The Arizona sentinel., 1896-08-29
HCKINLEY'S LETTER ACCEPTING THE RE- PUBLICAN NOMINATION.
Protection and Reciprocity Issues of Supreme Importance Patriotic People Called Upon to Crush
 the Free Silver HereSy.

party IS as follows:
 Hon. John M. Thurston and otheI
 members of the notification committee of the Republican national convention Gentlemen In pursuance of thC promise made to your committee wher
 notified of my nomination as republi- can candidate for president, I beg tc submit this formal acceptance of tha
 high honor and to consider in detai
 the questions at issue in the coming
 campaign. For the first time since
 1868, If ever before, there is presented
 to the American people this year ;
 clear and direct issue as to our mon
 etary system, of vast important in ;t'
 effects and upon right settlement O
 which rests largely the financial homo
 and prosperity of the country. 1t i
 proposed by one wing of the democartit
 party and it's allies, the peoples anC silver parties. to inaugurate the ire,
 and unlimited coinage of silver by in dependent action on the part of tht United States at a ratio Of 16 ounce, of silver to 1 ounce of gold. The mere declaration of this purposeis menace to our financial and industrial interests and has already created universal alarm. It involves great peril to the credit and business of the country; 2 peril so grave that conservative men everywhere are breaking away from their old party associations and unit ing with other patriotic citizens in an emphatic protest against the platform of the democratic national convention as an assault upon the faith and honor of the government and the welfare ol the people. We have had few ques- tions in the life time of the republic more serious than the one which is thus presented.
 Free silver would not mean that sill yer dollars were to be freely had with out the cost of labor. It would mean the free use of the hints of the United States for few who are the owners of silver bullion but would make silver coin no freer to many who are engaged in other enterprises. It would not make labor easier, the hours of labor shorter, or the pay better. The mean ing of the coinage plank adopted at Chicago is that any one may take a quantity of silver bullion now worth fifty-three cents, to the hints of the United States, have it coined at the ex- pense of the government and receive for 1t a silver dollar which shall be legal tender for the payment of all debts public or private. The owner of the bullion would get a silver dollar. It belongs to him and nobody else. Other people would get it only by their labor, the products of their land or something of value. The bullion owner on basis of present values would receive a silver dollar for fifty three cents worth of silver, and other people would be required to receive it as full dollar in payment of debts.
 The silver dollars now in use were coined on account of the government and not for private account or gain and the government has solemnly agreed to keep them as good as the best dollars we have. The government bought sill yer bullion at its market value and coined it. Having exclusive control of the mint 1t only coins what 1t can hold at parity with gold The profit representing the difference between the commercial value of the silver bullion and the face value of the silver dollar goes to the government for the benefit of the people. The govern ment bought silver bullion contained in the silver dollar at very much less than its coinage value. It paid it out to it's creditors and put 1t in circula- tion among the people at its face value of 100 cents or a full dollar. It re- quired the people to accept it as legal tender and Is thus morally bound to maintain it at a parity with gold which was then as now the recognized standard with us and the most enlight- ened nations in the world. The go- vernment having issued and circulat- ed the silver dollar it must in honor protect the holder from loss. This obligation it has so far sacredly kept. Not only is this moral obligation but there is a legal obligation express ed in a public statute to maintain the parity.
 These dollars are not the same as the dollars which would be issued under free coinage. They would be the same in form but different in value. The government would have nc part in the transaction except to coin sil- yer bullion into dollars. It would share in no part of the profit. It would take upon itself no obligations.