The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-06-22
WHITNEY OUT OF THE WHIRL.
HE WOULD NOT ACCEPT THE PRES
DENTAL NOMINATION.

Adoption Of n Free Coinage Policy
by This Government at This Time
Would DE a Death Blow TO Inter-
national BimetaIIism - siIver's
Best Friends i'm Europe Opposed to
the Policy of the American Sill
verites.
New York, June a.-WiHiam C. Whit
ney has sent the following to the press:
4 find it necessary to make a public
statement, embodying my views of the
situation, to correct misconceptions and
10 save the time now occupied in answer
ing questions.
Far too great Importance has been at
tached to my decision to go to the Chi
cagO convention. 1 have been practically
out of politics for four years, and there
are now many eastern democrats who
can do much more than 1 can for the
party. I shall not assume any position
of leadership. Ny decision to stay was
simply based on the duty of every per-
son who believes in the party for its
principles to stand by and lend his aid
and take his chances when a great crisis
is upon 1t. There can be no question
but that great crisis is upon the demo-
cratic party. Fundamental differences of
principle exist inside the party, marked
almost by sectional lines.
The great question to my mind is
whether the party meets in convention
now as in 1860, with issues and differences
that are, for the moment irreconcilable.
For the past nfteen years leaders of pub
lie opinion in the south and west have
been advocating a remedy for existing ills,
the free coinage of silver at 10 to /, with
or without the cooperation of other ma
tions. 1t has come to be believed in there,
quite generally and conscientiously. A
large majority OF delegates to the coming
democratic convention have been elected
Dy the people Tor the purpose of incOrpOra-
ting that doctrine into the platform of the
democratic party Our people, or the 9TH
er hand, entirely disagree with these views
and believe almost universally that it will
bring general ruin 10 the business and
. prosperity of the country. 1t is deemed
new doctrine when proposed to be incor-
pOrdted INTO the platform OF the national
democracy. 1t is true that in no previous
platform of the party can it specifically be
found. Consequently no party obligations
heretofore assumed Oblige them to sub
scribe TO it. Under these circumstances, if
the results of the democratic convention
should be to establish as the issue of this
campaign, the free coinage of silver, at
ratio of l6 to 1, independent of other ma
tions, in the intensity of feeling likely to
arise, IL is to be seriously apprehended
that a disruption of the democrats party
might occur. Certainly no substantial fol-
lowing could be secured for the doctrine
among the democrats. They might not
vote the republican ticket for other rea-
sons believing that the republican party
stands for other issues that are detrimen-
tai to the country) but the democrats in
the east would not in my opinion, vote
for it..
ports to have for its object the establish
ment and maintenance of gold and silver
. as the money Of the country upon equal
terms with each other, and with equal
parity OF purchasing power. If, by the
proposed measure, that object could be
secured, there would be no substantial
disagreement in the party. Every nation
a democratic
fore spoken upon the subject has declared
for both gold and silver money. 1t is our
traditional policy. But the maintenance
of the double standard d the present time
is not a question of desire-it is a question
of ability The commercial value of silver
has declined greatly in the markets of
the world.
whatever the causes and whoever is
to blame the fact is that silver has de-
cliEed, and free coinage now at 16 to
is the same as our offering for all the sill
yer in the world about twice what it is
selling for in the market. International
exchanges have to be paid in gold,
And 1t would seem plain if We, under
these conditions, open our mints to the
free coinage Of silver and gold at ratio
Of comparative value which is largely at
variance with the commercial value of the
two metals, we must take the entire silver
surplus ourselves and alone maintain its
parity with gold, or else we shall go to
a silver basis.
France in 1873 closed her mints against
silver and abandoned this experiment,
deeming herself unequal to the task alone,
and at that time it was much less diff
cult, for silver was then at par with gold
a. the ratio in use, and even England'S
mints in India were open to the free coin
age of silver. If the experiment of main
tanning the parity Of the two metals at
coinage standard was difficult then, it
would seem to be positively hopeless now,
without international agreement. Ger
many, France, Belgium, Italy and Aus
tria believe in a double standard and de-
sire to establish it, but no one, two or
three of them deem themselves able to
maintain the double standard, even with
the cooperation of the United states. II
the result of the measures proposed would
be to carry us to a silver basis IL is not
felt here that such a proposal would be
in line with the principles of the demo-
cratic party. 1t is not the JOINT standard
with the purchasing power of the dollars
a parity with each other, but II is chang
ing from one standard to another, and
that change being to deprecated coin.
And it is also felt, aside from the abb
sence of any democratic principle to sus-
tain it, that you cannot have such dis
turbance of values as would come from
changing from a gold to a silver basis,
without such a shook to confidence the
boarding of gold and contraction of your
available circulating medium, as would
bring, in the opinion of our people, the
worst panic and distress we have ever
seen in this country.
"The creditor classes are prepared for
It. The obligations, mortgages, railroad
and otherwise, are quite generally paya-
BILE in gold. Debts would still have to be
paid in gold, but wages in SILVER, the suf-
This movement purporting to be in the
interest of the joint standard, comes at
a most inopportune time, in my opinion.
There has never been a time when
the prospects of international action fav-
vorable to the joint standard were at all
as promising as at the present moment
But an ill-advised, unsuccessful attempt
here would discredit the cause the world
over.
What is the situation as regards this?
From the discussion of the last tWen-
ty years, it has come to pass that among
the persons in Europe, who are trained,
recognized scientists upon monetary and
economic questions, scarcely one is not at
the present moment advocating the de-
STABILITY of the joint standard, as the
real solution of the monetary difficulties
of the world. This includes every pro-
fessor engaged in teaching or lecturing
on these subjects in the universities of
Great Britain.
"They are agreed upon the desirability
of it, and that it is entirely practicable,
if established, and maintained by agree
ment of the principal commercial nations.
"It would be expected that with such a
general consensus of scientific opinion
as is TO be found abroad upon this sub