The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1896-09-11
LIVE ISSUES.
LETTER FROr1 j. A. ROMAN.

his old friend MIR. A. Roman, WHO mas
large number of old friends and ac-
quaintances in this and adjoining counties.
The letter with the quotation from SEN
ator Chambers letter to the Colorado
silver men is too good to be hidden under
a bushel, or buried in a napkin. 1t shows
how the "craze" is moving out VESTED.
WHEATLAND, Mo-, Aug. 10TH, 1896.
D. w. McVEy,
Dear Sir and F1iend:-I have read
your late letters in the MIDLAND Jour-
NAL and seen by the reports of the silver
meetings in Cecil that you are giving your
influence in favor of the restoration of
silver to its ancient status. You probably
do not need any encouragement i'll your
we'll doing, but have thought you might
march little steadier if you could take
the friendly touch of elbows from COM
rade in the battle line.
This s'silver craze'' is no new thing
with me. enclose you slip which gives
the Stanley Matthews resolution, with
which you are likely familiar. This reso-
luton was what first called my attention
to the silver question. thought then, as
l think now, that it was an honest, SELL
sible resolution. At that time it certainly
embodied the understanding of both
Congress and the people. 1t was passed
by non-partisan vote. Its passage,
coupled with that of the mutilated Bland
bill, lulled the iiends of free coinage to
sleep and continued them in allegiance to
their party. Since then we all know how
insiduously the interest-gathering syndi-
Gates have worked to prevent this question
of the coinage from becoming a party
one. You and I, fattered by the plat
forms of 'SS and '92, have held that the
Republican party was the only bimetallic
party-whi1e our neighbor Democrat was
just as certain his was the only hope for
free coinage. This was the condition
which the money barons intended to per-
petuate, letting the John the Baptist pop
ulists preach their fiat money doctrine in
the wilderness of Sound money" until
their raiment should be hair and leather
girdle. and their grub locusts and wild
honey. The silver Republicans have held
to the party because they accepted the
words of its leaders as honest. I, myself,
have been exceedingly loath to break up
the associations of life time, and moth
ing but an overwhelming sense of my
duty to my country and those to come
after me has constrained me to it.
Last October U. S. Senator William E.
Chandler, of New Hampshire, wrote a
bimetallic or free coinage letter to the
Colorado Republicans urging them to
stand by the party as the only free silver
party. hope you will pardon my copy
ing so freely from it, if you are already
familiar with it. After quoting the money
planks of 'SS and '92 he said:
"These declarations pledging the party
to secure bimetallism will not be ignored
nor dishonored Here and
there a Republican newspaper or a
ent gold standard as something we must
acquiesce in if England and Germany
continue to refuse to remonetize silver.
But the masses of the Republican party
are sound on this issue. They do not
mean to allow half the worlds metallic
measure of value to be rejected and
destroyed. They intend to fight patiently
and persistently against gold monometal-
lism. The party will go into the next
presidential battle pledged to bimetallism,
which believe as sure as right is right
will win complete victory. X
The contest for bimetallisl1r is not being
carried on i'll the interest merely of the
producer of silver. If it were it would be
Comparatively small interest. Silver
producers have a right to contend for
their own interests, but good sense re-
quires them to make their fight as part
of much more important movement, of
wide influence and intense force, namely,
the movement to prevent the whole
world, the producers of silver and the nom
producers Except the creditor classes)
from suffering the severe calamities which
would result from gold monometallism.
The contest for bimetallism fought on this
broad basis will succeed. On the other
hand the Democratic leaders, the men
who control its national influence, patron
age and organization are gold mono
metallists. \ President Cleve-
land and his administration are absolutely
in the hands of Mr.. ]. Pierpont Morgan
and his syndicate of foreign bankers, they
are against silver as money metal and
are committed to gold recommendation.
With the patronage of the government,
with money manipulated by William c.
Whitney and Calvin S. Brice the Democ-
racy are hopelessly subjugated, and their
next national convention will be as hos
tile to the principles of bimetallism as are
the English creditors who propose to ex-
act the pound of flesh from the debtors in
all parts of the world. r There
fore Republican bimetallists everywhere,
where silver is produced and where it is
not should cling to their own party. Il
We should foil and make powerless, as
we can easily do, all single gold standard
advocates who may try to turn the party
away from its pledges to bimetallism; to
change it into tool of the creditor class,
of the trainers of trusts, ofthe makers OF
monopolies, of the manipulators of huge
money combinations and make it thereby
an enemy instead of friend of the plain
people. Moreover Republi-
cans shoald organize widespread prop
Uganda for the dissemination of facts and
arguments against the single gold stan
dard and in favor of the time-honored
principles of bimetallism, which are too
little understood by-our people, who are
being confronted by the single standard
advocates with false statements and un-