Twice-a-week plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1895-1913, 1896-04-24
Are You a Democrat.

honest money, the gold and silver
coinage of the constitution, and Cir
culating medium convertible into
such money without loss" Mark the
words, honest money, the gold and
silver coinage of the constitution, not
gold coinage, but gold and silver
coinage, and circulating medium
convertible into such lnoney-that is,
gold and siiver-withont loss.
In the platform of the same party
in 1888 it was declared: ''The demo-
cratic party of the United States, III
national convention assembled, re-
news the pledge of its fidelity to dem
ocratic faith, and reaffirms the plat
form adopted by it's representatives
at the convention of 1884" the finan-
cial plank of which l have just
quoted.
In 1892, our last national conven-
ton, the same party in its platform
declared: I'VE hold to the use of
both gold and silver as the standard
money of the country. and to the
coinage of both gold and silver with
out discrimination against either
metal or charge for mintage; but
the dollar unit of coinage of both
metals must be of equal intrinsic and
exchangeable value, or be adjusted
through international agreement or
by such safeguards of legislation as
shall insure the maintenance of the
parity Of the two metals, and the
equal power of every dollar at all
times in the markets and in the pay
ment of debts. and we demand that
all paper currency shall be kept at
par with and redeemable in such
COIN"
Redeemable in what coin? Gold
coin or silver coin, is what it says.
What was it that the party de-
clared it held to the nse of as
standard money? Was it gold coin
alone, as our gold standard friends
now insist? Not at all: it was to the
use of both gold and silver as
standard money of the country, and
to the coinage of both without dis
crimiDation against either metal.
Have the gold standard advocates
in or out of the party permitted the
redemption of that pledge? Instead,
they have compelled its violation,
both in letter and spirit
No dollar in silver is being coined.
although there is stored in vaults of
the treasury tons upon tons of this
metal, the sole property the nation.
Not a dollar already coined is used
as standard money in the redemption
of other money, or in the payment of
our bonded Indebtedness, if the hold
er of these claims demands gold
instead.
Is this tie use of both gold and
silver as standard money, without
discrimination against either, for
which the party declared in its last
national platform? If so, tell me
what would amount to violation of
its pledge in that respect.
If we turn from u perusal of the
national platforms of the party to a
history of the action of its represen-
tatives in congress upon the same
subject, we are even more forcibly re-
minded that the party as such is un-
equivocally committed to bimetalism,
and that to abandon it now is to re-
verse a policy that has been faith
fully end unflinchingly adhered to
from the day this question became a
subject of controversy in that body.
In the lower house of the forty
fourth congress, in which, for the
first time in many years, there was q
democratic majority, q bill for the
free coinage of silver was introduced,
and 10 democrats voted for it to is
against it, aud afterwards in the
same congress 1873 democrats voted
for and passed like bill to II
against it.
In the forty-fifth congress, in the
lower house, 81 democrats voted for
and helped to pass free coinage bill,
to 10 against it.
A republican senate struck out the
free coinage clause and substituted a
bill providing for the purchase and
the coinage by the government of a
limited amount of silver.
In the forty sixth congress 100 dem
ocra*sr voted for free coinage bill to
70 against it, and 107 voted for an
amendment to a bill to compel the
secretary of the treasury to pay out
standard silver coin the same as gold
in the payment of coin obligations of
the government, to against the
amendment.
In the forty-ninth congress, 96 dem
ocrats voted for, to 70 against, free
coinage; and in the fifty-frst congress,
101 democrats in the house voted for,
to ~ against, a resolution to re-
commit the Window silver pur-
chasing bill with instructions to the
committee having it in charge to re-
port bill for the free and unlimit-
coinage of the standard silver dollar.
and in the senate free coinage sub
stitute was voted for by 81 democrats
to against it, and in the house the
same substitute received 113 demo-
cratic votes for, to % against it.
In the senate, in January, 1891. "a
democrats voted for free coinage, to
1 against it.