Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1896-02-03
THE FREE SILVERSUBSnTUTE
It Cannot Injure the Presidential .Aspirf-
tions of Speaker Reed
The Question n Simple One and Not
Relating to What Should BE
Done as to Silver.

Some of the anti-Reed men are persuad-
ing themselves that the Speaker has been
PUT in a hole by the Senate's free silver
substitute for the House bond bill. Has he
teen? Why should he have been? Why
should the republican leaders of the House
shrink from passing upon a measure that
seemed to carry no special terrors to the
republican leaders of the Senate? The
presidential aspirants in the Senate came to
the scratch without hesitation. Mr.. Allison
and Mr.. Davis recorded themselves against
II. Mr.. Cullom, who was absent, was pair
ed against it. Is there anything in Mr.
Reeds career indicating that in the matter
of nerve he is inferior to his presidential
rivals?
Will Not Harm the Speaker.
So far from being embarrassing, the situ-
alton would appear to be harmless so far as
Mr.: Reed is concerned: The question is a
simple one-as simple as it was in the SEN
ate. What the House is called upon to do
is to pass upon the proposition, pure and
SIMPLE. of the free coinage of silver. The
attitude of the members is already known
The attitude of Mr.. Reed is already known
The bill cannot pass. A large majority is
against 1t, the Speaker among the number
and when this fact is formally recorded the
contest is at an end. Nothing new will
nave been developed fl anybodys case.
The Simple Question.
The matter would be entirely different If
the republicans of the House were called
upon to define themselves at this time on
the whole question of silver But they are
not They are called upon only to declare
whether or not at this time, without regard
TO the attitude Of other nations, the United
States shall inaugurate the policy of free
coinage Upon that point they are ready
TO answer. In fact they already have an
swered. And they will content themselves
with that answer, following the lead of
their brethren in the Senate and leaving to
the st. Louis convention the formulation
OF the bill of particulars upon which the
party must stand in the presidential race
NO sound money Senator undertook the
task OF outlining how far he thought the
party ought to go IN the interest of silver
The vote recorded in the Senate was for or
against free coinage. The House need 20
no further-will go no further.
Merely "a Dress Parade.
Mr.. Stewart's Characterization of the pro-
ceedings as dress parade was annoyingly.
near the truth. The President had asked
Congress for what he could hardly have
expected Congress to grant, and the Senate
was on the eve of responding with some
thing it knew that neither the House nor
the President would approve. Nothing
would come of the measure. The Senate's
whole work, indeed, was calculated for ef-
feet at st. Louis and Chicago next sum-
mer, and not here. The whole question:
therefore, goes to the two national conven-
uons and by those bodies will be referred
to the people for decision in November.
Not Injurious to Presidential Aspfr-
ants.
How, then, the question is asked, can
votes now cast, as the matter is now sub
mtted, be injurious to presidential aspir-
ants? Because Mr.. Allison, Mr.. Davis ard
Mr.. Cullom in the Senate and Mr.. Reed in
the House record themselves against the
flee coinage OF silver, the assumption is not
warranted that they are unwilling to do
anything at all for silver. Precisely how
much they are willing to do for that metal
VIII appear later. They will be bound by
the dcliverance of their party in its ma
tioEal platform. They stand today and
VIII stand the day the St Louis conven-
ton assemblies, as opposed to the free and
unlimited coinage of silver, but from the
Gay that convention adjourns they will
stand, whether in the ranks or whether
one or another of them shall have been
chosen to head the party's ticket, upon
whatever the party may have adopted on
the subject
No Hole About This.
Is there any mole about this? If there is.
the Speakers friends fail to discover it, If
he had ever pretended to be a free coinage
man, and was now seeking TO run away,
his flight would be pitiable. 1t would be
an easy matter to expose him. But mis-
attitude toward free silver has never been
in doubt. and is not in doubt today.