The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1895-08-07
A VOTE ON FREE SILVER.
THE NEW YORK MERCURY CON-
DUCTS AN lNTERESTlNGC CONTEST.

THE NEW YORK MERCURY CON-
DUCTS AN EReSTlNG CONTEST.
The People Iot. by Il Large Majority in
| Favor az Free Coinage and Declare that
the Quilted States should Eurni>l their
Own Money.
1t xas regarded all over the United
States as very daring. even foolhar-
tGy, undertaking. when The Mercury
announced on the morning OF June
- that it proposed to test the sense OF
the people of New York and Brooklyn
upon the question:
Shall the United States Government
open its mints to The free coinage of
silver without waiting for agreement
with Great Britain or any other Euro
pean nation, and at a ratio of l6 to |:
Such stalwart advocates of the re-
habilitatioH of silver as the Atlanta
Constitution in the South and the Gin
cinnati Enquirer III the West thought
that the result of such a ballot must
be disastrous to the cause of free sill
yer.
But the editors of these journals. and
Of other newspapers throughout the
country. did not know the people of
New York and failed to appreciate
their understanding OF the evils that
have been broughtupon them through
the demonetization of silver.
No one can read the letters which
have been published daily IN The
Mercury, under the heading, What
the Voters Say, without becoming
deeply impressed with the way in
which the working men have grasped
the situation, and the intelligence
which they have shown in advocating
free silver coinage as the first thing to
be accomplished for their relief.
The Mercury has not solicited sin
gle vote upon this question.
The votes, which have been sent in
by tens and fifties, and in some cases
bv hundreds, have been gathered to-
gether by men who were interested IN
the cause, subscribers to The Mercury,
who saved each days paper SO as to
secure the vote of 4 friend upon the
ballot printed therein.
The best testimony to this statement
is following, from Mr.. +. l. Hatha-
way, of Clinton, n. Y:
The ballots for free coinage in your
contest are astonishingly numerous,
considering the fact that you have not
resorted to the usual methods to get
votes. If some one in each of the
country towns of New York had taken
even the little trouble l have gone to
in asking people to vote, your total III
this State alone would easily have
been greater than it will now be for
all the States in the Union. Sixty-hve
qualified voters in this town have per-
sonally written their ballots for free
coinage, and the same have been for
warded to you. Every man is voter
and an intelligent citizen, and quite
number of leading merchants, manu-
facturers and farmers. I think may
well say we'll done, Clinton, and add
that ex-Collector Magone did not
speak rightly for Clinton, at least,
when he told The Mercury that the
Democrats in Northern New York
take no interest in the silver question.
But by far the largest proportion OF
the votes have come in one at time
in IN envelope. with a two cent stamp
on the envelope, sometimes accompa-
MED by letter, but generally not.
So far as space would permit we
have published these letters from day
to day, following the announcement
of the vote, but when so many were
received some had to be left out.
The Mercury believed that 1t voiced
the demands of the people in advocat-
ING the free coinage of silver, but 1t
did not know it until this ballot was
taken.
The result is astonishing when 1t is
remembered that no effort was made
to induce people to vote. 1t IS more
astonishing that SO few people voted
in the negative.
Here is the result OF five week $ rot,
ing on the silver question
Question: Shall the United States
Government open its mints to the free
coinage of silver without waiting for
agreement with Great Britain Or any
other European nation. and at ratio
of l6 to / /.