The Mason County journal. [volume] (Shelton, W.T.) 1886-1927, 1896-09-25
The Democratic Platform Strikes
at the Governments
Foundation.
FREE SILVER NOT BIMETALLISM.
Condition of Affairs Worse than War
Would Result from DEM
ocratc Success.

not bimetallism and showed what evl
results would follow Democratic sue
cess. He said that for the first
time since the election next proceed
ing the great Civil war. we are
required to guard the very founda
tons and bulwarEs of national stability
OF commercial honesty. of financial con
duct. The Democratic party which met
at Chicago i'll convention i'll July suffered
wonderful change III that convention
The old OracleS and guides of the party
were rudely turned aside. 1t was occu-
pied and demoniacally possessed by a new
spirit-something which has not raised
its head in the political conventions of
either party for thirty years. If there
was any one thing which the 100000
of men who went out 10 defend this cOun-
try thirty years ago thought that they
had entirely obliterated when they re-
turned. il WAS the malign doctrine of
state rights. which lay at the bottom
and was the impetus of the greatest
rebellion which ever reared its head
against civilized government. LO and
behold. III that convention, from the
state of South Carolina. as of yore You
find the declaration of the same state
rights. in the same spirit as in the an
clent time and done in Il connection. my
fellow citizens. which must appeal to the
resentment and repuguance of every lib
erty-loying and countryloving man. Ev-
"ryone who knows anything about me
knows that | am not Il political admircr
of Grover Cleveland: but if there was
any one act of his administration which.
after the contentious of history have
ceased to rage about his acts and his
memory, thai will remain Star-bright
forever it was his action, when the
pulse of business beat low, when COM
merclal intercourse was cut off by rioters
in Chicago. by which. upon principles and
precedents laid down by George Wash
ington 100 Years before. he evoked the
strong arm Of the United States to re-
store law and order in this country.
Applause and cheers
This act is coyertly land cOvertly is
too mild word) denounced in the Chi
cagO platform. More than that If here
is anything in this country or in any ma
ton upon which the stability of the gov
eminent depends. the very keystone of
the great arch upon which the ranged
empire stands. the ultimate principle of
absOluteism that must exist somewhere
In all governments. it is the courts of our
land. where men Sequestered from l,oliti-
cal concerns and political ambitions.
holding the scales of justice even be-
tween contendng passions and contend
ing rights. decide for their fellow citizens
what the law is. And for more than 100
years the Supreme court of the Uuited
States has sat in that exalted position.
midway i'll the capitol of the nation be-
tween the Senate and the House of Rep
feSentatlveS. Il typical object lesson of
Their position and of their sublime ca
pacity to restrain either. and has done
more to conduct the government TO the
nigh plane which 1t occupies. | was going
10 say. than all the statesmen which this
country has ever produced. (Applause)
The Chicago platform strikes ut that
court, strikes ut all courts. and cnun-
clates its malign prophesy of the reor-
ganiZatlon of that court and of any other
court IT necessary. to register the fitful
and passionate and repudiatng cdic.s of
mistaken and misguided men, of mistaken
and misguided parties.
A Crisis is Impending.
And worse than that my fellow citi-
ZenS-wOrse than that. If there was
another thing which the veterans of the
last war thought they had achieved md
which the loyal sentiment of the North
thought it had achieved. it was the OBJ
liberation of all sectionalism i'm this conn
try; we We're to have no South. no North.
no East. 10 West. any more. The whole
country was to be IL unity. But in these
later days. we see the sold South COM
ing up to the banks of the Ohio and the
Missouri as before the war. and with
sectional demands upon an economic is
sue. precisely such as was made before
tne Rebellion. Aud now. with the nj, cb-
fork OF Iiiiiian stirring UP the doctrine
of state rights. with the bomb of Aitwci1
in the denunciation Of our courts and of
President Cleveland thrown under the
very fabric of our government. they have
chosen to put forward as an issue some
thing which touches more immediately
the conviction. the passions. the cupdity
and the honesty of men. and which in if
self contains more disintegrating infl,
ences to our prosperity than al the
causes combined that l have mentioned.
The Democratic convention. or the
Democratic party. as now organized. has
Joined the Populist party in bonds of un
holy wedlock upon the demand that the
United States shall take Il position upon
the currency of this country which 7.
speaking to you under the respopsiaility
of man who is speaking to his neigh
bors, say that | believe is frauuIt With
more disaster to this country than the
greatest foreign war could possibly bling
about. (Applause.)
And that is the subject that | have
been asked to talk to you tonight about
4 am gong to do so. as | said in the be-
ginning, not with any attempt at deco
rative speech. not denOuncing any mon
who may choose to differ from me. for
1 tell you. my fellow citizens. that many
and many Il thousand men who differ
from us today on this matter one wear
from. now will be wondering why and
how they came to do it. applause. !
And so | shall go on. / may be tedious.
1 am going to give you facts and fig
ures. L am not going to draw OH nv
own imagination for my facts at ali
The facts that | shall give you will be
lmpregnabie. 1t is for you to Judge
whether the deductions l shall draw
from them can be refuted
Now what is the question? For q cor.
rect understanding of the question is al
ways the first step towards the solution
of the controversy. The question is NOT
whether there should be the free and
unlimited coinage of silver in the minis
of all the nations, by the consent of tbe
principal commercial nations of the globe
upon ratio to be agreed upon. That is
not the issue. We all might agree that
when this is brought about, as ii will be
If the United States conducts itself with
judgment upon this question, l say we
might all agree that that would be an
excellent thing. The Republican party
has pledged itself in successive platforms
to labor to bring about international
agreement. The most advanced think.
ers upon financial questions in both
hemispheres are advocating. especially IN
foreign lands, the resumption of the coin
age of silver, by united action of nations
who, before we did, long ago. independ.
entity of us. and uncomfortable by us
suspended or limited the further COMA &c