Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1896-08-15
AN old LEADER
Bou-ise Cochran Dcnounces the
Democratic Platform.
IT Is A QUESTION CT MORALS


History Sf the Country, Exceeding In
Importance the Crisis of 1S3O-Ho Ad-
vlsos Drmocrats to support the Me-
KinIey Electors.
Bourlce Cochran, the eloquent Tam
many Democrat of New York, whose
speech III opposition to Cleveland's NOM
ination il 1892 made his name house
hold word i'll this country, has been in
tervieNed rs to the action OF the nation
al Democratic convention. Speaking of
the situation he said:
al regard it as the gravest in the his
tory OF the country, exceeding in i'm
portance the crisis of 1850. Tho seces-
sion movement was but an attempt to
divide this country between two gov
ernments, each of them designed to
protect property within the limits of its
jurisdiction. The movement launched
at Chicago is an attempt to paralize in-
dustry by using all the powers of gov
ernmaut TO take property from the
hands of those who created it and place
it in the hands of those who covet it.
This is question of morals as well as
politics. No political convention can
issue valid license to commit offenses
against morality, and decline to follow
Mr.. Bryan i'll crusade against honesty
and the rights of labor.
"Do you mean that you Will actively
oppose the Democratic party or abstain
from active support of it?'
I'm contest for the existence of CIV
ilization no man can remain neutral.
Whoever does not support the forces Of
order. aids the forces of disorder. If l
can co anything to thwart movement,
the success of which l should regard as
an irrcparable calamity not only to this
country. but to civilized society every
where, / shall certainly do it"
"What 90 You think of Tammany's
action in indorsing the ticket?'
II simply can't understand it. They
strongly opposed the platform at Chica-
go or the around that it was an assault
on the integrity of the nation. They
decline to ratify it even now, which
shows that they have not changed their
opinion of it. Yet they have indorsed
the candidate who stands upon it, aid
whose election will meiin that the plnS-
form which they themselves denounce as
singular combination of lunacy and
villainy shall be Incorporated into the
statute laws of this country"
'Will you support Major Mckinley
outright, or do you favor the nomina-
ton OF another Democratic ticket?"
81 believe that all Democrats who are
so thoroughly i'll favor of sound money
that they place the defeat of Bryan
above the interests of any organization
or party, should meet i'll convention for
the purpose of considering the form and
method by which they can give the
greatest efficiency to their opposition.
For my part, do not believe that the
nomination of other candidates for pres
ident and vice president, however emf
nent and deserving they may be person.
ally or politically would serve any USE
full purpose. Nobody believes that they
would be elected, and any Democrat
whose hostility to Populism and Repub-
icanism would not allow him to support
either Bryan or Mckinley could show
his opposition to both by remaining at
home on election day quite as well as by
voting for third ticket. 1t would be
more convenient to himself individually
and would not create visible separa-
tion between himself and his party Or
ganiZation.
But how can men rupturing party
ties be sustained by some sense of asso-
citation among themselves"
''That end could be attained by the
adoption of a platform declaring for
sound money; against eXtravagant ap.
propriations; in favor of economical
administration i'll every department. of
sgovelr ,naut i'll favor of Il tariff for rev.
enue Gully, and ample for the purpose I;
against the paternalism OF the Repub-
1ican party and the Populistic socialism
of both the Chicago and ST. Louis con-
ventio;S in favor OF that American lib
ierty which can be maintained by so linz
liting tie power of the government that
lit can never interfere with the daily
concerns of law-abiding citizens. The
plank OF pressing Importance i'll such "a
platform is, of course, the currency
plank. Now, the mere election of Nc
Kinley Will be the defeat of the silver
movement"
"Your obvious policy, then. would be
to indo-se the Mckinley electorS?'
"Precisely. The Democrats who will
have achieved the success OF their finan-
cial plank by the election OF Mckinley
will yet constitute an opposition 10 the
Republican party the day after the cleo
tion, based on principles which are cer-
tainly to be ultimately adopted by the
American people. What is needed,
therefore, is not new ticket, but Il new
platform which will declare in unmis-
.takeable language the cardinal features
of the party faith, and which. while in,
dorsing McI,inley electors, will provide
for really Democratic opposition to the
Mckinley administration during the
period OF its existence"
"What is your opinion of the ulti
mate outlook"
"Everything depends on the manner
lin which it IS waged. To my mind there
ifG hnt tact nf NUhioh rOr
be applied to country, and that is the
rate of wages paid to labor. There Il
be no prosperity where low wages arc
paid. There can be no distress where
the rate of wages is high. 1t can bt
easily demonstrated that this whole fre,
silver movement is conspiracy against
wages, and if the campaign is fought
on this line have no doubt that every
fnorthcrn state-that is to say, every
state in the Union in which it is practi
cable 10 hold d free electipn-will b.
na,,.; ;a1 no inta11inanoa aud ,,,n,.a IL