The comet. (Johnson City, Tenn.) 1884-1916, 1896-08-06
MCKINLEY Is
A DESER7ER
His Effort at Double Dealing a
Dismal Failure.
" The Voice is Jacobs Voice, but the Hand
is the Hand Of ESau."
WILL MCKINLEY EXPLAIN
A Few Recent Events That Go to Make Up
His Record.

Ohio national republican committee
men, that the republican campaign will
be officially opened at Columbus on the
18th of August, and that on that day a
great ratification will be held, at which
Major Mckinley is expected to make n
speech. Here is his great opportunity.
We all understand that he is in favor
of "a good dollar - of "a dollar as
good as any other dollar )" of "a sound
dollar J" of "as good dollar for the
workingman as for his employer )" of
"a dollar containing hundred cents !"
of AN honest dollar, and many more
similar kinds of dollar. Now he can
tell us what he has steadily refrained
from doing up to date, namely, what
material he wants that dollar made Of.
Will silver dollar answer just as well
as a gold dollar? The phrases quoted
above can be just as truthfully used by
the free silver coinage men as by the
gold bugs. What we want to know is
which class Candidate Mckinley de-
sires to place himself in. Let him tell
us whether he would deprive the silver
dollar of its legal tender quality, which
now makes it just as good aa any other.
If the present silver dollar is not as
good as any other dollar, is he in favor
of abolishing it? If it is tifty-cent
dollar, is it not dishonest to keep it in
circulation, and will he favor q law to
punish the banks which every day pay
out silver certificates on checks =? If,
on the other hand, he will say that the
silver dollar is as good as any other
dollar, and therefore as good as two fif-
ty-cent dollars ould be, will he pledge
himself to appoint no man secretary OF
the treasury who will boycott that dol
lar, as is now being done at the treasu-
ry department; and will he see to ii
that, instead of selling bonds at a dis
count to buy gold, at corresponding
premium, for the redemption of green
backs, these greenbacks shall be re.
deemed with silver dollars? If oul
gold and silver dollars are equal to one
another, will he compel them to be sc
treated in the transactions of the gov
ernment ?
He has been nominated on platform
which declares in favor of the existing
gold standard. We ask him to explain
the inconsistency of this declaration
with the existence of more than foul
hundred and thirty millions of standard
silver dollars in this country. Will
gold and silver both equally lega
tender, will Mr.. Mckinley tell. us il
what respect the two of them fail tC
constitute a double standard =? The &C
of 1878, to regulate the mivts of tn,
United States, declared that the golt
dollar should be the unit of value, and
accordingly, all silver coin was denieC
the legal tender quality, except to tn,
extent of five dollars in any one trans
action. Of course that temporaril,
created a gold standard. But in 1871
the single gold standard was abolished
and provision was made for coinin,
standard silver dollars of four hundret
and twelve and a half grains weight
and these were made legal tender il
the payment of all debts, public an,
private, without any limit as to thei
amount, Thus the gold standard
which was established in 1878, wa
superseded by the double standard i
1878, which is now the existing stand
ard" Will Mr.. Mckinley please ex
plain how he can indorse the plai
falsehood contained in the June plat
form, on which he stands, assertin
that the existing" standard is gold
1t is true that the act of 1898, repealin
the Sherman purchase act, limits til
amount of legal tender silver none
in the country to the standard dollar
already coined, and those into whic
the law requires all the silver bullio
in the treasury to be converted. Br
the closing of the mints to silver onl
stops the needed additions to the SUI
ply of silver money. 1t in no wise a
fects that already in existence, nc
changes our double standard into
single standard. If these statement