Southwest-sentinel. [volume] (Silver City, N.M.) 1883-189?, 1895-04-30
M LIE sILIER pEMOCRACE.

The free silver men in the dem
ocratic party have good reason for
claiming the right to dictate its
platform and its ticket for 1896.
They represent a majority of is
members, unquestionably, and its
record in congress on this ques.
ton further justi6es them in de-
handing that its future course
shall de regulated according to
their wishes. As far back as 1877
the democrats in the house voted
10 to l in favor of free coinage.
Again, in 1890, they voted 8 to !
in favor of it; and in the senate,
every democratic vote was cast for
such a proposition. In 1891, the
senate again voted on the question
and e~ight-ninths of the democrats
voted the same way. The next
year there was another vote in the
house, and the democrats gave a
majority of 40 for free coinage;
and another vote in the senate
showed a democratic majority of
81 on that side. At other times,
in various ways, democratic sup
port and encouragement has been
given to the free silver with
sufficient force to commit the par.
ty to the doctrine. 1t is true that
there has always been an element
of democratic opposition in con-
gress, but it has never been suffi-
GENTLY formidable to control the
party on a direct vote, and to win
a decisive victory for sound mon
ey without republican assistance.
In view of these fscts, It must
be confessed that the free silverites
may properly assert the right to
decide what the party shall do on
the currency question. They
have been put off from time to
time in national conventions on
the plea of expedience and the
necessity of facing both ways IN
order to secure votes; and they
cannot be blamed for refusing to
be trihed with any longer. The
President speaking for the sound
money contingent of the party,
has challenged them to a contest
on this issue, and they cannot hon
orably or consistently avoid it.
They are asked as a majority to
defer to the minority, and repudi-
ate the record that has been made
in favor of their doctrine by dem
ocratic action in congress. The
time has come for them to subor-
dinate all other considerations to
the obligation of fighting for what
they believe to be the true poll
cy of their party; and all the
signs are to the effect that they so
understand the situation and are
resolved to have their way at any
cost. They can readily see that
there is no hope of Democratic
success in following the course
that has heretofore been pursued,
and they propose to try a new de-
parture. Their pluck is to be adj
mired, whatever may be thought
of their judgment. The result OF
their undertaking may be the hope
less disruption of their party, but
they will at least have the conso-
letion of knowing that they stood
up for their honest convictions in
preference TO making an abject
surrender.-St. Louis Globe-Dem
ocrat.
While the Globe-D Democrat, one
of the staunchest republican jour
nails in the west and the most
pronounced monometallist papers
in it's party, is so prejudiced in
its views that it connot treat the
opposition with courtesy, it mad.
yertantly stumbled upon a great
truth when it published the fore
going. When it substantially
declares that from 1877 down tc
the present the democratic party
has been the champion of free
coinage it never printed a truel
item. But that statement was
not prompted through a sense Of
Justice and friendliness to the
democratic party, but rather to its
itended injury. The Globe-D Dem.
ocrat editorially insists upon the
fallacy of free coinage and only
desires its adoption as an issue
IN the hope that through it the
disruption of the democratic par.
ty viii be accomplished; this is
possible, but not probable. How.
ever, il through contending fol
the rights Of the American peopl,
the democratic party will sustain
the loss Of an element Of her ma
terinl strength (tbe monometal.
lists) the sooner this fact becomes
known the better. If, in order
to make faithful democrats out o.
a few gold bugs We must sacrifice
the prosperity of the nation anC
the wellbeing Of nine-tenths o.
her people. the sooner tho demo.
cratic party dies and passes int
oblivion the better II viii be fol
the country. But much to th'
chagrin Of the Globe-D Democrat