Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1895-05-20
Fight Of the Honest Money League
on Free Silver.
EDUCATION AND GOOD ORGANIZATION
Usurpation of the Illinois Demo-
cratic Convention.
EXCEEDING IT'S JURISDICTION
Special From a Staff Correspondent.

Special From Staff Correspondent.
CHICAGO, May IS, 1895.
The free silver prairie fire which is
sweeping over Illinois Is being fought des-
perately by a small band of democrats,
having their headquarters in this city. The
Honest Money League Is their title and
their motto is Down With Free Silver"
They will take international bimetallism
or, if it comes to an alternative, gold mono
metallism. They claim to have a large
following, increasing in number daily, and
Eumber in their ranks many prominent men
it, the party.
Their hope Of success lies in thorough
organization and in campaign Of educa-
tion. and in the former item they are well
fortified. Their work has no significance as
against the coming free silver convention.
which they regard as a matter of small
and transitory Importance. but is to bear
entirely upon the next election and the
representation at the national convention.
They are taking the ground that the COM
ing silver convention is not representative
of the democracy Of the state. in that it has
been a ''put-up job" from the time of its
calling by an alleged minority of the state
central committee to the election of
packed delegations, as they say. They
further insist that the state central COM
mittee has no authority to change policy
recommended by the democratic national
convention, but should defer an expression
of opinion upon national policy to ma
tional convention. For these reasons they
say the democrats of Illinois need not feel
bound by the action of this convention, bat
will be free to make up their minds by the
time the eicstions roll around or the next
national convention meets. In the mean
time, they will endeavor to educate the pub
lie mind away from free silver ideas.
This is to be done in what may be called
a man-to-man way. TIE work has COM
menced in Chicago. and the plan Of organi-
cation as put in effect here is to be followed
in every county. The different wards are
divided into sections and competent men
put in charge, who are to distribute what
is called sound money literature. solicit
membership to sound money associations
and make thorough canvass of the voting
population. Meetings VIII be held and
speeches made, while all the time the work
of explanation and education will progress
by a personal propaganda.
AS preliminary the Honest Money
League has issued the following address:
Address to the Democrats.
ITO the democrats of the state of ILL
nois: The aggressive measures taken by
those who advocate the impairment of the
obligation CT private and public contracts
by way of The Gebasement of our currency
imperatively demand the immediate dis
semination of intelligence as to the con-
sequences that would attend the abrogation
of our sound currency and the establish
nent of silver recommendation. The false
hood and fallacy by which these dishonest
and ruinous schemes are bolstered up must
he Immediately met. The time for tenn
porizing and compromising has passed. We
must either be for or against honest
money, and the preservation of national
and private integrity.
1T is not only confessed, but openly
claimed by advocates of silver monometal-
ism. Ter, disguise it as they may. such is
the only and inevitable issue they presently
that the question is one between the debtor
and creditor classes alone. and that the
good to be derived from the establishment
c. their plan for the free coinage of silver
will be to enable the debtor to discharge
his obligations by a payment of fifty cents
en- the dollar, and they advocate this full
In the face of the fact that it will newt
ably force municipal corporations and the
United States itself to a reputation of
their municipal and national Indebtedness
THE unconscionableness of such policy,
If rightly understood, Is sufficient to con-
denim it at once in the eyes of the Ameri-
can people, who are not so venal as to
resort to such dishonest and imprac ticable
tactics to release themselves from their
obligations and plunge the nation into
financial ruin and disgrace it in the eyes
of the civilized world. These facts must
be presented to the people, The logic of
the situation must be clearly eXpounded, so
that they may see that the facts do not
warrant the conclusion of the advocates
of the unlimited coinage of silver without
international agreement, and that the
financial loss and ruin which they would
precipitate upon the creditor classes would
not fall upon them, but upon the debtor
classes and the poorer people throughout
the land.
1T is patent to all that Immediately upon
the certain establishment of the unlimited
coinage of silver. as they propose the
creditor classes will at once refuse to re-
now outstanding credits and not only would
all the banks and homestead and loan in
vestment companies in the country be
ruined. but all factories would be closed
and the poorer people. who depend upon
the success of enterprises of all kinds and
character, would be thrown upon the world
without resources and rendered utterly
destitute
The managers Of the Honest Money
League say they will carefully refrain
from antagonizipg their free silver breth-
rem to the point Of arousing party bitter
ness and will try, to keep down ugly feel
ing. They will proceed upon the basis that
the silver men are sincere, but mistaken,
and will ultimately come back into the
sound money wing of the party, where they
will find hearty welcome awaiting them.
NJ