Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1896-06-11

month into standard dollars, ana IN
that form passed the House. President
| HAYES vetoed the bill February %,
1878. On the question Of repassing the
bin over the veto Mr.. Mckinley voted
yea.
A free coinage bill introduced by Mr..
Bland was reported adversely in the
House April s, 1886, and a substitute
was offered providing that silver coin
age under the Bland-Allison act should
be suspended July l, 1889, unless pre-
viously silver should be remonetized
through international action. On this
question Mr.. Mckinley voted nay.
Mr.. Mckinley was chairman of tho
committee on resolutions in the Repub-
lican convention of 1888, and reported
a platform which declared that the
Republican party is in favor of the
use of both gold and silver as money,
and condemns the policy Of the Demo-
cratic administration in its efforts to
demonetize silver" these efforts con-
sisting Of recommendations by Prsei-
dent Cleveland that Congress should
/ repeal the Bland-Allison act, precise
" like the recommendation made by
Mr.. Cleveland's Republican predeces-
sor President Arthur.
If this record of Congressman Nc
Kinley does not show him to be on the
side of free silver we confess our ig-
norance as TO what free silver means.
But this is not all. We quote again
from the esteemed Mckinley organ of
Fourteenth street:
The last opportunity that Mckinley had
10 so on record in Congress upon this
| question was on the 18th of June, 1890,
when he delivered a speech in the house of
| representatives,. In that speech he said;
TO tel me that the free and unlimited
| coinage of the silver of the world, IN tae
| absence Of cooperation on the part OF other
commercial nations will not bring gold 10
a premium. Is 10 deny all history ana the
weight OF all financial experience. The
y
minis 10 the silver bullion of the world IN
| depeudently Of international action, that
very instant. or In brief time AZ pest.
| you have sent gold 20 premium, ana
when YOU have sent gold 10 a premium.
| the. You have put it in a great measure
/ iat0 disuss ard We are RENTED 20 the
single standard. that of silver alone-we
have deprived ourselves OF the active use
90 both metals Whatever dollars
We have iu this country must be good dol
lars. as good in the hands OF the poor as
tle rich. equal dollars. equal In purchas-
ing power whether they DE paper dollars,
or gold dollars. or silver dollars. or treas
my uCtfs-cach convertible into the other
and each eNchaugeable for the other be-
cause each b. based upon equal value and
has behind 10 equal security; good not by
TIE Tat OF law alone. but good because the
whole commercial world recognizes its in
hercut and inextingulshsble value"
Again. while a candidate for Governor
| % Ohio. Mckinley said in a speech which
he delivered several times during the cam
paign:
~ am not in favor of the free and un-
limited coinage OF silver in the United
States until the nations Of the world shall
Join US In guaranteeing 10 silver status
which their laws now accord TO gold.
I'VE are aware that McKinley's public
utterances are garbled frequently by his
enemies and twisted for purpose of their
own. but his whole record has been on the
side of honest money"
This is amusing in the light of Nc
Kinleys official record which We have
quoted above. But our neighbor car
ries McKinley's record down to 1890,
which is later than we have quoted
above but we have this famous strad-
dler on record as late as 1890 and even
later. For instance, Mckinley, as
chairman of the ways and means COM
mittee. and leader of the House in the
Fifty-first Congress, earnestly advocat-
ed the passage of the silver purchase
act in 1890, as better than the Bland
Allison act and the next best thing to
free coinage, saying of it: I'VE cannot
have free coinage now, except in the
manner provided in the bill. To de-
/ feat this bill means to defeat all sill
yer legislation and to leave us with two
millions month only. when by passing
this bill we would have four and half
millions a month of Treasury notes as
good as gold.'
Again, on Ooctber 81, 1890, which is
four months later than the esteemed
Intelligencer dares quote its straddling
idol, Mckinley. who was then anxious
to retain his seat in Congress, sought
to propitiate the Farmers Alliance of
Stark county, Ohio, by letter to its
secretary, in which he wrote: Il have
just learned that a committee of the
Farmers Alliance have addressed a let
| ter to me making inquiries about my
position on certain public questions in
which they have deep interest" And
| thereupon the candidate. who had not
then adopted the policy of silence, pro-
ceeded to set forth the platform, in the
course of which he declared: Il am in
favor of the use of all the silver prod
uct of the United States for money as
circulating medium. would have sill
yer and gold alike"
How characteristic of the candidate
that the farmers should have had -
catechise him six years ago to find out
where he stood,
Indeed. we have McKinley's silver
record down pat as late as 1894 or four
years later than the Fourteenth streee
Mckinley organ dares to quote him.
On September q. 1894, in a speech de-
| livered az Findlav. O.. Mckinley said.