The Windham County reformer. (Battleboro, Vt.) 1876-1897, 1896-06-12
McK,niey,s silver views.

n ing to say" about the letter unearthe
l. last week, which he wrote to the Star
= county (OhioJ Farmers Alliance dun
= ing his congressional campaign in 1885,
!, declaring
]. II am in favor of the Use of all tn
q silver product of the United States 70
money as circulating medium
u would have silver and gold alike.
But Mark Hanna, his manager, an
8 other friends, are explaining it TO
4 him, saying that the letter was writer
+. at time of great excitement, when HI
e was making from six TO ten speeche
= day, aud penned at midnight, on
s night when he was called out of BET
9 by a messenger bringing an urgent ap
: ne al from his friends for reply t.
5 questions of the alliance, which was al
advowedly free silver organization. AL
OF which is not very dignified stuff t.
urge for a man who is put up to leat
70, 600, COO people in political thought
, If Mr.. Mckinley was willing to express
! his opinion to get the votes of the A
, lance for Congress then, there is nc
I reason why he should not express:
} now to get the votes Of the millions foi
President. Anyhow until he says
frankly that he has changed his mind,
it is fair to presume that his opinion
then is his opinion now.
Hanna seems to recognize this dim
ly for he goes on to argue that the use
of the silver product of the United
States as circulating medium, and
having gold and silver alike, does not
necessarily mean free coinage. and in
fact the letter was only ian other ex-
preston of Maj McKinley's well known
attitude ON the money question; he'' ia
vors honest money, big dollars,
by putting 100 cents worth Of silver
in every dollar $50 does every free
coinage advocate, claiming that free
| and unlimited coinage will accomplish
just that. They can make strong
argument to that effect: but only the
most stupid of them believe that coin
age restricted to the American product
alone would do it.
But Hanna is right in saying the
letter represents McKinley's we'll
known attitude. 0It says the same
thing as he said on the floor of Con
gress. June 81, 1890. in support OF
the Sherman bill
i am for the largest use Of silver
in the currency of the country.
would not dishonor it, | would give
it equal credit and value with gold. |
want the double standard. =
We cannot have free co mage now,
he said, except ID the manner pro
vided by the bill 1t was on the very
ground that he believed it the nearest |
practicable thing to free coinage that |
he supported it. He voted with Blanc |
for free silver coinage in 1877. He
voted in 1878 to pass over President I
dayes's veto the amended Bland bill
which Injected into the currency sill
yer coinage amounting TO -. 600, 600 per
month as minimum. In 1886 he voted
with Bland against IA bill providing for
the discontinuance of this injection
three years later. And in 1880 he
voted for the Sherman bill increasing |
the silver injection into the currency t
from -, 900, 90 to 81. 800. 900 month,
because he thought, as many others did
at the time, that ii would absorb the
whole American product, and in 1891,
not then being member of Congress,
he publicly denounced those VIII o had
the pernicious Sherman act,
because they hau struck silver
down." as he said
Mckinley has mouthed plentifully /
about ''sourd money and he has said
some things, not explicitly, but in a :
way TO fairly lead to the inference that I
le does not believe that unlimited free
coinage can be safely undertaken by $
he country at this time. But his r
whole record. all his utteranc3s on the [
ubject when taken together, show I
mat ne is IN FAVOR OF squirting the [
.reatest possible quantity of silver in | Il
O Our circulation-of continuing in o
ONE form the very policy that cxpe s
fence showed under the Sherman II
ct, would surely undermine the gold i
tandard-of the straddling compro s
lise and evasion that do all the arm s
rec silver can do and without bring n
ne any Of its benefits.
Free coinage, though right and desi. b
BILE If brought about in the light way a
annot fail, il adopted independently Il
y the United States in the present D
tat us of her business and the worlds al
lonetar affirs, to brin g widespread a
isaster But even that is better than Vi
ne agoniziug suspense, stretching over
ear after year, that is involved in the W
themes Mckinley clings to. lii
It is, therefore, profoundly unfortunate Sc
" the country that the coming Re "
ublican candidate holds to such to
ews, and it will be doubly so if the ne
epubiican convention next week i, !
lupts them. as We expect it will The or
now approach certainty m
lat the Democratic convention will -
'onounce for free coinage outright. ~
I'd if so, wise party policy and the m
st interests of the country require ed