The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1896-07-15
Uermomt 6Nattbmam.
The Democratic National Convention,
SILVER RULES THE DAY.

temporary chairman Senator Hill of
New York. The convention departed
from a precedent that had been un-
broken in the history of the democratic
party. 1t refused to accept the selec-
ton of the national committee, but by
a majority of nearly 200 chose SEN
ator John w. Daniel as temporary
chairman. Mr.. Hill was the repre-
sentative of the gold men; Mr.. Dan
lei was the candidate of the silver
men. There were contested election
cases in several states, notably in Ne
cause of the discord. The silver men
claimed the seats held by the gold dele
gates. The national committee by a
vote of 81 to 90, in the case of the Ne
braska contest, and by a vote of AZ to /
in the case of the Michigan delegates,
gave the contested seats to the gold
men. The convention reversed both
of these decisions; adding sixteen votes
from the former state and twenty. eight
from the latter to the silver column.
The contests related to but four dele
gates in the Michigan delegation, but
the shifting of these four from the gold
to the silver side of the delegation gave
the latter a majority, and as the unit
rule governs, the vote of the entire
delegation was carried over to the side
of the white metal. The territories
and the District of Columbia had been
given two delegates; the convention
gave them six each, and allotted the
same number to Alaska. These addi-
tions increased the total membership of
the convention to $50, and brought the
strength of the silver party up to 633.
The number necessary for a two-thirds
majority was 62O. Thus was the re-
quired number of delegates supporting
the silver standard brought up to thir-
teen more than was necessary to nomi-
nate a president, and their ultimate
triumph assured. The action of the
silver majority in capturing the Michi-
gan delegation vas denounced, ,even by
some supporters of the silver cause, as
revolutionary, and by the gold minority
was characterized as highway rob-
berry"
These proceedings cleared the way
for the adoption of a free silver plat
form and the nomination of a candidate
for president pledged to support the
free and independent coinage of silver
in the ratio of 16 to l. The first grand
field day in the way of a debate was
over the adoption of the platform on
Wednesday. The leading resolutions
as reported by the majority of the plat
form committee were as fellows:
Recognizing that the money system
is paramount to all others at this time,
we invite attention to the fact that the
federal constitution names silver and
gold together as the money metals of
the United States, and that the first
coinage law passed by congress under
the constitution made the silver dollar
the monetary unit and admitted gold TO
free coinage at q ratio based upon the
silver unit.
We declare that the act of 1873, de-
monetizing silver without the knowl-
edge and approval of the American
people, has resulted in the appreciation
of gold and a corresponding fall in the
price of commodities produced by the
people.
We are unalterably opposed TO mone-
metallism, which has locked fast the
prosperity of ali industrial people in
the paralysis of hard times. Gold mon
ometalism is a British policy, and its
adoption has brought other nations into
financial servitude to London. 1t is
not only un-American, but anti-Amer-
lean, and it can be fastened on the
states only by the sitting of that spirit
and love of liberty which proclaimed
our political independence in 1776 and
won it in the war of the revolution.
We demand the free and unlimited
coinage of both gold and silver at the
present legal ratio of 16 to |, without
waiting for the aid or consent of any
other nation. We demand that the
standard silver dollar shall be "a full
legal tender, equally with gold, for all
debts, public and private and we favor
such legislation as will prevent for the
future the decentralization of any kind
OF legal tender money by private con-
tract.
We are opposeu W INC poIlcy anu
practice OF surrendering to the holders
of the obligations of the United States
the option reserved by law to the gov
eminent of redeeming such obligations
in either silver DIN or gold coin.
We are opposed to the issuing of in
terest bearing bonds of the United
States in time of peace, and condemn
the t%raficking with banking syndicates,
which, in exchange for bonds aud at
an enormous profit to themselves, sup
ply the federal treasury with gold to
maintain the policy of gold monometal-
ism.
Congress alone has the power to
coin or issue money, as President Jack
son declared that this power could not
be delegated to corporations or indi-
viduals. We therefore demand that