St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1896-03-12
REPUBLICAN KEYNOTEs.

1t is not unreasonable to look to the
ONO Republican convention to set the
standard for the party's national cam
paign this year if Mr.. Mckinley is it's
candidate. While Foraker appears to
own the state at present for all other
purposes, Mr.. Mckinley has full con-
troll Of it as far as the presidency is
concerned. The convention to choose
delegates to st. Louis was a McKin-
ley convention. The speeches were
Mckinley speeches. It was Mckinley
first, last and all the time, and so it's
utterances on public questions are fair
ly representative of what the party
stands for today under McKinley's
leadership. This was expressly de-
clared by Mr.. Foraker in his opening
speech. He said that he had sounded
the keynote of the occasion, and that
that was all he was there for. Let
us see, then, from the actions of this
convention, and the words of Keynote
Foraker" what is presented to the
country for It's acceptance by the Re-
publicans Of the great state from
which the party's leading candidate
halls. Here is the way Mr.. Foraker
puts it. He said that under ordinary
circumstances it would be proper for
temporary chairman ''to discuss cur
rent political questions and define
IL
body was expecting him to make that
kind of speech, he would be disap-
pointed. Here are his exact words:
1T is not necessary because every
body knows that no matter what ques-
tons may be discussed in the coming
campaign, the only great, towering,
supreme issue in the contest of 1896
will be whether for the next four years
this country shall be ruled by De-
mo"racy or Republicanism.'
That is a position quite worthy of
Mr.. Foraker, and keynote pitched as
high as any act or utterance of his
whole public life. But how will 1t
strike the plain people of the country {?
Are they satisfied to go to the polls,
will they think it worth while to take
the trouble to hold an election, with
out commanding issues, without d.
Viding on current topics Of interest, but
solely and singly to ascertain whether
the men who transact the country's
business for the next four years shall
label themselves Republican or DEM
ocrat? This is the astounding PROPOSE
ton that is placed before the people
On Mr.. McKinley's behalf, by the man
selected to laud and glorify him. These
people say to the country, we care and
you must care nothing about high tar
If or low tariff, good money or bad
money, dignified foreign policy or jim
go1sm, economy or extravaganza in ap-
preparations, about nothing on the earth
or under it or above it except the party
name that is on the voters tag. If
there shall be success for any political
party that places itself upon this plat
form of Indifference and evasion. then
we are mistaken in the intelligence
and the temper of the American peo-
pie.
That Mr.. Foraker did not misrepresent
his candidate, or the body that he ad-
dressed, is shown by it's position on
an issue that marks the greatest strug-
gle in the politics of today. From
corner to corner of the nation Repub-
lican newspapers and Republican
speakers have declared that, what
ever else might happen, there would
be no straddle on the currency ques-
ton this year. There would be no repe-
tition of the performances of 1892, when
Teller and Jones wrote the financial
plank of the platform, and Sherman
and the rest interpreted it to suit them
selves. Yet we have the Republican
convention held in the state of McKin-
ley readopting that discredited and
worse than meaningless plank, as it's
contribution to the solution of the
financial problem. and as a fair repre-