The new dominion. [volume] (Morgantown, W. Va.) 1876-1904, 1896-10-17

The organs of Hanna have good
deal to say about "repudiation, and
yet they are themselves carrying on
the most remarkable campaign Of re
pudiation on record. Under the in
spiration of Hanna, the Republicans
have repudiated their platform of
1892, the gold Democrats. so called,
have repudiated their principles.
Take the case of Mckinley, the
candidate selected by Hanna to car
ry out the program of the money
power. Hardly day has passed
since his nomination that he has not
gleefully repudiated his own record
on the silver question. 1t would
have been impossible for him to Sc
cure the nomination il, before that
event, he had repudiated his utter
ances and his votes on the silver
question. Thousands of Republi-
cans favored his nomination on ac-
count of silver views. These were
paraded conspicuously in the west
ern newspapers by Hanna and his
agents, while the gold syndicate in
the east was given ''tip" to the eff
feet that the platform would be all
right, and that Mckinley was per-
sonally in favor of the gold stand
ard.
1t is well known that there was a
written pledge on exhibition in New
York city stating that Mckinley was
for the gold standard. The exhibi.
tion was not public, but those who
were inclined to doubt the fact were
given private views. Banker Selig-
man went about declaring that he
knew Mckinley was for gold, and
Seligman could not have known that
if he had not seen the written pledge
which Hanna is said to have placed
in the hands of the gold syndicate.
But this information was in the
nature Of "a private snap" and the
campaign in behalf of the nomina-
ton of Mckinley had been going on
for several weeks before even Horace
White, the special agent and lectur-
er for the money power, was given
to understand that Mckinley had
changed his views" Meanwhile
the eastern gold organs, even after
they knew Of the pledge, kept MAX
ing rabid attacks on Mckinley on
account of his silver record, and
these attacks were copied in the or
gans in the west This was done to
throw dust in the eyes Of the silver
Republicans, and it succeeded so
well that Mckinley was nominated.
The moment he had received the
nomination he began to .repudiate
his silver record. In 1890 he had
declared unequivocally for free coin
age, but he has now declared just as
unequivocally for the gold standard.
If this is not 'repudiation,' what is
it? When public man publicly
repudiates his own record tor the
sake of raising corruption fund, it
is hardly possible for reputation
to take a more desperate leap.
But this is not all. The bulk of
the support that Mckinley received
in the convention came from those
who believe in his theory of high
protection. This was his trump
card, and he kept up the pretense
that the tariff was the issue for
weeks after his nomination. Hanna,
in his pride, declared that he would
make tariff the issue.
But now, one month before the
election, all the Republican gold or
gans are joining in the chorus that
no attempt will be made to re-enact
the Mckinley law. In short, the
campaign of reputation carried on
by the Republicans is the most re-
markable ON record. Mckinley hav-
| ing repudiated his silver views, the
Republican leaders are now repudia-
ting his tariff views.
This wholesale reputation has
been inaugurated in behalf of the
gold syndicate, so that it may be
said, should the Hanna gang win at
the polls, that the people have in
dorsed the single gold standard.
1t will thus be seen that when it
comes to carrying on campaign OF
wholesale reputation the Republi
cans and the Hannacrats are little
ahead of anything the country has
ever seen.-St. Louis Republic.