St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1895-07-15
A wEaK.KNEED sUrpoRT

The most striking evidence of the
decadence of Republican opinion on
the currency question that has come
to our notice is an article by Senator
Morrill,, of Vermont, in a recent is
sue of the Independent. Senator
Morrill, has long been considered one
of the StauncheSt supporters of
sound money. He desires, we sup
pose, to be included now in the same
category The head lines over his
article represent him as utterly OPP
posed to the arguments of the free
silver champions, and large por-
ton of the article itself will bear the
same construction and agrees with
the same conclusion. At the same
time, this unyielding opponent of
cheap money permits to creep into
his argument certain conciliatory
statements which show how far
the dry rot of compromise has in
vaded the Republican body. '"The
Republican party, as its action con-
clusively shows" says Mr.. Morrill,,
has not been unfriendly to silver"
The use of this expression friend
ly'' or 'unfriendly" to silver ought
to be left to the persons whose doc
trines the venerable senator rejects.
And assertions that the Repub-
lican party has leanings toward sill
yer are an obvious bid for the silver
vote. Mr.. Morrill, is comfortable and
| contented while he can denounce
Democrats and Populists. He is
| equally vigorous in condemning free
| silver in the abstract. But when it
| comes to the concrete question, here
is what he has to offer in the clos
ing paragraph of his article:
| The Republican party will not au-
| thorize our largest financial institutions
to pay their obligations to creditors
| with less money than they promised
! and they will not long permit an in
sufficient customs revenue to constant
| ly threaten the degradation of large
| share of the money now in circulation
But the party will treat silver gener-
| ously, promptly urging widest cooper
| home, maintain at par as many hun
| dred millions of silver money as can
be done without shipwrecking all the
business enterprises OF the leading
| American nation on the barren shore
of silver monometalliSm.
An insincere politician making a
speech upon the stump could scarce
ly make his words more Elusive and
|
Senator Morrill, desires to convey is
that our customs revenue is INSULT
cient, and that this has something
to do with the money question. He
is too able a man not to know that
this is wholly false, and unworthy
of his hitherto honorable standing.
Again, as a conclusion of an argu-
ment for honest money, he says that
his party will treat silver gener-
ously." He adds, also, that it will
/ maintain at par as many hundred
millions of silver money as possible.
This is exactly the policy which the
Republican party has pursued since
1878; and which has given us today
an enormous accumulation of paper
and silver, resting upon a founda-
ton SO insecure that it shakes and
totters with every f1uctuation of pub
lie confidence. 1t is a vague promise
to the free silver men that they can
expect as much or more from the
Republican party as from any other.
1t is in complete harmony with the
proceedings of the Cleveland con-
vention; but it is tantamount to
taking back everything that Mr..