The Cape Girardeau Democrat. (Cape Girardeau, Mo.) 1876-1909, 1896-08-08
PLATFORM,
BUT NO TICKET.
Bourke Cockran's Ad-
vice to Sound Money
Democrats.
He Believes They should Declare in
Convention for Mckinley n Ho-
bart-The Only Way to Defeat
Bryan-Currency Question
Above all Others.

" lANA ~ "AAA~A IN III liz
defeat of the Chicago candidate may
be encompassed. Speaking of the
situation he said:
Il regard it as the gravest in the
history of the country, exceeding in
Importance the crisis of 1860. The
secessionmovement was but an attempt
to divide this country between two
Governments, each of them designed
to protect property within the limits
of its jurisdiction. The movement
launched at Chicago is an attempt to
paralyze industry by using all the
powers of government to take proper
ty from the hands of those who created
it and place it in the hands of those
who covet it. This is a question of
morals as we'll as of politics. No po-
litical Convention can issue a valid
license to commit offenses against
morality, and decline to follow Mr..
Bryan in a crusade against honesty
and the rights of labor"
DO you mean that you will active
ly oppose the Democratic party, or
abstain from active support of it,
''In a contest for the existence of
civilization no man a remain neil
trial. Whoever does not support the
forces of order. aids the forces of dis
order. If l can do anything TO thwart
a movement the success of which l
should regard as anirreparable calam-
ity, not only to this country, but to
civilized society everywhere, l shall
certainly do it."
What do you think Of Tammany's
action in indorsing the ticket?:''
Il simply can't understand it. They
strongly opposed the platform at Chi
cago, on the ground that it was an as
sault on the integrity of the nation.
They decline to ratify it even now,
which shows that they haven't chang
ed their opinion of it. l see they have
indorsed the candidate who stands up
on it, and whose election will mean
that the platform which they them
selves denounced, as a singular COM
bination of lunacy and villainy. shall
be incorporated into the statute laws
of this country"
Twill you support Maj. Mckinley
outright, O do you favor the nomin-
alton of another Democratic ticket?''
Il believe that all Democrats who
are so thoroughly in favor of sound
money that they place the defeat Of
Bryan above the interests of any Or
ganization, or party, should meet in
Convention for the purpose of on
sidering the formal method by which
they car give the greatest efficiency to
their opposition. For my part, l do
not believe that the nomination of
other candidates for President and
Vice President, however eminent and
deserving they might be personally,
o" politically, would serve any useful
purpose. Nobody believes that they
could be elected, and any Democrat,
whose hostility to Populism and Re-
publicanism would lot allow him to
support either Bryan or Mckinley,
could show his opposition to both by
remaining at home on election day
quite as we'll as by voting for a third
ticket. 1t would be more convenient
to himself, individually, and would
not create a visible separation between
himself and his party organization"
But how a men, rupturing party
ties, be sustained by some sense of as
sOciatiOn among themselves
That end could be attained by the
adoption of a platform declaring for
sound money: against eXtravagant APP
preparations: in favor of economical
administration in every department of
the Government: in favor of a tariff
for e only and ample for the
purposes: against the p~aternalism of
the Republican party and the Popu-
listic socialism of both the Chicago
and St. Louis Conventions: in favor
vi lIdN HlnI iSdh iiDtElN WHICH can De
maintained by Sc limiting the power
of the Government that it can meyer
interfere with the daily concerns of
law-abiding citizens. The plank of
pressing Importance in such a plat
form is. of course, thecurrency plank.
Now. the mere election of Mckinley
will be the defeat of the silver move
ment.n
"Hour obvious policy. then, would
be to indorse the Mckinley electors::''
Precisely. The Democrats who will
have achieved the success of their
financial plank by the election of Nc
Kinley will yet constitute an oppo-
sition TO the Republican party the day
after election. based on principles
which are certain to he ultimately
adopted by the American people.
What is needed. therefore. is not a
new ticket, but a new platform. which
will declare, in unmistakab bic Language.
the cardinal features of the party's
faith. and which. while indorsing Me-