The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1896-03-13
REPUBLICANS AND BIMETALLIsM

REPUBLICANS AND BIMETALLISM
1t has been claimed off and on that
both the old parties in the southern
states are strongly for free silver, and
that their delegations in their re-
spective conventions would support
the silver mOnOmetallist scheme of
the mine owners. 1t seems that this
will not hold good so far as the Repub-
licans are concerned. Last year the
Kentucky Republicans were for sound
money, and there is no reason for be-
lieving that they will change their
views this year. The other day the
Republicans Of Arkansas pronounced
for true bimetallism and adopted a
resolution in accordance with the Re-
publican view laid down at Mime
apolis in 1892. OF course such stand
as this does not suit the Democrats,
who had hoped there would be a
wrangle over the matter, and some of
them, notably the St. Paul Globe, in
attempting to make out that this ut
terance is meaningless, or if there is
any meaning to it, that it is as much
in favor of free silver as anything else,
and points out that Senator Teller
was the author of the bimetallic
phrase in the Minneapolis platform,
and intended it in favor of free silver
coinage. We have read several re-
ports of Senator Teller's statement as
to his writing the phrase in the ma
tional Republican platform in 1892, in
favor of bimetallism and pledging the
party to it, but we have seen nothing
wherein he declared it was for the
free coinage of silver. An attempt to
get free coinage resolution adopted
had failed, and this was put forth by
Mr.. Teller, that silver might be recog-
niZed. If the free silver extremists
desire TO put a construction upon that
plank, that it means the free and I'M
limited coinage of silver, of course
they are at liberty to do so, but that
does not make it so, nor is it the con-
structiOn which has been put upon it
from the first by the overwhelming
majority of the Republican party.
Whatever confusion has been thrown
upon the term "bimetallism" has been
done by the silver monometallists,
who have been parading themselves
under that head. But the bimetal-
lism which they talk about is bimetal-
lism in theory only. 1t is impracti-
cable and has never been realized in
practical every day business life. The
two metals have never circulated in
business channels side by side. There
never has been an equality between
them, except upon the statute books.
Under the law which the free coinage
advocates are clamoring for, only one
of the two metals was ever in circula-
tion at any one time. The less valu-
able always drove the more valuable
from circulation. The long line of
history of the past reveals no other
feature of the case. Such bimetallism
is only theoretical. AS to practical
bimetallism, Senator Sherman gave
the best definition of it few days
ago in the senate, that we have yet
seen. He said that as he understood
the term, it was that both metals
should be adopted and used as money
to an extent that they can be main
tanned at parity. But under that
policy which is maintained by the
United States and by every other
civilized government on earth, silver
is used to greater extent today than
ever before. The only way, he said,
that the parity of the two metals can
be maintained is by limiting the sup
ply of the cheaper one in the money
volume, and the experience of the
past, most emphatically confirms this
view. Even England now uses more
silver than ever before, and France
maintains large volume of silver by
just such means. Continuing Mr..
Sherman said:
Now, we who believe in bimetal-
lism as thus defined by me insist that
the government shall maintain the
parity of all these coins. We do not
adopt the cheap standard. Why? Be-
cause if that system should ever be
adopted among the people of the
United States the laborer would be
cheated of One-half of his hire. In this
country now the laboring man gets
more dollars, and dollars equal gold,
than in any other country in the
world. If, however, we should adopt
the free coinage of silver, then, as
matter of course, the cheaper metal
would exclude the gold from circula
tion; we should have the silver STAN
dard, and the workingman who gets
the same number of dollars under
silver standard would be cheated of
half the purchasing power of the
money which he received as the result
of his labor
This is strictly the position that
Republicans has maintained, and is
hn 1u