The Caucasian. (Clinton, N.C.) 188?-1913, 1896-01-09
BUTLER TO
THE FRONT.
lie Peels The Hide From nypo.
critics and Makes "Silver
Mca" Understand Their
Places.

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The people Of North Carolina made
no mistake in sending Marion Bat
Ter TO the Senate in place Of "0ly
Cannon Ransom Butler is the
youngest member OF that body. but
be is by no means the least. In the
very frst speech he made he achiev-
ed more reputation than many mem
bers Of that body who have been
there for years. A part OF that
speech was given last week, but
lack Of space prevented Us from Civ
ing the best part.
1t will be remembered that Sena-
tor Harris, of Tennessee, who bol,ed
the Memphis silver convention, tried
to charge the Populist Senators with
aiding the Republicans to organize
the Senate. Butler replied that the
Populists had done everything they
could to get the Senators who were
elected on q silver platform to unite
for the purpose Of organizing on
a silver basis, and in his remarks
said:
"If silver men, men pledged to
vote against the gold standard
had accepted our invitation, we
could have organized the Senate and
put every committee in the hands
of the friends of silver. This would
have enabled US to have brought for
ward and passed free coinage bill,
and also to have repealed the law
under which President Cleveland is
about to issue more bonds. We were
anxious to do this But only few
Senators from the two old parties
accepted our invitation.
The Senator from Tennessee de-
clined that invitation. Which course
was it the duty Of the Peoples
Party Senators to pursued We had
to do one of three things. I want to
be understood. We had either to
vote with the Democrats to organ
ize the Senate, or to vote with the
Republicans to organize the Senate,
or 10 stand alone. We decided 10
vote with neither side. We had in
vited the men on both sides who
claimed to agree with us on fnan-
cial questions to cooperate with us,
and both sides had refused. But the
Senator from Tennessee makes the
point that we refused, and by not
vOting-mark his words-ws virtu-
ally voted for the Republicans. /
believe state him correctly. Now
let US see what We would have done
by voting. By voting for candidates
OF our own, as We wanted to do, VIC
found that We would simply dead.
lock the Senate, and the result would
be WHAT Virtually to vote for the
Democrats. Now, mark that. We
would be just as much voting for the
Democrats as if We had cast oul
ballots for them, and the Senator
from Tennessee knows it, and hs
would be forced to admit it if b,
dared to say anything now.
l repeat that if we had voted q!
the Senator from Tennessee says VIC
ought to have voted we would
virtually have been voting for thu
Democrats, and he knows it. l wist
to state right here that there arr
two reasons why we did not do so
The first reason is that We expected
that the Senator from Tennessee ant
others on the other side, who have
made such loud professions for fret
silver and for financial reform, would
at least be among the foremost il
not the foremost to join hands with
US in trying to organize the Senate
for silver and the people and agains,
the gold standard monopoly.
Mr.. President, we were sorely dis
appointed, and on top of it We SEE
interviews in the newspapers from
gentleman on the other side saying
that the country will 20 to perdi.
ton if We do not have free coinage,
and yet in tho same interviews say.
ing that if their party dominates q
goldbug for President next time
they will bow down and lick his fee,
and vote for him. There is some.
thing wish to say now and say with
emphasis. l would not say it, fol
l dislike to say unpleasant things
but for the fact that l believe the
situation in this country Is SO peril
Gus with the respect to the welfare
OF the people that / ought to say it.
1t is this: Free coinage would have
been secured long ago if it had nc,
be- for those who claim to be free
coinage men, but who sacrifice i,
for party success. If these men
would stand for free coinage, party
or NO party, the people of this coun-
try would have had free coinage be-
fore now. It is the men who tall
free coinage in campaigns, but bow
to the party lash in their national
convention, when goldbugs, who
have prevented the passage of free
coinage legislation, tell them which
! waysto- vote. Such men are the wors,
enemies of free coinage, although
they profess to be its friends.
Mr.. President, there is one Other
reason. If the Democratic party
had more votes than the Republicans,
We would have acted just as we did
Whyf Because by not voting VIC
would have allowed the party tina,
had the most votes to take the Offices
since they would not help us. We
decided that We would not help q
minority that would not help us te
organize on principle but that be-
tween the two sides we would allow
those who had the greatest numbe,
of votes to take the organic alton be.
fore we would help those who were
In the minority to take it q minor.
ity that had rfused to raise his hands
to help free coinage when We called
i ms h4v o. L.