The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1895-07-29
DEMOCRATS AND SILVER.


The Herald has stated several times
that the only hope for silver is in the
Democratic party. We have not in
tended by that to convey the idea that
the party is certain to decide at its
next convention in favor of the indie
pendent free coinage Of silver, at the
present ratio, by the United States
alone. We do not intend to impress
the public mind with the view that if
this course is pursued by any party it
will be by the Democratic party.
We have never closed our eyes or
avoided the admission in our public ut
terances that there is a very powerful
minority IN the Democratic party I'M
favorable to the free coinage of silver,
nor have we attempted to evade the
argument that it is possible that pow
erful influence may prevail. We have
urged and still urge a vigorous cam
paign of education to be carried on in
those states where the silver sentiment
does not obtain.
We believe that the great body of
the Democratic party, the rank and
file, the masses of the voters, are in
favor of free silver coinage. 1t is to
them that we look with confidence. If
they can be awakened to the full i'm
portance of this great question, the
power of the goldites in the party will
be broken and all their efforts to lead
the pepole away from this vital issue
will signally fail.
Senator Cockrell, in addressing the
Democratic editors of Missouri, stated
that bimetallism, that is the use of
both gold and silver as constitutional
money, is a traditional tenet of Demo-
cratic doctrine. This is prefectly COR
rect. AS the Denver News says:
cit is written in the history of the
party from Jefferson down, and it is
the Cleveland-Carlisle attempt to re-
verse this history that is now an is
sue in the Democratic party which
must be fought out in the next ma
tional convention Of the party
Mr. Bland, the great silver cham
pion, has declared that IF the Demo-
cratic party does not declare for the
unrestricted and Independent coinage
of silver in it's next national convention
it will be wiped off the map" We
think Mr. Bland exaggerates the con-
of such failure but we be-
lieve it would be disastrous to the
party and that its effects would be felt
for many years. 1t will suffer when it
makes mistakes, but it cannot be
wiped off the map for its principles
will live for ever and people will unite
together for their maintenance and
perpetuity The Denver Republican
says in relation to this matter:
1t is true that there is a sentiment
in the east among Democrats favora-
bic to the administration policy and TO
some extent in large cities in the west
and south. But the great mass of the
party is for unrestricted silver and
gold coinage at a ratio OF is to /, and
the people will not follow if the ma
tional convention takes a position an
tagonistic to their view.
Those are the views of a Republican
paper which is frank enough to state
the truth as to the attitude of the
Democratic party in relation to sill
yer, and it is also a free silver paper.
There are many anti-silver Republican
organs which make similar statements,
but they do so in a spirit of antagon-
ism to silver as we'll as to the Demo-
cratic party. The silver cause is not
dying out by any means. and it will
be the fault of the active silver men in
the Democratic party if it is not made
the one, great, vital issue at the next
national party convention.