Virginia free press. (Charlestown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1832-1916, 1896-06-03
Satiraiuia 9ree gtess.
GERMAN-AMERICANS
THEY ARE ALMOST UNANIMOUS FOR
SOUND MONEY.

centase of the Voters of This Country.
Mr.. Gustav II. Schwab is president
of the German society of New York
city and is therefore in touch with
Germans and German Americansi in this
country. Being also a prominent bus
mess man, he is familiar with the views
of Germans on the financial question. In
an interview en- May II he said;
am convinced from my knowledge
of my German-American fellow citi-
zens and their ways of thinking that
the vast majority CT them in the coming
political contest will entirely disregard
party ties and viii vote for that party
which declares for the maintenance, be-
yond possibility of doubt, of the gold
standard Of value, and that they will
not give their suffrage to any candidate
who may be suspected of a leaning to-
ward free silver coinage or toward any
compromise with the silver people.
They consider that the paramount
question before the country at present is
the integrity of our monetary system,
and their votes will go to that party
which they believe will uphold the
counhy's financial honor, regardless Of
what their views may be on other polit-
ical questions. Previous experience has
shown that German voters on questions
relating to or affecting the standard of
value have always stood for common
honesty, and that they have uniformly
opposed all forms of financial heresy.
When, 20 years ago, the paper money
imitation question was agitated i'll Mis-
souri,, the Germans of that state were
arrayed on the side Of sound money.
The Germans Of Illinois are on record
as always having been on the right side
Of the money question, and us never
having been led astray by cheap money
propaganda at any time. A German
business man, cashier Of large bank III
Chicago, who has wide acquaintance
with the small bankers and merchants
throughout the west, tells me that he
has had occasion to hear expressions
from his German countrymen for years
past on the question of monetary
standard, and that he has never yet
found one who was not i'll favor of the
gold standard and opposed to the free
coinage Of silver.
His opinion is that the German citi-
zenS of Illinois are unanimously opposed
70 any impairment Of the present gold
standard
It is fact, universally known, that
the sound money victory in Ohio in the
gubernatorial campaign Of 1915, 10
which Rutherford B. Hayes ran on
Republican hard money platform
against William Allen ON Democratic
paper money imitation platform, was
due to the firm stand taken by the Ger.
mans, who, disIegarding party lines,
turned the scale in the election in favor
Of honest money. This fact was cOnced.
ed at the time by the Republican press
of the state, and the Democratic candi-
date voiced tho sentiments Of his party
leaders when he gave utterauce to his
lacerated feelings after the election by
exclaimiug, ''The Dutch are ID un-
reliable. The German voters are GER
tainly not TO be relied upon when they
are asked 10 prostitute the country's
financial hcnIr at their party's bidding
In the state Of Wisconsin the Germans
have taken the same united stand il
favor Of sound money, and the same
may be said Of Michigan, Iowa ano
Minnesota.
The entire German newspaper press IL
this country, with few exceptions, il
emphatically for sound money, as it has
been in the past and can be depended
upon to pronounce in favor Of the main
tenance of the present standard Of value
and for the party that represents thi:
principle, regardless Of previous party
affiliations Several important German
Democratic papers in the western state:
have already threatened to bolt theil
ticket if a free silver plank should bt
adopted. As an indication Of the gen.
eral sentiment of the German press J
refer to the position taken by the largest
and Oldest German newspaper in the
south, The Demokrat Of Louisville, il
the last state election in Kentucky. AL
though always Democratic up to thai
time, this paper bolted the Democratic
free silver candidate and urged the cleo.
ton Of the Republican sound money can.
didate for governor
The Importance of the German vote
will be apparent when the numerical
strength of the German-American popu.
lation in the pivotal states is consider.
ed. The returns Of the census Of 1896
show that the state Of New York then
contained 972, COS Communications,
Ohio 541, 407, Illinois 600, SIS, Penn.
sylvania 472, 1923, Michigan 276, 25S,
Wisconsin SOL, S34, Minnesota pa, ga,
Iowa 900, 603 and Missouri 297, 095.
Whatever may be the decision Of the
national conventions on the money ques-
ton, this issue will be fairly, squarely
and most thoroughly placed before the
German voter in the course Of the cam
paign, and as to the nature Of his re-
Spouse 1 do not entertain any doubt
The Tail Too Small to wng the Dog.
The total population Of the silver
mining communities, including all those
who are directly or indirectly dependent
ON silver money for q living, cannot ex-
cood -0O OoO Wbv cbou1d tho iufarnstc