The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1896-06-16
The Proper Money Plank.

The Proper Money Plank.
The Wilkes Barre Record correctly
states the attitude of the great majori-
ty of the membership of the Republic
can party when it declares that what
they want Is: First, a tariff and
revenue policy that will give our home
indutries protection and prosperity and
bring revenues enough into the treasury
to meet the requirements of the govern
ment. together with a sufficient surplus
to gradually reduce the national debt
Second, a financial policy that will give
the country sufficient volume of dol
lars, every one of which, whether gold,
silver or paper, has the same purchas-
Ing power as the standard gold dollar"
Our contemporary is plainly within
the truth when it declares that "a fin
Piles will not be 'straddle;' it will not
be a concession to the free silver fam
conservative, patriotic, common sense
spirit that permeates the great body Of
the American people, upon whose votes
the Republican party depends for re-
storation to power in the national gov
ernment." AS the Washington Star, an
independent but conservative paper. OBJ
serves In the same connection:
stringent gold plank In the platform
would misrepresent the party. The party
is not in favor Of the single gold standard.
1t Is IN favor OF the double standard,
safeguarded Gold payments will be main-
tanned until bimetallism IS secured by in
tcrnational agreement or, safely, by other
means. Gold monometallism has never
been advocated by the Republican party
There would have been no talk Of it at
this time if the Republican party had re-
maned in power. The Sherman law would
probably have been modified, but some-
thing In slver's interests, and reasonably
satisfactory to siiver's friends, would have
been put in its place. The Republican
party, though always opposed to the free
coinage OF silver as an independent act
by this government, has always been
friendly TO silver and is the author of all
the laws designed to help rchabilitate sill
YER
The campaign for radical deliver
ence in favor of gold monometallism
carried to the extreme Of retiring treas
ury notes and greenbacks and declin-
ing utterly to sanction additional COIN
age of silver Is of Democratic origin
and had for its object the diversion Of
popular attention away from the Cleve-
land administrations tariff failure 1t
Is not a Republican artifice and Repub-
licans would be foolish to adopt it. No
honest man can wish to debase the
currency. No honest man can wish to
cheat creditor. No honest man can
wish to lower the wages of labor by
making payments in an inferior dollar
But 1t is simply ridiculous to say that
because the last Democratic adminis-
tration made a horrible mess of our
revenues and our finances, Republicans
should be stampeded by Mr.. Cleveland
into branding with the stigma of in
fanny their own past legislation in be-
half of silver and undertaking by plat
form declaration to discredit their own
history.
The proper plank for the St. Louis
convention should embody this idea, II
not these words: 1.-THE record of the
Republican party shows that 1t is the
party Of safety. True to this past, it
declares now and pledges it's future
effort in behalf Of international BIZ
metallism. but opposes as needlessly
hazardous the unlimited coinage Of sill
yer by this nation alone, and demands
currency fitted to the needs Of busi-
ness, with all its dollars equal in pur-
chasing power to the best dollar any
where" Such a plank would satisfy
every fair-minded man who has no
special axe to grind. and be the slogan
Of a noble victory.
-----e--
Anyhow, Tom Reed has this consola-
tion: No ono doniec fhof bo IL a. <o he