Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1896-05-08
VERMONT AND THE REPUBLICAN NOM
NATION FOR THE PRESIDENCY.

NATION FOR THE PRESIDENCY.
The enthusiasm for Mckinley at the
Montpelier convention and the practi-
cal instruction of the delegates to vote for
him at st. Louis fell unexpectedly upon
the country as well as upon the support
ers of Mr.. Reed in this State. 1t was
especially surprise to the politicians at
Washington, and by them as we'll as
others has been variously explained.
But in no case that we have seen has
this manifestation of Vermont feeling
and intelligence been rightly interpreted.
The action of the convention was sub
stantially a triumph of bimetalllsm.
This was the underlying cause that
drove Vermont Republicans away from
two New England candidates, one of
them Vermonter, and caused them to
vote for western candidate. And we
are satisfied that it is this same feeling
very largely, if not entirely, that has
pushed Mckinley to the front so gener-
ally throughout the country. Any
other Republican would represent the
principle of protection the same as Mr..
Mckinley, for it is party principle; :;
but the other leading candidates of the
party for the presidency, living at Wash
ington, which is always ignorant of the
real feeling of the country,and misled by
the conceited talk of newspapers that
have no more idea of what the people
are really thinking of than brazen
image, have mistakenly supposed that
the people, like a lot of ignorant fools,
were dazzled with the idea and anxious
to support gold standard.
In fact the other candidates, at least
the more prominent ones, have been mag
netized by the glamour of wealth. They
forget that this is nation of freemen,
not one of slaves or serfs; that the great
thinking masses of this country rule, and
that though 1t takes them some time to
get the information necessary to decide
rightly on a great question, they
are quick to perceive and ready to en-
brace the real facts, and sooner or
later-sooner rather than later after their
attention is called to it-they will come
out right and on top of any grave prob
lem that seriously affects the interests
of the nation.
In the present case the attention of
Vermont farmers has been called, es-
pecialy in the last few weeks, to the
disastrous results of the gold standard.
They begin to understand that to this
cause alone Is due the vast shrinkage in
the value Of their farms and the products
of those farms. Already the standard of
revolt is raised on this point, and it is a
standard that will never be lowered till
victory has been achieved. 1t is fight
for self-preservation which will enlist
every farmer in Vermont.
There is little or no doubt that Mr.
Mckinley at heart is a sincere believer
in bimetalism. His record was pub
lished in this paper the week before the
State convention at Montpelier, and a
marked copy sent to members of the
convention and also to a large share of
the farmers of the State.
1t is, then, because of his understood
support of bimetallism that the farmers
of Vermont and many other of her
citizens have rallied to Mckinley. They
hope TO see him nominated at st. Louis :;
but if he is, or after he is, they will ex-
pect his sincere and earnest support of
the vital movement upon which their
prosperity so absolutely depends. Did
they believe that he would prove false
TO this principle, the farmers of
Vermont would sponge out Mr. Nc
Kinley as rapidly and as thoroughly as
they did Mr.. Reed
In connection with this suhiact comes