Evening star., 1895-04-16
BOTH SATISFIED
The Friends Of Sound Money and
the Free Coinage Men.
PLEASED WITH THEPRESIDENTS LETTER
Friends of the White Metal Ready
for Action.
VICE, PRESIDENTS POSITION

VlCE~ PRESIDENTS POSITION
Both sides profess to be entirely satisfied
with the Presidents latest deliverance on
silver The sound money people have un-
questionably secured what they wanted.
There was never the hope, so " ell-informed
men declare, of inducing the President to
visit Chicago and make a speech, but an
invitation Of that nature was decided upon
as the best means of impressing him with
the gravity of the situation. A letter was
in the line of the original calculation, and
now that 1t has been given to the public
those instrumental in causing it to be writ
ten are more than gratfied at the result
of their labors. The next step will be to
distribute 1t as widely and emphasize its
real meaning as strongly as possible, and
this is to be the work of all the Presidents
supporters from Maine to Texas, and from
New York to California. A battle has be-
gun which is not expected to close until
November, 1896.
Free Coinage Men Ready.
The free coinage men are ready for
action. The President, they declare, does
not state the case too strongly for them.
They will meet him on the line of his own
choosing, and are even threatening to force
the fighting on that line. Replying to the
Interpretation put upon his letter, which
makes it prescribe the nature and test of
democracy on the money question, they
point to the unrepresentative character of
the members of the Presidents official
family as it relates to the people from
whom they come. Judge Gresham is class
ed as an Illinois man, and the democracy
of his state is so much in favor of silver
that convention has been called to give
the feeling early formal expression.
old Kentucky home and sees the silver
ties mastering in overpowering numbers
under the leadership of Senator Blackburn.
The democratic state convention, it is as
serted. will undoubtedly adopt free silver
platform.
Mr.. Herbert is powerless in Alabama as
opposed to Senators Morgan and Pugh,
both Of whom are aggressively for free
coinage.
Georgia threatens Mr.. Smith with fifty
thousand majority for free coinage at the
first opportunity.
Mr.. Morton, by giving out a letter re-
ceived from a personal friend on the sub
ject. comedies Nebraska to the silver cause
by fifty thousand.
The new Postmaster General halls from a
state where the democracy has always
stood by the white metal. and as for Mr..
Olney, the free silver men refuse to con-
slider him in the equation. Massachusetts
Is not, and cannot be made. factor In
any democratic calculation on national is
sues
So that, according to this summary. and
as the silver men declare, not only Is the
President not in line himself with his party
on the money question. but he is supported
at the council table by men who at his in
stance, or for other reasons. have aban-
doned their right to speak for the people
from whom they were selected.
To Define Democracy.
In such circumstances what right. the
silver men ask. has the President to under
take to define democracy or to speak for it
; In any national sense? He may speak for
the New York democracy, which he truly
represents. and for the democracy of the
democratic states of New Jersey, Delaware
and Maryland, but there his authority
ends. In all the rest of the democratic ter
ritory free silver sentiment controls, and,
the free silver men declare, Will continue to
control. The prediction Is made that the
Presidents letter will have no effect in any
of the democratic strongholds. The issue
Is already made up and thoroughly under
stood, and not all of the members of the
cabinet, speaking from the stump, OF
through the newspapers. could hope to
stem the rising silver tide in the sections
where they live.
The Vice Presidents Position.
A very interesting point developed by the
Presidents entrance into the fight relates
to the Vice Presidents position. This has
already been referred to in The Star. The
Illinois movement for silver is not distinctly
were his presidential fortunes in evidence
at the time the convention was called. His
friends assisted. however. and this was
suggested as a reason why the President
might hesitate even to write a letter in the
premises. 1t was thought that Mr.. Cleve-
land might await another opportunity,
which could easily be provided, to help
along his own side of the question. But he
has responded promptly, regardless of the
effect on his yokemates BOOM and now in
terest attaches to what Mr.. Stevenson will
A winning for silver there means winning
all along the line. setback for silver
there means setback for silver all along
the line. Is Mr.. Stevenson the national
hope of the free coinage men? And, If he
is will not they demand that he put his
shoulder to the wheel at home, even with
the President pushing against him? And
will Mr.. Stevenson do this? Can he afford
to hold aloof? Senator Palmer and Col.
Morrison are helping the President, and if
silver is beaten Col. Morrison may greatly
benefit by the result But if silver wins,
with the President in the fight against it,
and Mr.. Stevenson for it, will not that one
triumph inevitably make Mr.. Stevenson the
candidate of the democracy for the presi-
dency?
Former Free Coinage Uttcrances.
Mr. Stevenson's present views as to sill
yer are gathered more from his utterances
while he was in Congress, now some twelve
years ago than from any recent express
sion. He was at that time an advocate of
free coinage, and acted with the free coin
age men. Mr.. Carlisle and Mr.. Herbert
were in the same company. But Mr.. Ste
yenson 1t is asserted, has never changed
his views. He stands now where he stood
then, and the silver men believe, would If
elected President, sign free coinage bill If
the Congress should lay one before him.
The story recently printed that Mr.. Ste
venson would spend the summer in Europe
is now denied. He will remain at home,
and so will he close at hand in case his sup
porters should decide to call upon him for
action or suggestion at any time. Mr.. Ste
venson is too old a player to get so far
from base while the ball is passing from
hand to hand at lively a rate.
wnrships in the Mediterranean.
For the first time in many years, two