The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1896-08-18
THE ESSENTIAL ELEMENT


Died in that convention, ignoring the
rights of the minority, unseated reg ulariy
elected delegates TO make places for
others r sympathy with themselves.
They proclaimed a sectional combination
OF the south and west against the north
and east. They impeached the honesty
and patriotism of President Cleveland,
who. under exceptional enlbarrassments,
produced by past errors OF legislation,
| has heroically maintained the honor and
integrity of the republic; against the pro-
test OF one-third of the delegates they
promulgated platform at variance with
party.
This platform is in its policies dan
gerous to the welfare and the life of free
government. 1t IS m1schlevouS IN It's ten
denotes. But even more threatening and
nLschievous was the spirit of the con-
vention that adopted it, d spirit not alone
by its affirmative action, but as well by
its reckless rejection of every proposition
tending to
TEMPER THE DECLARATION
of the convention with conservatism and
justice.
This platform proposes to degrade the
coin of the United States by means of
the free, unlimited and independent coin
age of silver by our government, and by
the exercise of the power OF the nation
to compel the acceptance of deprecated
coins at their nominal value, thereby
working an injustice TO creditors, de-
frauding the laborer of a large part of
his earnings and savings, robbing PEN
stoned soldiers of a part OF their pen
sions, contracting the currency by the
expulsion of gold coin from circulation,
and injuring if not destroying domestic
trade and foreign commerce.
while protesting to advocate a policy
of bimetallism it censures the present
democratic administration for maintain
ing the parity of gold and silver. 1t pro
poses to reduce this country to condl-
orc
vacillating and unreliable standard OF
values, and tends to bring the farmer
the wage Garner and the STARRED man 10
the wretched condition OF The same class
es in countries in which the silver stand
ard prevails, and where the rewards OF
agriculture and labor are lower than any
place in the word.
with what seems to be a deliberate at
tempt to
MISLEAD THE PEOPLE,
it asserts that by the coinage act of 1873
the United States abandoned the use Of
silver as money, and that gold has ap-
preciated and commodities fallen in price
solely by reason of this legislation. 1t ig-
nores the fact that the prices OF COM
modities have fallen because of the en-
larged use of labor-saving machinery, in
creased production and resulting compe-
tition. 1t Suppresses the fact that pc
tent reason TOR the decline in the price of
silver has been the discovery of new AID
enormous increase in its production. IN
stead of recognizing these facts, it appeals
to the passions of the people.
1T demands the free coinage of silver
at the arbitrary and fictitious ratio of 16
TO l. although the ratio established in
the worlds market is abopt 80 to l, and
aI1hougn neither experlG1ce nor reason
warrants the belief that the commercial
ratio between the metals can he reduced
by the action of this government to any
ratio even approximatlng that proposed.
1T threatens, in certain contingencies,
to increase TO an unlimited extent the
volume of legal tenders issued by the fed
eral government, the ultimate effect OF
which would be to force the
WITHDRAWAL OF ALL CURRENCY
private business to be transacted in de-
preciated paper currency, constantly fiuc-
tuating in value, and to invite the ruin
and confusion that have always followed
the adoption of such a policy.
Its declarations invite and have al
most produced a financial panic, and many
of its proponents announce that to accom-
plsh this purpose they are prepared TO
involve their country in a disaster COM
parable to nothing in its history save the
calamity of civil war.
1T assails the independence of the jul
dietary by covert threat to reorganize
the courts whenever their decisions con-
travene the DEGREES of the party caucus.
1T seeks to allure officeseekers and
spotlsmen to its support by attacking the
existing civil service laws which good
men of all parties have labored so long
to establish and to extend to all depart
ments of the public service.
The Chicago convention having thus
departed from the recognized Democratic
faith and promulgated doctrines new and
strange to the Democracy, all Democrats
are
ABSOLvED FROM OBLIGATION
to support its programme. More than this,
as the doctrines announced are destruc-
tive to national honor and private obliga-
ton, and tend to create sect and class
distinctions and engender discord and
strife among the people, all good citizens
OF the republic are bound to repudate
them and exert every lawful means to in
sure the defeat of the candidates that
represent these false doctrines.
Democrats are tod that they must ac-
cept the platform enunciated and ticket
nominated at Chicago because submits
sion to the will of the majority is a funda-
mental principle of Democracy. 1t is true,
that when majority of the people have
expressed their viii at a legal election, the
will of such majority must be respected
and obeyed. This is essential to the peace
and existence of the nation. But it is a
monstrous perversion of this doctrine to
apply 1t to political party which exists
by virtue of a common voluntary assent
to its principles. When a Democratic con-
venton departs from the principles of
IIe party, no democrat remains under
any obligation to support its action nor is
there any tradition of the party that re-
quires him to do so. On the contrary, it
is evidence of moral weakness for any
man to vote to enforce policies which in
his opinion are inimical to the
WELFARE OF THE PEOPLE
or to the integrity of the nation
The DUTY OF the hour is TO stand stead
fast in the defense of our ancient faith
a
the possibility of temporary victory. The
honor and perpetuity of the Democratic
party are at stake. a political organiza-
tlon that is untrue to Itself, its principles,
its history and traditions, Is disgraced and
dlShonored. The existence of our great
historical party that has withstood the
assaults OF every foe, is threatened by
reason of the recreancy of many of its
members. That this party, as we have
known it, may not die, let the faithful of
years rally around its historic banner re-
form its broken lines, and, with abiding
faith in the final triumph of its principles,
unite to restore the name Democrat to
its former meaning and proud distinction
ITO this end we request all Democrats
who are opposed to the platform adopted
and candidates nominated at Chicago to
organize in their several states and to
send representatives to the convention of
the national Democratic party to be held
at Indianapolis on Wednesday, September
., 1886, in accordance with the call here
tofore issued by the national committee.
wv. d. BYNUM,
JOHN R. WILSON. >'--'
Secretary,
u A. FAULKNER,
IF w. M. CUTCHEON,
''ELLIS B. USHER,
IS. H HOLDING,
e W. LEHMAN,
Nv. B. HALDEMAN.