The Black Hills union. [volume] (Rapid City, Pennington County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1889-1904, 1895-09-13
MUST FAVOR FREE SILVER,
The Populist Party Must be the white
Metal Party.
IF NOT WE HAD BETTER OIIT.
That is What Chairman Taubeneck ~ tho
National Committee Thinks-Some
POpulist Editors Who Have
Injured the Cause.

the leading populists in Illinois, wrote
an article for the August Sentinel, in
which he advocated greenback or fat
money n opposed either gold or silver
anGs commended that the popul1st party
AK puld nail the motto "greenbacks and
y A7erty" at it's masthead for the cam
| IN oflS96, taking no part IN the sill
yer hight. Mr., Tauberneck, chairman OF
the national committee replies to Mr..
Norton IN opposition and contends that
we should make a special fight for free
silver; we quote below a part OF the
reply which seems to us a most sensible
proposition to make:
Don't say that [ favor banks Of is
sue because | am opposed to the idea Of
abandoning our silver plank. No one
has a better record than mine. for de-
manding that all the paper money
needed in addition to gold and silver
shall be issued by the government. and
made a full legal tender.
From a political standpoint, there
isn't anything we could do, ~(uniess it
would be to follow Mr.. Loucks, DR.. Nc
Clallin and Others in advocating social
ism and the platform adopted at the
Staten Island conference which would
more effectively destroy the peoples
party than to follow your policy.
"Let us look the situation that con-
fronts us squarely in the face. We need
at least 4 1000, 900 more votes to elect
a president and congress in 1896. This
is a cold fact. Ask yourself, colonel.
Where are they to come from? You
know that we must have them. Are
they to come from those who believe in
Scientific Money!" No. From the
socialists? No. From those who be-
lieve in the natlonalism Of all monopo-
lies? No. From those who believe in
the land question? No. All these ques-
tions combined will not add more than
100000 new recruits to u ranks,
Where then must we look to for the
necessary 100000 votes? There is
but one place, Colonel, and tina is, the
silver republicans and silver democrats
who at the present time are making the
fight for free coinage inside the old jar
ties and are going to be whipped.
Deny and disguise it as you may, but
this fact will ALWAYS remain. The silver
force outside OF the peoples party is our
only base of supply, our only hope to
get enough recruits to win this fight.
We must either absorb the silver votes
Of the south and west or abandon the
field to some other organization.
How car we win their support colonel,
by abandoning the contest for silver?
No. By advocating measures which are
OF no consequence whatever until the
money question is settled? No. This
will drive them farther from US. We
must invite them to join our ranks on
the silver issue alone, and trust them to
agree with us on the balance of our plat.
form after we become better acquainted.
We become a political factor in proper
ton to the number Of votes we poll and
not in proportion to the number of
planks each voter believes in.
"You know how difficult it is to con-
vince the average voter that we are
right while he belongs to either of the
old parties and you also know how easy
to convince him otherwise after he has
left them. You can make twenty-five
converts to the theory of scientific
money" after they join our ranks, where
you a make but one while they be-
long to the old parties. Our silver
plank will bring ten new recruits to our
ranks, whore the balance of our platform
will bring but one. Whenever we aban-
don the contest for silver we also aban.
oc,d1 all hope OF ever winning a victory.
1t w,enld not only take thousands and
tens &Sthousands OF voters out OF our
ranks, eeasglt 1t would also close the door
in t~hsul1He~of every silver voter who il
notysiS h US. No. colonel, | can not
agree With you. Although l know YOU
are honest in what you advocate and
would not Intentionally injure our cause
yet this move would result to the benefit
OF "wall street" because 1T would cut of
their only base OF supply, to ever get
enough votes to win this fight and make
it impossible for our party to even be q
factor in the campaign of 1896. The
difference between you and / seems to be
this: You wish to make it as difficult AZ
-~~sLto Il A-L-.-