Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1895-08-21
HARRIS SATISFIED
The Senator Talks. on the Recent
Silver Conference.
ORGANIZATION TO Be COMPLETE
The Fight to Be Within the Party
Lines.
TIL INKS HE WILL WIN

THINKS HE WILL WIN
Senator Harris of Tennessee is feeling
very well satisfied over the outcome of the
silver convention recently held in this city.
1.-THE results of that convention were
more favorable than I could reasonably
have expected" said Senator Harris to a
Star reporter today. ''Of course, what the
ultimate result is to be it is impossible for
me or any other man to know at this point
of time. But. believing as I do, that there
is decided majority of the democrats of
the United States who favor free coinage
of silver without regard to the policies of
other nationalities, our object is simply to
test that question inside Of party lines. If
the free coinage democrats are in the ma
jority, they ought to control the action of
the democratic national convention.
The Fight Within Party Lines.
II have noticed a good many newspaper
paragraphs attempting to ridicule the meet
ing that was held here on the 14th and 18TH
instants. and to give the idea that the free
silver craze as they are pleased to term it,
Is dying out, and other papers are asking
what we democrats who participated in
that meeting propose to do in the event of
our failure to control the national conven-
ton upon the silver question. The circular
letter dated June Is, 1895, and signed by
Senators Jones. Turpie and myself, plainly
shows that we propose to make this tight
purely and strictly within party lines, and If
1 am mistaken in the belief that majority
of democrats favor free coinage of silver, to
my patriotic friends who are SO solicitous
and anxious to know what we are going to
do, I can say that having fought the bat
ties of the democratic party for fifty years,
voted to the cardinal principles Of that
party, there Is no one question upon which
/ could be induced to abandon my allie
glance to that Organization.
Organization the Whole Object.
"The whole object and purpose of the
meeting held here was to organize as thor
oughly as possible the democrats in every
state in the Union who favor free coinage
of silver, SO as to marshal our entire forces
at the time when such questions must be
decided in the regular councils of the
party. I have not before ME a list of the per-
sons who attended the convention. There
were representatives, highly intelligent, re-
syectab1e and influential In their respective
homes in nearly thirty states of the
Union. That convention spoke through its
resolutions and addresses as to its objects
and purposes, and appointed committee.
to which l belong, to prosecute the work
of thoroughly organizing silver democrats
of the various states, and am satisfied
that every member of the committee SO
appointed has already entered earnestly
upon the duties assigned to him, so as to
bring into action at the proper time the
full force and power of the silver demo-
Gratis of the country. When that is done
I am satisfied we will find ourselves in the
majority and possessing the absolute
power to make the platform and candidate
of our party, and no amount OF criticism
or newspaper sneers will deter me or any
other of the democrats engaged In this
work from pursuing our object
If Defeated, Will Submit.
"I hope to have a central organization
at the capital of every state, and subordi-
nate organizations at every county seat
and every voting precinct in every county
in the United States. With such organiza-
ton, if it shall be completed, We will be
able to bring into action at the proper
time the entire free silver sentiment of the
country. If successful, we will control the
action of the national convention. II de-
feated, speaking for myself, shall submit
to the will of the majority. as have done
in other Instances when have CHANGED to
find the majority of my associates opposed
to my views. But submission in that case
would not mean that will in the slightest
degree have changed my opinions as to the
great blunder, not to say crime, OF the de-
monetization Of silver.
When the Senator was asked how free
silver sentiment is progressing In Tennes-
see, he replied:
bought up by the single gold standard men.
The voting population of Tennessee are
three to one, and most people will tell you
ten to one. in favor of free coinage 1t Is
free coinage men, and the majority will
prove larger rather than smaller"
No Hope of an. International Agree
ment.
Senator Harris does not believe in vast
ing ammunition when the enemy cannot be
reached. Applying this same theory to the
political field and to the free silver battle,
he does not believe in wasting much time
over free silver in the next Congress. He
believes that President Cleveland will
promptly veto any free silver legislation,
and that the only thing to do Is to look to
the election Of 96. At that time he hopes
that the free silver men will not only cap
ture the leadership of the democratic party,
but that a democrat will be elected Presi-
dent, and that there will be majority of
free silver men in the democratic party.
He is thoroughly out of patience with all
talk about bringing around an interna-
tional agreement on the silver question. On
this point he remarked:
''There never was any harmony between
any two nationalities, either as to ratios or
as to their coinage systems. England has
her pounds, shillings and pence, France
her francs, Germany her thalerS and
marks, and so forth. The world over, each
country has its distinctive financial sys-
tenn, while ratios between the two metals
have differed in different countries. In our
international transactions we never had
any money in the United States that was
money anywhere else. If you owe debt
abroad you have to pay it in commodities,
no matter whether they are cotton, to-
bacco, wheat, gold or silver. Between coun-
tries the settlement of accounts has al
ways been made by barter, and never can
be made in any other way"