Birmingham state herald. (Birmingham, Ala.) 1895-1897, 1896-10-21

great body of the democratic party,
which controlled the convention and
formulated the platform.
ut may be that the corporate interests
of the east, the moneyed institutions, in
Guiding, perhaps, railway magnates, were
somewhat shocked to discover that the
people had come to bat and insisted on
playing their INNING under a fair UNI
pire, but any sane man must now feel
Inundated to think that less than one
month ago he announced in a public in
terview that all good people were
shocked at the result of the convention.
You allege that the position taken by the
democrats this year is Revolutionary
and populistic.' 1t must be admitted that
the sentiment now is in favor of a change,
and that it is very popular, but the posi-
ton occupied by the democrats is not
novel one. In 1878 the Indiana state
democratic platform declared for free
coinage of silver and gold and but few
public men can be found who have not
declared for silver and gold as standard
primary money.
among those who have advocated the
principles announced at Chicago are Dan
iel Webster Abraham Lincoln, James G.
Blaine, Chief Justice Chase, Daniel w.
Voorhees,, John M. Butler, John G.. Car
Isle, William Mckinley and Benjamin
Harrison.
you stand aghast at the criticism of
the supreme court. 1t was such holy
horror of criticism that gave birth to the
infamous and despised alien and sedtion
laws, which lived only long enough to IL
lustrate the proposition that free peo-
pie must be permitted to exercise the
right of free speech. 1t might be both in
teresting and profitable for you to ask
your republican friends whom you nave
Joined, and to whom you are endeavor-
ing by a system of coercion to deliver thu
railroad vote, what it was that they re-
marked in their platform concerning
certain Chief Justice fancy.
"You next argue that to be in favor OF
adopting system that will put the ma
ton out of debt instead of increasing its
liabilities is reputation. You may con-
graduate yourself upon the fact that no
one of your associates has exhibited more
courage when attempting to JUSTIFY
bond sale in time of peace than you-or
rather should say that you nave not
been more cowardly than they.
"The claim that the success of free Sill
yer will put us on par with Mexico Is
absurd. For more than eighty years we
had free silver and If Mexico ever became
possessed of the silly and foolish IDEA
that we were on par with her, She
changed her mind after the discussions
held at Palo Alto, Resaca, Buena Vista,
Cerro Gordo and Mexico.
zone would be led to believe by the
earnest and eloquent manner IN when
Won talk of the wage-earner being roppeo
that the whole Big Four system was
o gigantic bureau, managed and conducted
solely and simply to alleviate the suHer-
ing and provide for the wants OF the
wage-earner. But to me, trying 10 sup
mort a family on $1.10 per day in summer
and 90 cents per day in winter, 1t SOUNDS
like the rankest kind of hypocrisy.
"You point to the fact that for the past
wear the worlds production OF golo was
over 5000 100000 and remark tnaI amour iii
evceeds the product of both gold and sill
ver in any one year prior to 1854. You
neglect to state that during the past year eau
the production of silver was sz1o'VoV,oov,
and that under your view we are 10 auu
none of this silver to our stock OF money money:
Won do not explain to us that the output
of cold from the United States has aver
aged less for the last ten years tnan Is re-
uuired to pay the interest on the PUBIC
debt Perhaps in subsequent circular
Won will make 1t plain as to how we are
70 secure sufficient gold to transact the
business of this great nation when our
mines are insufficient to now pay our IN
terest. and when at the same time you
favor frequent bond sales
s'Your splenetic remarks about super
ANIMATED politicians are calculated TO
provoke a smile. If the terms you en-
nIov describe any class of persons in this
country it is that small clique OF men
who are persuaded that they nave pat
ent on the patriotism and the intellect OF
this country.
you speak in this circular as an oracle,
but the laboring man Is reading for him
self, and is not much inclined to follow
oracleS.
"You take 1t upon yourself to charac-
terize the Chicago convention as the Chi
cago mob You have misjudged the in
teilect and miscalculated the patriotism
of the Chicago delegates and of the peo-
pie generally You have mistaken earn
estness for lawlessness, and, having in
your position been so accustomed to die
tate to us, your employees, just what we
shall do you have fallen into the error
of supposing you can dictate to an Ameri-
can citizen how ne shall vote.
"Of course, the weight given to any
thing a man of my class may say is very
slight as compared to the utterances of
one like you. But IL you shall be judged
| by the strength of the article contained
! in your circular, then you are far behind
| 80 per cent of the men you are presuming
| to enlighten upon the questions at issue.
| If you have the time to spare, l suggest
| that you devote your efforts to convince
| such men as Debs, Sovereign, Gompers
| and others-men who are able to contend
| with you-that the interests of the work
| ingman demand the election of Mr. Nc
| Kinley. Respectfully.
| CHARLES e. SIMMS.
| Covington, Ind.