Birmingham age-herald., 1895-08-07
T WAS RULE OR RUIN Silver Dick Bland Run the Mis-
 souri Convention. HE WAS THE WHOLE THING There Are Heartburnings in Consequence-A Bad Political Moye-Text of the Res
 outions Adopted.

l Fertile Springs, Mo, Aug 6.-At 12:SO D. | m. the democratic state convention was | called to order by Vice-Chairman John | H. Carroll. He stated the purposes of 1 the convention and introduced Hon. | Richard P. Bland as temporary chair man. MT Bland began on a speech which lasted but few minutes. He | stated that it was the desire of the dele 1 gates that the state convention should be | enlarged and he hoped the enlargement | would be made in such a way as to leave no bitter feelings or disappointed hopes l After the usual committees had been | selected the convention took a recess un- l til 2 p. m.
 The committee on resolutions sprung | surprise by electing as their chairman | Congressman De Arrnond of Bates coun- l ty and they immediately began their la | bors.
 | The convention reassembled at o'clock 1 and the temporary organization was made permanent. It was recommended | that the present state committe be en- | larged by the addition of one committee
 man from each congressional district | and by the election by the convention of l four committeeman at large--making the | total committee thirty-four instead of l fifteen, as at present constituted. The | proposition was carried
 | The resolutions committees report was 1 received at 4:30 D. m. and was read and 1 adopted The preamble and resolutions are as follows:
 i The federal legislature names silver l and gold together as the money metals | of the United States. The first coinage l bill passed by congress under the consti- tuition made the silver dollar an unit of | value and admitted gold to free coinage
 at ratio measured by the silver dollar | unit. From the beginning of the govern | ment following policy formulated by l Thomas Jefferson and firmly established | by Jackson, the democratic party has l been the party of bimetallism, faVoring | the free coinage of both silver and gold | at the national hints and opposed to 1 farming out to banking corporations the | governments sovereign power of con-
 trolling the money of the people. The act of 1873 demonetizing silver | was surreptitiously passed without the | approval or Knowledge of the American | people, and from the time when the ef-
 feet of this act in fastening upon the | country the single gold standard was un- | derstood, the democratic party has con- | sistently and consistently urged that the | grieyous wrong be righted
 l EXperlence has shown that while un- | der the single gold standard there may | be an occasional revival of business ac- | tivity accompanied by enhanced prices
 
 | such revival is due to artificial and tenn | porary causes and cannot permanently
 alleviate the suffering due to falling
 prices, brought about by the apprecia- | tion of gold and an inadeauate supply | of primary or redemption metal.
 Justice to the people requires that the | party of the people continue the battle | for bimetallism until its efforts are
 crowned with success. Therefore, be it
 Resolved, That we, the democrats of | Missouri, in convention assembled, de- l mand the free and unlimited coinage of l silver and gold into primary or redemp-
 tion money, at the ratio Of 16 to 1, with
 out waiting for the action or approval of
 any other nation, and, second,
 | Resolved That we are opposed to the l substitution for metallic money of
 panic-breeding, corporation-credit cur
 rency, based on single metal, the SUD- ply of which is so limited that 1t can be
 cornered at any time by few banking
 institutions in Europe and America; ;
 third,
 Resolved, That we are opposed to the
 policy and practice of surrendering to
 the holders of the obligations of the
 usual option by the law to the govern
 ment of reducing such obligations in
 either silver coin or gold coin; fourth, | Resolved, That we are opposed to the l issuing of interest bearing bonds of the
 United States in time of peace and
 especially are we opposed to putting the l secretary of the government under the
 control of any syndicate of bankers and | issuance of bonds to be sold by them at | an enormous profit for the purpose of | supplying the federal treasury with gold
 to maintain the policy of gold monomet- | allism.
 Additional resolutions were adopted 1 inStructing the state committee to call
 a convention not later than April 15 to l elect delegates to the national conven- | tion, and sending the congratulations 1 of the Missouri silver democratic con l vention to Senator Blackburn of Ken l lucky.
 The resolutions were adopted amid en- | thusastic applause and without a dis | senting voice. The delegates from diff l ferent congressional districts named their | candidates for additional members of l the state committee and they were unan- | imously elected.
 | The election of the committee at large | is regarded as a victory for "Silver Dick | Bland and a severe blow to the Francis | and Maffitt faction of the party. The convention sent telegrams of greet ing to the democratic conventions in Iowa, Texas and Mississippi and took
 recess until tonight. The work of the convention was practically ended when the committeeman were elected, but the desire of the delegates was that night
 session be held in order that they might listen to a silver speech from Senator .Cockrill. Governor Stone was urged to
 make a speech, but declined on account of fatigue
 The most interesting part of the pro- ceedings today was the fight over the platform of the committee on resolu tons. Some members were for resolu- | ttpn requesting the resignation of Chair | man Maf1itt and other gold members of | the committee. Others argued in favor l of a resolution providing for the elec- | tion of the chairman of the committee | by the state convention. A few were de- | sirous of adopting resolutions censuring l the committee for it's alleged antipathy | toward the convention, and some wantfd resolutions indorsing Bland for prefi- l dent and Stone for United States senator 1 to succeed Senator Vest.