The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1895-05-16
They no Longer Dominate Our
Politics.
ECONOMIC BATTLE IS ON.
ENsLAvED MASSES OF THE OLD
WORLD LOOK TO Us.
Believes Silver Would Have Long
Ago Been Restored to Its Old
Place in Our Money System Had
We Had President Who Was
Favorable to the White Metal.

]
yer Mr. Bland said:
The question now remains for the
people to determine in their future
! elections for president and Congress
which system shall prevail-that is to
say, whether we are to have the I'M
limited coinage of both gold and sill
ver-the money of our constitution
the money supply to come from the
peoples government-or whether we
| are tc abandon the bimetallic system
and enter upon that system that con-
templates nothing but gold for legal
tender money, and national bank notes
issued by corporations to supplement
1t, mlsnamed sound money" This is
the future fight on the money question,
and that question now is paramount
to all others. and the voters must take
sides for the one system or the other.
The Battles Fought.
In reviewing the history Of the bat
ties on the money question in Congress
for the past twenty years, the whole
truth cannot be told without abiding
to the political situation during that
time. Unhappily our great contests in
presidential elections heretofore have
been fought out upon war issues, or
upon issues growing out Of our IN
happy civil strife. 1t is known that the
people of the south-a great agricul-
tural COMMUNICATIVE been. from the
commencement, steadfaSt smypathizerS
and friends of silver coinage. So it
may be said of the southwest and our
great gold and silver producing re-
gions, that these forces have not found
a way to make their combined
strength effective.
In all the great battles in Congress
on the silver question the southern
people. while enthusiastic for silver,
have had that sympathy and enthu-
siasm clouded with the dread of force
bills or federal interference with their
local self-government. Doubtful as to
whether their safety depended upon an
alliance with New York and the east
for protection in their local affairs,
or whether to &C to the people of the
west and southwest, where nature
points as their true friends and allies,
caused them to hesitate upon the
threshold of victory for silver. For
tunately, however. in the great battle
over the force bill in the Senate, the
senators of the west, and especially of
the gold and silver mining states, in
their opposition to the measure, which
resulted in its final overthrow and de-
feat has given assurance to the people
of the south that their political re-
lance, both for safety of their home
government and their prosperity on
economic questions, point to the west.
lines, further than those who insist
on the single gold standard have
forced upon us this situation. The
great money centers of the east,
whose banking institutions are princi-
pally owned and controlled by Euro
pean banking houses, have forced the
people of the west and the south, in
self-defense. to make war upon their
system of finance
War Issues Played Out.
The day has now come when war
issues cannot longer dominate our
politics. The great political battles Of
the future will be fought on economic
questions The battle of the standards
is the greatest battle to be fought in
this country and the world over. The
enslaved masses Of the old world look
naturally to this free people to lead
the way. This vast country of ours
of forty-four Independent states, and
other vast territory, with over seventy
billions of wealth, and with a popula-
ton of seventy millions of people, in
creaSing at the rate of more than a.
million annually, is strong enough to
to open the minis to the free coinage
of gold and silver, and thus again re-
store, not only to ourselves but to the
world, the Old order of things, by
which geld and silver circulated side
by side, aiding and supporting each
other in giving labor employment and
the exchanges Of commerce. |
In conclusion, attention should be
called to the fact that heretofore no
of TTrifad SfofaS
1873 has been a friend of silver. Mr..
Hayes vetoed a limited coinage bill; it !
is we'll known that every president !
since that time has been hostile to free i
and would veto any such bill |
if sent to him. This has had the eff
feet Of discourage Congress in all |
these contests. I have reason to believe |
that silver would have long ago been
restored to its old place in our sys- |
tenn of money had there been a presi- |
dent of the United States favora BILE to |
it. 1t is well known that the Senate
today is Overwhelmingly in favor of |
free coinage and will probably remain |
so for all future time. The battle to |
be fought and the all-important point
to gain is to secure president who
will sign free coinage bill if sent to
him, and will not use the power and |
of his office to prevent such
a bill coming to him; but, on the con-
trary, will recommend such legislation.
If we can once secure such a president
the battle is won. To this point all our
in the future must be direc-
ted. 1t is not my purpose, and would
be out of place in non-partisan lee
ture or speech of this character, to
indicate how that may be brought
about, further than to express the hope
that every true friend of the free
of silver will make a firm re-
solve and stand to it, that he will not
support in any manner a presidential
candidate, no matter how nominated
or what party platform he stands on,
unless that platform and candidate
give assurance of silver restoration.