demand for
gold, and the supply of that metal not
being equal to the demand, the result
was to appreciate it, which in turn in
creased its purchasing power or re-
duced the price of commodities; which
in effect is one and the same thing.
The Governor is firm believer in
| IL
United States. Says he:
believe the United States should
| proceed independently. Above all, that
is the very thing I want them to do.
To me the spectacle of this great re-
public waiting on Bonded knee the
! pleasure of England or any other
power, gals to the quick. England
consults nobody. She acts for herself
She not only establishes her own poll
cies, but dictates ours. l abhor this
snobbish subserviency and dread this
! foreign dictation. 1t is destructive
alike to the national honor and safety.
That is the position of all free coin
age Democrats, the only logical one,
too.
| He ends his letter with these words,
words that have much encoura cement
for Democrats and much hope for all
! friends of silver.
But if we are brave and steadfast
there will be no defeat either in con-
vention or at the polls. A large ma
jority of Democrats are still Demo
cratic still true to party faith. This
majority can control conventions and
have it's way if it will. If it tries, it
can win. Why not? And n majority
! Of the American peODle are for bimetal-
ism. We must fight on this line if
we are to hope for victory. How else
can we expect to win? Can we COM
nit the party to policies condemned by
a majority of Democrats, and con-
demned by a majority of all the peo-
pie, and expect success? Can we hope
for victory if we deserve defeat?