Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1895-05-30
Splits Among the Free Coincrs.

The free-silver. coinage men seem 10 pe
having lots of trouble just now. Exon
gressmau Sibley, the American Bimetai-
liz martyrs candidate for President, is on
the Pacific coast booming his own and MS
party's cause. But his presence IN Osh-
fornia has prompted the State SILVER
League of that State to issue bitter de-
nunciation of him and his chief fugleman'
General Warner, OF Ohio. The California
silyerites plainly insinuate that the war
ner-Sibley plan of advocating silver Is DIS
honest, and that Sibley's sdherents are
evsding vital Issue by straddling the
Natlonal-bank question. For these ana
other reasons they repudiate Sibley ana
Warner, and they propose that National
convention be held in st. Louis next
March to adopt platform and nominate
candidates that all the advocates OF nat
currency can support.
But this is not the only split that threat
ans the new movement, nor is ii the m ost
serious one. Tho free-coinage Democrats
are getting up fight Of their own. Tx
Speaker Crisp and some of the other lead
ers of that Wing.of the Democracy, espec-
;aIlv in the south, object to the movement
tor the free coinage OF silver at the old
ratio of Is to l. They say they are Tor
free coinage and are ready to commit the
party to the doctrine, regardless OF the
action of other nations, but they are op'
posed to the old ratio. A declaration
binding the party to that ratio, they say,
would be wholly in the interest OF the pro-
dueers of silver and would be likely to
ruin the Democratic party. They propose
no definite ratio themselves, but think that
point should be decided hereafter by the
course of events-meaning we suppose,
the state of the market. This ia encour-
aging. 1t shows that the ex-Speaker and
his followers down south have already
come to understand that free coinage at
the old ratio really means nothing less
than silver monometallism - the retire
ment of gold and its representatives from
circulation and currency greatly depreci
ated in value.
1t is not probable, however, that Mr.
Bland and his followers will accept any
such compromise as this. For years thai
great apastle of silver has been fighting
for free coinage at S:-s old ratio. To aban
don that ratio now would leave the siiYa,
advocates all adrift on sea of conflict ne
opionions without rudder or compass
They know that the present ratio overval
ues silver nearly 100 per cent; but they
know, too, that if that ratio is abandoned
there will be no end Of new and dis
tracing propositions. Sometime ago Sen
ator Vest proposed the ratio of 20 to i; bn
at present the actual market ratio is abou
80 to l, and silver advocates like Mr.. Bland
don't want discussion OF that point start
ed in their own ranks.
All this must be highly gratifying to
Democrats who, like Mr.. Cleveland ant
his personal followers, want to bring abou
a condition of affairs that will enable tn,
Democratic National Convention of mex
year to straddle the silver issue. If th'
West I'm and Southern wings of the fre
coinage men can be melted into fgh
over ratios of coinage for the next few
months, the conservative element Of the
party will be able to control the situation
sufficiently to rescue the Democracy
from absolute surrender to the free-ooin-
ers. This may save the party from ami
hilation, although nothing eau save it from
defeat next year.-Er.