The Republican journal., 1896-08-13
Would Endorse Mckinley.
Bourke Cochran not In Favor of . Third D.

nourke cochran not In Favor of a Third Party
bourke Cochran, the silver-tongued orator
OF the Democracy, has inst returned f,o,,
EUROPE and the New York Sun has publish
ed the following interview with him:
y. What is your opinion of the present
political question: PAo'0"'
of ~ regard IL as the gravest in the history
VI Ihe country, exceeding in Importance the
Crisis OF 1850. The secession movement wa y
Out an attempt to divide this country he,
U"een TWO governments, each of them de-
signed TO protect property within the limits
vi US jurisdiction. The movement launched
~ @U GnIeag' ~ an attempt to paralyze indus
Try by using all the powers of government
10 TAKE property from the hands of those
VINO created it and place it In the hands of
those who covet it. This is a question of
morals as we'll as of politics. No political
convention can issue valid license to com
Inlt oIences against morality, and I decline
TO follow Mr.. Bryan in crusade against
honesty aud the rights of labor.
u. DO you mean that you will actively
| oppose the Democratic party or refrain from
active support of it?
a. In contest for the existence of civil.
zation, no man can remain neutral. who.
ever does Dot support the forces of ordar
aids the forces Of disorder. If I can do any.
thing to thwart the silver movement. the
success OF which l regard as a calamity.
shall certainly do it,
Y. What do you think of Tammanv,s ar
ton IN endorsing the ticket?
"A. SIMPLY cannot understand it. Thew
strongly opposed the platform at Chicago on
the ground that 1t was an assault on the in
tegrlty OF the nation. They decline to ratify
II even now. which shows that they have not
changed their opinion of it. But they have
endorsed the candidate who stands upon II
and whose election will mean that the plat
form which they have themselves denounced
as a singular combination of lunacy and vii
iany snail be incorporated into the statute
law of this country.
q Will you support Maj Mckinley out
right, or do you favor the nomination of an
other Democratic ticket?
A. L believe that all Democrats who are
so thoroughly in favor of sound money that
they place the defeat of BRYAN above the
interests OF any organization or party should
meet IN convention for the purpose of con-
slderlng the form and method by which
they can give the greatest efficiency to their
opposition. For my part, | do not believe
the NOMINATION OF any other candidate for
President and Vice-Presdent, however EN-
lnent and deserving they might be person
ally or pohtlcally. would serve any useful
purpose. Nobody believes they could be
elected, and any Democrat whose hostility
to silver would not allow him to support
either Bryan or Mckinley could show his
opposition to both by remaining at home on
election day quite as we'll as by voting for
third ticket. 1t would be more convenient
to himself Individually and would not Gre
ate visible separation between himself and
his party organization.
Nevertheless, it is very important in a
movement of this character that men intend
ing to rupture the party ties of lifetime
should be sustained by sense of associa-
ton among themselves. That end could be
attained by the adoption of a platform de-
ciarlng for sound money; against extrava-
rly t.1r,y fIt,rJ.,r =
administration of every department Of the
government: tariff for revenue only and
ample enough for that purpose against the
paternaism of the Republican party, and
the popuistic socialism Of both the Chicago
and st. Louis conventions, and in favor of
that American liberty which can be main
tanned only by so limiting the power of the
government that 1t can never interfere with
the daily concerns of the law abiding citi-
zens. The plank of pressing Importance in
such platform is, of course, the currency
plank.
Now, the mere election of Mckinley will
be the defeat of the free silver movement.
The obvious policy, then, would be to en-
dorse the Mckinley electors, and thus Sc
cure the immediate success of the main
feature of the platform. The Democrats
will have secured the victory of their tnan-
cial ideas, but can begin opposition to the
Republican party the day after election.
What is needed, therefore, is not a new
ticket, but new platform, which will de-
clare in unmistakable language the car
dinal features of the party faith, and which,
while endorsing Mckinley electors, will pro-
vide for really Democratic opposition to
the Mckinley administration during the
period OF its existence.
Q. What is your opinion of the ultimate
outlook?
A. Everything depends on the manner in
which this campaign is waged. To my mind
tu hinh
be applied to a country, and that is the rate
OF wages paid to labor. There can be no
prosperity where low wages are paid. There
can be no distress where the rate of wages
is high. 1t can easily be demonstrated that
this whole free silver movement is con-
spiracy against wages, and if the campaign
is fought on this line, | have no doubt that
every northern State-that is to say, every
State of the Union in which it is practicable
to hold a free election-will be carried by
the intelligence and morality of the Ameri-
can people against the monstrous PROPOSE
tons submitted to them by the committee
which nominated Mr.. Bryan for the presi-
dency.