Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1896-06-19
A SILVER ADDRESS
The Boilers From the Convention
Still in Conference.
TELLER as 4 FUSION CANDIDATE
Have Been Invited to Send Repre-
sentatives to Chicago.
TEXT OF THE DOCUMENr L

ST. LOUIS, Mo-, June 19.-The silver men
continued in conference today and report
that they have the signatures OF twenty
six delegates to their declaration of indie
pendence which sets forth their principles
and recommends that all parties and organ
i2atioEs opposed to the gold standard unite
in supporting Senator Teller for President.
There is strong effort being made to get
delegates who did not withdraw from the
convention to sign this appeal to the peo-
pie. There have been conferences with rep
resentatives of the populists and Rimetallic
League for them to indorse Teller and
have strong fusion against the gold stand
ard so to induce the democratic ma
tional convention also 10 indorse Teller for
the fusion candidate for President. The
silver bolters nave been co2ferring during
the night and day with ex-tiov- Francis
and members of the democratic national
committee relative to their action. They
have no assurance from the democratic
managers, but have been invited to send
representatives to the democratic national
convention at Chicago next month to con-
fer with the party.
The silver men say that Senator Teller
Is the man in their opinion on whom all
the anti-gold men could unite, but that
they are willing to cooperate where they
can consistently do SO TO defeat the gold
standard and they are not seeking TO
press Senator Teller so much as they are
to secure relief from the power of the
gold men. The silver men will continue
their conferences tonight and tomorrow
and will keep up their work till all the
national conventions have been held, with
a view to perfecting general fusion.
The silver men did not want to give out
their address today, because they have
not had an opportunity to get the sigma
of oil ,of,,
ment.
But most of the delegates have left
and as there will be further conferences it
was finally given OFT with the signatures
of twenty-six delegates. There were only
twenty-three who walked out of the con-
vention- The silver conferees claim that
they have not more than half the sigma
lures that were promised 1t is also
known that there is difference of op;n-
ion among the silver delegates, and some
who denounce the gold standard are not in
favor of tine Independent movement.
The address is as follows:
Address to the People.
To the People of the United States:
Obeying the call of duty. and justified by
the common citizenship of this republic we
address this communication to the people
and the forth cCming conventions of the
United States. In doing so We claim no
authority right other than which te-
conviction: but We respectfully solicit the
co-oper..tiOa of all who believe that the
time has cCme for return to the simpler
and more direct method of naming men for
national service than has obtained in re-
cent years.
Political party organize ton is necessary
because without IL the individual voter is
dumb: but the party is only the means, not
the e.Id; 1t is the voice and not the sense.
AS the world advances in this wonderful
epoch of intellectual development and
physical Improvement, there is a constant
requirement for better things. The indi-
vidual fee'' that require ement and heeds it,
or he fails in lifes endeavor. Parties must
also obey the came law. 1t follows, there
fore. that the moment a party shall choose
TO stand still or retrOsTeSs, ii is no longer
efficient - achieve the end to which III
people are necessarily destined. There is
no sanctity in mere party name; and the
mark of decay is set on individual strength
in a nation when the absolute rule of po-
htical organization coerces man from the
truth for the sake of expcd:ency and es-
tabliShes insincere sui mission to partisan
rule for the sake of power.
Recognizing the value and the splendid
achievements of political Parties in this
&C untry. as elsewhere, we are yet constrain-
ed to believe that for more than twenty
years no one of them has been entirely
sufficient fer the needs of the people. The
great trend to better things, resting in the
heart and purIC of all men, has been
stayed during the latter part of this gen.
Grafton by the failure of parties to express
in their achievements the highest hope and
aspiration Of the mass of the people who
constitute the parties And there has been
growing in this country-swel:ng with each
recurrence of national eection-a great
mass of independent thir kers and voters
which. failing within itself to control has
gravitated between the two great parties
Since 1872 excepting possibly the election
of 1870 the pendulum has swung from
side tc side with each four years. In 1877
the republican party elected the President:
in 1876 the democracy claimed the election:
In 1sD the republican party elected in
1SSi the democrats elected: in 1SSS the re-
publcans elected: in 1892 the democra IS
elected; in 1S.6 until within few weeks)
II hat been conceded that the repu ublicans
would elect What has been the cause of
this mighty oscillation OF mass which
this year has probably obtained controlling
proportions?
Party Promises Broken.
Every man can answer to himself If he
has been an observer. if he has interests
that were affected if he has felt a hope to
see greater justice DONE and has seen that
hope blasted. if he knows that the general
dissatisfaction has arisen from the fact
that party promises made were broken to
the people by party performance. he knows
that so soon as the election was over and
the successful candidates installed they be-
came the servitors of the party and the
policy, within which alone there seemed
to be tn assurance of selfish safety and
partisan approval. During all this period
we have lacked great constructive admin
istration. No new social truth has been put
forward in an effective way. While in all
the departments of physical life there have
been developments and achievements of
ease and comfort to the favored of man
kind. in the still greater and more import
ant domain of social reform We have stood
still or retrogressed.
1t is not that the people have not felt the
STRINGS of determination that this inaction
has endured. but because of the rule of
party. which has largely controlled men in
and out of office. 1t has become a source of
reproach to any man that he should dare to
renounce allegiance to organization Men
have been expected to submit their vie WIS
to the dictation of conventions although il
is common knowledge that conventions
have been swayed to views and declarations
not the most approved by the mass of the
people nor progressive for their welfare
We do not arrogate to ourselves one iota
more of intelligence. patriotism or courage
than is possessed by any of our fellow citi-
Zens. But We feel that the time has come
for the performance of duty to this coun-
try. and for our part. though We shall stand
alone. We will make an endeavor in the
direction of that duty. Parties may outlive
their usefulness, the truth never becomes
obsolete. Every generation of free men has
the right to affirm the truths of past knowl-