Twice-a-week plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1895-1913, 1895-10-08
Perplexed Politicians.

Our fellow citizens who liye.shy- poll
tics are haXine sunusual amount o
tfouole this year in managing the PEG
pie. In Iowa, Missouri, Illinois, Ken.
lucky, Ohio and in several other states
the voters are proving decidedly in.
tractible. The plain common people
outside the Atlantic states, are strong
ly imbued with the idea that their in
terests are deeply involved in the ad-
justment of the money standard of the
country, and believe the monetary
question should at this time be lead
ing issue in politics. The profession
al politicians, the men who Bismark
says "govern us, but produce nothing
but laws are striving TO keep this
issue in the background by means of
all sorts of devices. One set OF them
is trying to enthuse the people over
the tariff question. but the country
has lately suffered so much from tar
iii tinkering that the people are much
averse to agitating that question at
present and they don't want to talk or
hear talk on that subject. Another
set is trying to arouse the people to
the alleged perils of sumptuary laws,
class legislation, paternal government
and of encroachments upon personal
liberty, but the people don't appear
TO want to talk or hear talk just now
about any of these things. The aver
age western man who does a fair am
CUNT OF independent thinking wants to
know beyond any doubt whether his
party stands for honest. fair bimetal
lism, which will enable him to pay off
his old debts in 100 cent dollars-the
dollars OF the contractor whether it
stands for gold monemetallism, which
would compel him to pay his old debts
in virtually 200 cent dollars. The
leaders of lis party have as yet given
him no satisfactory assurance on this
point. They tell him that his party
stands for an "honest dollar and for
sound money, but precisely what
constitutes such dollar or such mon
ey they do not state in unmistakable
terms. They have much to say about
the dishonesty of paying an old debt
with 80 cent dollar, but 1othing to
nothing to say about the injustice OF
exacting practically 200 cent dollar
in payment of the same debt. They
tell him that his party now stands on
the monetary plank adopted by the
national convention of his party in
1892, and at that dismiss the matter
as though the last word possible had
been said on that subject, Every man
of respectable intelligence knows that
the money planks of the platforms of
1892 of both the old parties are like
the tabled shield concerning the COM
position of which the two knights dis
puted and fought to their death, which
they at the last moment of their lives
found to be brass on one side and iron
on the other. No man can today as
sert beyond contradiction whether
either of those platforms means
single standard or a double standard
OF money for this country. A forcible
illustration of the truth of this is
found in the fact that in the campaign
now progressing in Kentucky, Score
tary Carlisle, Watterson, Buckner and
their following of democrats maintain
that the national democratic platform
OF 1892 means the gold standard of
money, while General Hardin, the de-
mocratic nominee for governor, Sena-
tor Blackburn and their following as
stoutly maintain that that platform
means free coinage of silver, Having
failed to divert the minds of people
from the monetary question by par
ade OF old stock issues in partisan pol
ltlcs the politicians of all sorts may be
expected to unite very soon upon some
new startling scheme for that pur-
pose.-Des Moines News.