Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1896-03-25


One ofthe strangest thing in politics
IS the apparent blindness in the adher-
cnts of party to see it's defects, or to
determine its policy. 1t cannot be said
that all men who hold views opposite to
The well-established policy of the party
10 which Fhey belong are dishonest. 1t
is like color blindness, a species of de-
fect which. while it exists, cannot be ac-
counted for. A good illustration Of
this idea presented itself in the senate
the othersday when Carter. Dubois and
others took firm stand for silver. and
insisted that they represented the re-
publican idea on that question. AS
matter ot7fact the republican party has
made no pretensions to being free sill
yer party for over twenty years. While
II Is true that it has declared for bi-
metallism in its national platforms.
and for the use of both gold and silver.
yet 1t Insisted on impossible conditions
to obtain bimetallism. and only favored
the use OF such silver as was already
| coined.
1t knew that bimetallism through in
ternational agreement. which meant
England's consent, was impossible, and
! growing more so every day. That dec
laration is only an artful evasion Of the
real Issue for want of courage to meet
1t. The republican party demonetized
silver in 1878 1t opposed its full res
toration In 1878. 1t is responsible for
the Sherman makeshift in 1890, and for
! 81
ernment could demand gold in payment
for coin obligations at their option. All
these things are matters of record. In
tclligent and well-informed men know
them to be so. Yet in the face Of all
this evidence, there are thousands of
men who believing that relief from the
present condition of prostrated indus
tries can only be had through free sill
yer are still hanging to the republican
party, hoping against hope. fighting
against fearful odds. with defeat STAR
ing them in the face, surrounded with
broken pledges, and blasted hopes,
weighed down with despair, knowing
full well that they are engaged in a
losing fight
In addition to the record of their
party every leading republican paper is
against them and in favor of the gold
standard. A recent issue of the Globe
Democrat contained an editorial along
these lines from which we clip the fol-
! lowing: Even II the entire mining
region were solidly arrayed in defense
of the boilers the republican party
would make no surrender to silver.
IN h 1tC 4f -
money which, in the language of Jones.
of Nevada, in his best days, "can not
lie." and which keeps it's promises to
rich and poor alike"-the republican
party hsrs taken its position To this
position it will stick despite the threats
of fanatics and demagogues. and re-
gardless of the fortune which the i'm
mediate future may have in store for it.
The position which the party took In
the conventions of 1888 and 1892 is the
position which it will take in the con-
vention of 1896. 1t would be easy, to
be sure. to make the silver utterance
clearer. squarer and stronger than
those of the years named were. Prob
ably that of 1896 will be. In any event
1t will mean dollar which at all times,
in all places and under all conditions
will be worth 100 cents in the worlds
money, gold.
If there is TO be any split in the two
great parties on the silver question 1896
is the time to have it. A square con-
test on this issue without any entan-
Cling alliances with the tariff or any
other question, is the great need of this
| ~ tho nrocopt fin,o a.
vass on the silver issue-one canvass in
which the 14,000, 900 voters OF this coun-
try could vote "yes" or mo" on the
question of whether the national
finances were to be debased to the
Chinese level-would stamp out the sill
yer distemper and remove finally and
eternally this fiat money in peril. 1t is
we'll for the honest money men in both
parties to understand that silverism IS
as hollow and false physically, so to
speak, as it is morally. Outside of the
half dozen mining states it has no
standing among the people. The re-
suit in 1895 IL Kentucky, in Nebraska
(where the democrats split into silver
ite and anti-silverite group and in the
eighteenth Illinois congressional dis
trict tells the story of the feebleness of
the silver folly when it is resolutely at
tackled. But even if it were as power
full as it's advocates pretend, the duty cf
the republicans to assail it would still
be imperative. The party which Gre
ated the national banking system,
which maintained, in the face of power
full opposition, the governments faith
with its creditors of 1S61-5 and which
brought every dollar of the country s
currency up to the gold level, could be.-
ter afford to be defeated in defending
the public credit than it could to win by
surrender which would make it break
with its record of third of century s
glorious achievements in the policy OF
financial sanity and honesty"
1t would be utterly impossible for the
English language to make palmer the
position of the republican party upon
thessilver question. Then why do men
who are honest and intelligent any
longer cling to party that is so pal
pably pledged to pursue policy mimi
cal to their interests and their princi-
Piles. The time has come for a new
dispensation in the domain of politics
or rather revivifying of an old dispen-
sation tina. has been set aside to make
room for system of spoils and reign
of greed that are undermining the foun-
dations of our republic. There never
was time when this nation ap-
preached nearer crisis fraught with
more importance than the present Let
men weigh we'll their duty as patriots
against their allegiance to their pszsy.
The republicans apparently k1ve
been having pretty smooth sailing, bui
recently large sized skeleton has
shown itself in the family closet. What
ever may be said of the sincerity OF the
senators representing the silver min
ing states, there is constituency be-
hind them that don't propose to take a