Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1896-03-13
Bimetalliam to Be the Republican
Shibboleth.
0 new DEFINITION ATTEMPTED
The Financial Plank of the 1892
Platform to Be Used.
THE PARTY'S RECORD.

The financial deliverances in Iowa and
Ohio are accepted as Indicating pretty
clearly what may be expected on the
same subject at st. Louis. Bimetallism is to
be the republican shibboleth. No new def
milton Of the word is attempted. AS used
now 1t seems to mean precisely what it did
In 1892 when used at Minneapolis and dur
ing the campaign that followed. An inter
national agreement is still a condition, but
there is still the pledge to try and bring
about such agreement.
A Free Silver OutcrY
There is not the outcry from the free coin
age republicans that in some quarters was
expected. 1t had been predicted, indeed
that the reaffirmation by the Allison and
the Mckinley people of the Minneapolis
platform would at once inaugurate open
division In the party and prefigure dis
astrous disruption at st. Louis. But the
free coinage men are not going off at half
COCK. They will reserve their fire until the
national line is drawn, and deliver their
Volley deliberately and with steady ann
then.
No Opportunity to Move.
1t is suggested in conservative republican
quarters that no valid objection can lie to
the reaf1rmation this year of the financial
plank of the platform of 1892 There has
been no opportunity to move upon that line.
The defeat of the party that year operated
TO suspend it's policies of every kind Had
the party been successful that year, things,
they assert, would have been very different.
An earnest effort would have been made
to redeem the promise as to silver, and
while the result might not have been all
that the silver men desired, it would have
put silver in better position as a money
metal than 1t occupies today.
The Party's Record.
In proof of this the conservative republic
cans point to the party's record under the
Harrison administration. The promise had
been made at Chicago in 1883 to do some
thing for silver, and an earnest effort fol-
lowed to redeem that promise. The Sher-
man law was passed, and an internationa.
conference was held. Both were disap-
pointing to the friends of silver, but bot r.
showed that the party had not been trifiiny
with the friends of silver. The party haG
not exhausted IT'S resources by any means
and at Minneapolis pledged itself to go on
with the work. 1t is asserted that that
pledge, too, would have been redeemed had
Gen. Harrison been reelected President
and been reinforced by q republican Con-
gIess. But disaster overlook the party the
democracy with divided councils came in,
and Mr.. Cleveland forthwith inaugura ted
a crusade against silver, which he has ever
since kept up.
The Proposition of Conservative Re.
publfcans.
The prop os.tion of the conservative re-
publicans, therefore, is this: Eepledge the
party to p:metaliism through international
agreement and to a bona fide effort to
brig about such al agreement. Let The
distinction be draw n between the Clevel md
policy and the republican policy. Let it be
shown that Mr.. Cleveland has never moyad
in the direction of an International agree
ment; that he brought matters to stand
still as soon as he secured the repeal of the
purchasing clause of the Sherman act, and
thereby inflicted AN injury upon silver Let
1t be asserted that such would not have
been the policy of republican administra-
ton; that the repeal of the purchasing
cause of the Sherman law would have been
followed by some legislation friendly to sill
yer, and that the fort to bring about an
International agreement would have been
renewed and pressed with all the prestige
of this government And then, to clinch
all, let 1t be pointed out that every SUBJ
stantial thing done for silver as money
metal in twenty years has been the work
of the republican party and over democrat tic
opposition.