The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1896-08-27

w nen the country contrasts the TWO
hours speech of Mr. Bryan, as a mere
preliminary to the serious business of
writing a letter of acceptance, with the
vast mountain of words by which Mr..
Mckinley has notified the Republican
committee that he accepts the nominal
ton of his party, it may well conclude
that in any event it will be the unwill-
ing prey of monumental verbosity. The
bad habit of darkening counsel with
words is growing upon our public men.
The ability to express an idea in less
than a column of print appears to be
lost. And so Mr.. Mckinley piles up
thousands of words to say what might
have been said more emphatically,
more incisively and far more effective
ly in one-tenth of the space.
Practically speaking, there are but
two subjects treated in the letter AS
to the first, the financial issue, it is sat
isfactory in its enunciation of princi-
pies that belong to no party, because
they are the common property of all
who have made themselves familiar
with economic science and are intent
upon the maintenance of national hon
or. The credit of the nation must be
preserved. Its prosperity does not de-
pend upon securing more money, but
upon putting the money that we have
at work instead of leaving it to sulk
in timorous idleness. Mr. Mckinley
points out clearly the difference be-
tween the silver dollar as it now exists,
guaranteed by the government, and
that which would prevail under free
coinage, with nothing to support the
difference between its bullion and its
coinage value. Deprived of the prop of
national credit it must certainly fall to
Its commercial level, when issued in
unlimited quantities. The Republican
candidate also makes a positive declar-
alton of his position and intentions as
to the maintenance of the existing
standard of values which would have
been worth small army of votes to
him if it had been uttered months ago,
when the duty of every patriot was to
declare his position. He is right on this
Issue, but his profession comes late.
Much of the sound reason of the first
portion of his letter is nullified by the
nonsense scattered over the tariff por-
ton. Indeed, Mr.. Mckinley fair
ly stultifies himself by declaring
due to Democratic legislation on
the tariff, effects which he has
Just shown to be the natural
consequence of vicious financial sys-
tenn. This part of the acceptance is
merely repetition of the speeches that
he has been making at Canton. and
their weakness and irrelevance we have
already exposed. No man, a candidate
for the presidency. ever rose to
sublimer height of folly than Mr.. Nc
Kinley when he ascribes industrial
conditions prevailing in 1898, just after
q great financial panic, to a tariff act
which did not come into being until
q year later. One-idead as he is. we
But the surprising thing, perhaps. is
that he should have even consented to
notice any other issue than the tariff
rather than that he should multiply alb
surdities about it. 1t is a fitting climax
to his statistics. comparing times of
financial CONFUSION with those of Sc
curity, and ascribing all the contrast
20 the tariff, when he says that the
first duty of the Republican party will
be the enactment of suitable tariff
laws; although he knows that, even If
successful, that party will no more be
able to pass a tariff act through the
senate, unaccompanied by a free sill
yer bill, than it will be to repeal the
constitution of the United States.
1t certainly is an evil choice that
shuts the people of this country in to
the election as president of one of two
men, each of whom has had his mem
tai furniture rather conspicuosly ON
exhibition of late days The speech of
Bryan and the letter of Mckinley are
fitting preludes to the meeting of the
Indianapolis convention. Give to the
voters of the country a candidate to
vote for, who Will neither tell them that
value can be legislated into commod-
tiles, nor that a nation can be taxed