Mexico weekly ledger., 1896-08-06
Duty OF Democrats.
MIR. R. E. BALL REPLIES TO A
LETTER FROM j. Med.
TRIMBLE.
Sound Money Advocates Should Ac-
cept Majority Rule and Be 10y
al to the Ticket.
From the Kansas City Times

From the Kansas City Times
Mr.. j. Med. Trimble, who has been
talked of as a possible candidate for
Governor of Missouri upon an inde-
pendent ticket in case a free silver
man is nominated at Jefferson City
as ia sure to be the case-sent out a
circular letter recently to a number of
we'll known Democrats, asking their
opinion as to the advisabllity of hold
ing a conference of the sound money
Democrats of Missouri. Here is a
copy of the letter:
KANSAS CITY, Mo-, July 22.-DEAR
SIR: do not believe in the unlimited
coinage of gold and silver at the ratio
of Is to 1 when their market value is
about 50 to 1. l do not believe that
the unlimited coinage of both metals
will double the market value of silver
so as to make sixteen ounces of silver
worth one ounce of gold. do not be-
lieve the government can make six
teen ounces of silver worth as much
as thirty-two ounces of silver by SIM
ply saying SO, any more than it can
make six inches as long as foot by
saying so.
do not believe that the interests
of good government can be promoted
by denouncing the course of President
Cleveland and approving the course
of Altgeld and Debs in relation to the
Chicago riots.
believe that the principles of the
Chicago platform, if made the law OF
the land, would give us an unsound
currency with all its attending evils,
and would be subversive of many@of
the essential principles of a good and
safe government.
For the first time in my life l find
that L cannot vote for the doctrines
announced in a $50 -called) Democrat
ic platform without doing violence to
my patriotism.
/ am led to believe that many
other lifelong Democrats hold views
similar to mine, as above expressed
and it occurs to me that all such per-
sons should get together and confer
upon the situation and take some
steps to promote their own views and
resist the errors of the Chicago plat
form by some open, positive and man.
ly action.
l write this to ask you to inform
me in confidence whether you are in
favor of a conference of the sound
money Democrats of Missouri to con-
suit and agree upon the best course
for us to pursue.
Please answer soon and oblige.
j. Med. TRIMBLE.
One of these letters was sent to r.
E. Ball, the we'll known attorney, and
his reply is most interesting contri-
button to current campaign literature.
Any Democrat who has ever for a
moment thought of deserting the
ticket of his party should read it. Here
is what Mr.. Ball says:
Hon. j. Med. TrimbIe city.
KANSAS CITY, Mo-, July 27.--DEAR
JUDGE: l have your letter of few
days ago, and both before and since
its receipt l have reflected as care
fully as possible on the present politi-
cal duty of those Democrats who hold
in substance the views of the Chicago
platform so tersely and admirably
stated by you. I think that upon each
one of us it is now solemnly incuri-
bent to determine, from the stand
point of good citizen rather than of
a partisan, what course of action
should be pursued in the crisis which
confronts the people; and TO that end
every feature of the situation and the
practical results of any given course,
not to us personally, but to our coun-
try, SO far as the same may be in
ferred, ought to be carefully can
vassed. Three courses are open to
us: First, to vote for Bryan, who is
undoubtedly better than the platform,
except as to the coinage plank; sec
ond, to vote for Mckinley, waving
for the occasion all things to which
we have heretofore stood opposed /;
or third, to take independent action,
putting out an Independent ticket on
platform which, in our conception,
represents true Democracy. There is
no other way but one Of these three,
if we act at all. Considering them in
| versely to the order stated, am op-
posed to the plan of an independent
ticket. In any and every State of the
| Union the net result of such action
must inevitably be to substantially aid
either BRYAN or McE;~,- -,
! not he apIe to say in advance which
set of electors will receive the benefit,
bnt thatvne or them must receive it if
demonstratably certain. Since, then
independent action will assist either
Bryan or Mckinley; since 1t may have
the effect OF helping the one that, as
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