Morris tribune., 1896-06-10
GERMAN AMERICANS
THEY ARE ALMOST UNANIMOUS FOR
SOUND MONEY.

Ready to Break Party Ties to Vote Against
Free Coinage They Form Large Per
centage of the Voters of This Country.
Mr.. Gustav H. Schwab is president
of the German society of New York
city and is therefore in touch with
Germans and German Americans in this
country. Being also a prominent bus
iness man, he is familiar with the views
of Germans on the financial question. In
AN interview on May Ia he said:
I am convinced from my knowledge
of my German American fellow citi-
zens and their ways of thinking that
the vast majority of them in the coming
political contest will entirely disregard
party ties and will vote for that party
which declares for the maintenance, be-
yond possibility of doubt, of the gold
standard of value, and that they will
mot give their suffrage to any candidate
who may be suspected of leaning to-
ward free silver coinage or toward any
compromise with the silver people.
They consider that the paramount
question before the country at present is
the integrity of our monetary system,
and their votes will go to that party
which they believe will uphold the
country's financial honor. regardless of
what their views may be on other polit-
zeal questions. Previous experience has
shown that German voters on questions
relating to or affecting the standard of
value have always stood for common
honesty, and that they have uniformly
opposed all forms of financial heresy.
When, 90 years ago, the paper money
imitation question was agitated in Mis-
souri,, the Germans of that state were
sarrayed on the side sof sound money.
The Germans of Illinois are on record
:as always having been on the right side
of the money question, and as never
Aaving been led astray by cheap money
propaganda at any time. A German
Business man, cashier of large bank in
Chicago, who has wide acquaintance
with the small bankers and merchants
throughout the west, tells me that he
mas had occasion to hear expressions
from his German countrymen for years
past on the question of a monetary
standard, and that he has never yet
found one who was not in favor of the
gold standard and opposed to the free
coinage of silver.
His opinion is that the German citi-
zens of Illinois are unanimously opposed
TO any Impairment of the present gold
standard.
It is o fact, universally known, that
the sound money victoryrin Ohio in the
z gabernatofial campaig1i<e Of 1875, in
which Rutherford B. Hayes ran on
Republican hard money platform
against William A llen,on Democratic
paper money initiation platform, was
due to the firm stand taken by the Ger
mans, who, disregarding party lines,
turned the scale in the election in favor
of honest money. This fact was conced-
ed at the time by the Republican press
of the state, and the Democratic candi-
date voiced the sentiments of his party
leaders when he gave utterance to his
zacerated. feelings after the election by
exclaiming, ''The Dutch are id I'M
reliable. :" The German voters are GER
tainly not to be relied upon when they
are asked to prostitute the country's
financial honor at their party's bidding.
In the state of Wisconsin the Germans
have taken the same united stand in
Favor of sound money, and the same
may DE said Of Michigan. Iowa and
Minnesota.
The entire German newspaper press in
sfhis country, with few exceptions, is
temphatically for sound money, as it has
tbeen in the past, and can be depended
Upon to pronounce in favor of the main
tenance of the present standard of value
and for the party that represents this
principle, regardless of previous party
affiliations. Several important German
Democratic papers in the western states
hnave already threatened to bolt their
1iGket if free silver plank should be
adopted. AS an indication Of the gen
eral sentiment of the German press I
refer to the position taken by the largest
and oldest German newspaper in the
south, The Demokrat of Louisville, in
the last state election in Kentucky. Al
though always Democratic up to that
time, this paper bolted the Democratic
free silver candidate and urged the cleo
9ion of the Republican sound money can
didate for governor.
The Importance Of the German vote
will be apparent when the numerical
strength of the German-American popu-
cation in the pivotal states is consider
ed. The returns of the census of 1880
show that the state Of New York then
contained 972, 603 German Americans,
Ohio 541,407, Illinois 69O, 588, Penn
sylvania 472, 423, Michigan 276, 1858,
Wisconsin 1874, Minnesota 244, 634,
iowa 269, 603 and Missouri 297 1895
Whatever may be the decision of the
national conventions on the money ques-
dion, this issue will be fairly, squarely
and most thoroughly placed before the
German voter in the course Of the cam
paign, and as to the nature of his re-
Spouse 1 do not entertain any doubt.
The Tail Too Small to Wag the Dog.
The total population Of the silver
mining communities including all those
Syho are directly or indirectly dependent