The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1896-01-23
THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY AND
SILVER.

The New York Times thinks there
are reasons why the Democrats of
New York city can accept with resig-
nation the choice of Chicago as the
city in which to hold the Democratic
national convention. One is that by
going to the Lake City the convention
escapes the influence of the machine
politics of New York city and state.
! Another cause for satisfaction is that
by taking the convention to Chicago
it escapes st. Louis. viii n as supposed
to be the choice of the free silver men.
1T was not only eXpedient, but neces-
sary." says the Times Tor the saliva
ton Of the party that at the very out
set, in the first maneuvering for posi-
ton. the free silver men should be de-
teated.'
The choice of Chicago over st. Louis
is not very marked defeat for the
free silver Democrats, and there is
very small comfort for single
standard Democrats in the Sc
I lection of Chicago as the con-
vention city The Times may be as
sured that the Democrats who stand
| for the money of the constitution, gold
and silver, viii make as good a fight
for the recognition of silver as money
metal in Chicago as they would have
! done in ST Louis; and they have
/ equally az good a chance for winning.
AS to whether they can win or not will
! only be determined at the convention,
but the Times may depend on it that
there will be mighty effort made for
victory
! The Times is somewhat more gra-
4 cious than some of the single standard
organs of the east 1t does admit that
many of the free silver Democrats are
/ sincere men, ''and are loyal to all other
/ Democratic principles than sound
money Kind soul! If the Times were
moved to tears, we would say, these
/ are gracious drops" but as it is not,
we would merely ask when sound
money in the sense that the phrase
! is used by the Times, that is. as mean
ing the single gold standard, became a
! Democratic principle? It says We
hold that the Democratic party of the
nation is committed beyond all ques-
! ton to the support of currency uni
formally and permanently good"
! Granted; but we cannot so readily as
sent to the other part of the state
ment of the Times, namely, land that
can be got only by unquestionable fidel-
| fty to the gold standard" That is an
assumption of our eastern contempt
rary not warranted by any action or
| declaration of the Democratic party.
There is more to lead one to an OPP
posite conclusion. The states, by the
constitution, are prohibited from max
ing anything but gold and silver coin
a tender in payment of debts, clearly
indicating that the United States was
to have not only metallic money, but
bi-metallic money; and that just infer
ence was sustained through sixty-one
years of our national life, until, in
fact, silver was demonetized by a Re
publican congress and a Republican
administration in 1873.
In the Democratic platform in 1884
in respect to money, the Democratic
platform said:
We believe in honest money, the gold
and a circulating medium convertible
into such money without loss.
In the Democratic platform for 1892
upon which the present administration
was elected, and from which it has Sc
far departed, the Democratic party de
clared:
We hold to the use of both gold AMI
silver as the standard money of this
country and to the coinage Of bott
gold and silver without discriminating
against either metal or charge fol
mintage, but the dollar unit of coin
age of both metals must be of equa
intrinsic and eXchangeable value, or be
adjusted through international agree
ment, or by such safeguards of legis-
lation as shall insure the maintenance
of the parity of the two metals, and
the equal power of every dollar at al
times in the markets, and in payment
of debt. and we demand that all paper
currency shall be kept at par with and
redeemable in such coin.
It is conceded that the latter plank
is unnecessarily long. and that the lat
part of it could have been left off, both
to the advantage of the party and the
country; but with all its imperfections
on its head, these quotations from the
authoritative declarations of the party
together with the course OF the party
leaders, both in Office and out of it,
until the present administration began,
give a plain and direct contradiction
to the statement of the Times about the
/ Democratic party being already COM
mitted to the sound money policy,
when that phrase, sound money" is
made to mean the single gold standard.
The Democratic party is pledged to no
such piece of infamy as striking down
one Of the money metals of the consti-
tuition. And as the Democratic party,
up to this time, has been the party of
the constitution, and also the party of
the people, of the plain, common peo-
ple. so we hope in this crisis that is
coming upon the nation, it viii be
found true to itself by being true to
the money of the constitution and of
the people.
PRAYER IN THE LEGISLATURE.