The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1895-07-24
CONGRESSMAN TOWNE
Continued from First Pare.


armory for weapons that make against
any and all kinds of bimetallisrn? Why
90 you deny the appreciation of gald? l
want you to answer these questions If
you want any kind of bimetallism at all it
can De only because gold is an inequitable
measure of value; because it is constantly
and Wrongfully growing in purchasing
power; because it Is Inadequate to the
money function, involving a constant fall
OF general prices and the unjust augmen-
tation OF all debts and fixed burdens. You
cannot honestly favor bimetallism as
remedy for certain evils, while at the
same time you deny the existence of the
evils. But you do not argue about the
remedy. You spend very little time in
advocating international bimetallsm, but
you exhaust all the resources of folly in
trying to prove there are no evils to be
cured. therefore, say you are no BIZ
metallist OF any kind, but you are wearing
the mask of Republicanism while you
serve the devil Of gold recommendation.
While the party is pledged to bimetallism
but has not yet declared how it intends
to accomplish that object, any Republi-
can is at liberty to favor and to promul-
gate any plan he pleases that has the prac-
tical end in view. There can be but two
kinds OF Republicans those who in the
last resort are willing that the United
States should ''go it alone" and those
who insist at all hazards on some form of
international association. These both
agree upon the evils of the gold standard
But you are constantly attempting to ar
que in behalf of that standard, You have
put yourself beyond the pale of Republi-
canism.
Your article is full of untruths about
myself. You speak Of the platform on
which | ran for congress as a Sound
money platform" 1t certainly was but
it was the only specifically b:metallic
platform that anybody was elected on in
Minnesota. If you will examine the files
of The Tribune you will find. if I remem-
Der Alright, that on August 20, 1894. the
day after 4 was nominated, you pro
nounced the financial plank of that plat
form to be anything but your kind Of
soundness." And your statement that I
did not breathe word during the whole
| canvass" to show that I was not for the
20O-cent dollar, is equally false with your
reference to the platform. The evils Of
gold recommendation were frequently dis
| cussed by me. The only change whatever
that my opinions on this subject have IN
| dergone since the campaign is this: That
l was not then ready, but now am, to have
| the United States assume the initiative
alone, after honest and earnest efforts at
international concert have failed, if they
| do fail
Your reference to my proposal to call
a silver convention and my discussion
| therefrom by the alleged "remonstrance
OF leading Republicans" are the purest
| invention. You and your compeers have
| Knocked down that man of straw sooften. I
| ShOnld think to bou
your unquenchable valor. I have submit
| ted in silence to that MISREPRESENTATION
sufficiently long. Be kind enough to ex-
ercise your wit hereafter on a new false
| hood.
| You are guilty Of two inuendoes on
which l wish to say a few words. You
| speak OF my challenge to you as if it evil
denced an unholy longing for fame and
| "notorlety." You f1atter yourself You
! may at once dismiss the thought that I
should be very much pulled up at defeat
| ing, in public debate, any champion strict
| ly representative of The Tribune. If the
absurdities.l contradictions and trivial
ties that pass for arguments in your COL
umns may be taken as samples Of the mat
| ter that would figure on your side of such
discussion, there would be little interest
and no glory in answering them Nor
indeed, Mr.. Editor, am in need of either
your auspices or those of the Pioneer Press
to find an audience. 1t really is no now
city nor any great privilege for me to
make a speech. The grand old party of
protection, b.metallism and Americanism
has freely had my services since 1873. and
l have rather got used to it. 1t will be
news to you, but to me it is a happiness
ineffable, that man may espouse cause
for love of his country and speak for it
chiefly with the purpose of serving his
| countrymen.
The other slur is couched in such es-
pressions as, that I chad imbibed
the vagarles of Coin " Certainly an orig
inal metaphor), and was possessed by the
| zeal of the new convert If, as | have
heard reported, the leading heavy" of
| The Tribune remarked at the beginning
of the recent general discussion of the
money question, that me didn't know a
blank thing about it, of course it is only
reasonable that you should think that no
body else had ever studied the subject
till this spring. 1t Will therefore surprise
you to learn that 1 actually knew of the
existence of very fair arguments for BIZ
metallism years before Coins Financial
School" was written; that had even read
several books on the subject long before
Coin appeared; and that the book most
largely responsible for my views is the
great English gold-standard advocate Gift
| fen's book, "The Case Against Bimetal-
lism.""
One must almost admire your temerity
in pronouncing my propositions abstract
and statistical whatever idea that con-
Trajectory expression conveys), while at
the same time you print the propositions