The herald., 1896-06-22
GIVES HIS VIEWS
On the Attitude Of the Democracy on
National Finance
Free Coinage Means Silver Monometallism
and the Nations Ruin
Hs VIII Accept No Nomination for Office
and Speaks Only for the Good
Of Ills Party and Of
Ills Country
..oo,.t.d Press special wire.

Associated Press Special Wire.
CINCINNATI, June 2-In view or
Senator elect Foraker's relation to the
making of the platform at st. Louis and
his relations with Senator Teller four
years ago in q similar capacity, his ut
terance on the subject Of gold and silver
last night In his ratification speech be-
comes of peculiar interest. He said:
want to take advantage of this op-
portunity to say a word about the effort
now being made to make 1t appear that
the Republican party declared in its
money plank for something new in ST.
Louis. That Is not true.
The declaration Of the Republican
party as embodied in its financial plank.
defines exactly what has been the posi-
ton of the Republican party through
all the years with respect to this silver
question. Silver was demonetized in
1873, and ever since that we have been
on a single gold standard. About the
same time several Of the leading nations
of Europe demonetized silver. and ever
since that time an effort has been made
to get back to the standard. We have
seen three International money confer
ences. the object Of them being to agree
with the nations upon an international
ratio according to which we could have
the free coinage of silver. But all these
efforts have failed.
1t has been constantly and repeatedly
declared by both parties that bimetal
lism was desirable in preference to gold
or silver monometallism. Both parties
have agreed that we could maintain the
parity OF the two metals and bring about
the bimetallism again by an interna-
tional agreement. Some have insisted
in the meanwhile that II we could not
do 1t that way we could do it alone with
out regard to what other nations might
see At to do. The Republican party has
constantly, consistently and persistent
ly stood up against that idea
Four years ago, when we held the con-
vention at Minneapolis, it was my for
tune to be associated on that committee
with Senator Teller and his associates
from the silver states, who came to that
convention and came before that COM
mittee asking US to insert a plank pledg-
ing the Republican party to the free
coinage Of silver. We refused to do 1t.
We declared that we were in favor Of
International bimetallism. but that until
that was brought about it would be our
policy to maintain silver at parity
with gold by issuing no more Of it than
could be maintained at a parity with
gold.
They accepted the result and remain
ed in the Republican party. That decla-
ration was simply declaration. as the
one adopted the other day, that we
should stand precisely where we were
until we could do better.
We are confident that we could not
safely undertake to have bimetallism
by international agreement; we were
unwilling. and refused to attempt it by
free and independent coinage.
They did not feel called upon to go
from the party then; their consciences
did not seem to trouble them so much as
now. They remained in the party four
years longer When the last session of
congress commenced. as a result Of this
Democratic free trade experiment the
government was found to have deficient
revenue not enough revenues to meet
its current expenses. A bill was pre-
pared In the house and passed that body
without partisan division, almost, pro-
viding for an increase of revenue. That
bill was known as the Dingley bill. 1t
went to the senate.
The national credit the national hon
or, the national life was at stake. The
gentleman said the bill was unobjection-
able, but they refused to vote for it
(that Is, six of these gentlemen from sill
yer states did) unless the great major
ity, who did not agree with them, would
sacrifice their convictions and vote for
the free, unlimited and unrestricted
coinage Of silver. The great minority
in the senate would not be coerced by
that majority.
That action, upon the part of these
people, directed the attention of the
country to that subject as 1t had not
been directed before. And therefore.
when we met at st. Louis we were not
for different stand to be taken by the
Republican party. but for more explicit
declarations Of our principles than we
had heretofore made, and inasmuch as
they had thrown down the gage of bat
tie by demanding free silver and seeking
to coerce US to accept, we concluded
that that was a good time to meet them
half way, Join issues and let the battle
come on.
They appeared before the committee
and were part Of the committee, just as
they were four years ago. They made
the same demand and we made the same
answer We did four years before, but
when we came to write the platform we
said we would make 1t so plain all would
understand. and we declared that we