St. Paul daily globe., 1895-05-10
FREE SILVER I'm NINETy-sIx.

FREE SILVER IN NINETY-SIX.
The New York Times has a lengthy
| article treating of the present con-
| ditions in both the leading parties ana
| forecasting their effects in the national
| convention of each next year. 1t pro-
ceeds on what we think is the mis-
taken assumption that the present
! conditions will continue in their pres
ent or an increased force. This may
be the case, though we think we can
discover the signs of reaction 1ndl-
| eating that this monetary fever has
run it's course and is subsiding.
| But, whichever is right, the presanta-
ton of the case is very able one, and
the reasoning seems to warrant the
conclusion he draws, that, while the
sixteen-to-oners will control the tempo
rary organization and the platform
committees, they will fail of the
strength requisite to carry their planks
| through either convention. Ire
methods of organizing national con-
ventions render this possible, and the
| conditions render it probable. TIE ma
tional committee assumes the right to
name the temporary chairman A ma
| jority of these committeeman in each
! party are from states where the six
| teen-to-oners predominant. Then eac1
state delegation names it's member OF
| each committee. Counting the terri
| tories, there are fifty-one governmental
autonomies represented. In the Re
publican convention, taking the state
| platforms Of '94 as guides, there will
| be twenty-seven - with Michigan,
twenty-eight-of the fffty-one for free
silver In the Democratic convention
there will be thirty-three states and
territories similarly affected.
The result will be majority report
| declaring for fiatism and minority re-
port for sound money in each con-
vention. Then the question will go
to the body Of the convention for de-
cision, and there the vote is taken by
delegates and not by states, unless the
unit rule is applied by state conven-
tons Here the estimates of the writer
! may be open to question. For in
stance, he puts Arkansas and M.Ssouri,
In the Republican convention; in the
sound money column with Minnesota,
while in each of these states there are
congressional districts where the Re
publicans are as badly affected as are
the Populists. But accepting his sum-
mary as approximately correct it gives
5S4 votes in that convention for sound
| money and 322 for silver while for
candidate he thinks they will name
man who twill be regarded as a safe
man to whom to intrust the main
tenance Of a sound-money policy"
In the Democratic convention the
danger is greater, his estimate giving
473 votes for sound and 433 for soft
money. He is, we think, too liberal in
his concessions to the silve1ites.
Georgia will hardly divide on ten for
safe money and sixteen for sixteen-to-
one silver, nor will Kentucky divide
even, Notwithstanding Luke Black
burns blatant whoops. We expect
rather to see that state range nearly
solidly with the opponents of 50-cent
dollars. In fact, we believe the
strength Of the movement in all the
Southern states is overeStimated, and
that the division in the national con-
vention will be nearly that of the Re
publicans. Due value is not given to
the fact that the silver men have run
up the black flag and declare for free
and unlimited coinage at sixteen to enc
or nothing, while the majority of Dem
ocrats, believing that silver is yet a
suitable money metal and should be
silver in the dollar. They are neither
so per cent repudiationists nor are
they 100 per cent silver protectionists.
But in one thing the writer is cor
rect, and that is that sound money
Democrats must bestir themselves.
They must inaugurate and carry on
from now until the delegates to their
conventions are selected a campaign
against the SiXteen-to-oners. If that is
the line they propose to fight it out on,
they must be met boldly and uncom-
promisingly and fought at every point.
If the issue is gold monometallism or
silver monometallism, there should be
no question where any Democrat
should stand. If he is going to be a
protectionist to the extent of protecting
silver, he should plunge in all over and
go over to the Republicans or the
Populists, and cease bringing odum on
his party. On that issue there should
be neither asking nor giving of quarter.