Reporter and farmer. [volume] (Webster, Day County, Dakota [S.D.]) 188?-1946, 1896-06-25
MIR. WHITNEY OUT.
dE DECLINES THE DEMOCRATIC
NOMINATION FOR PRESIDENT,
"r. whitney Says in n Public state.
"eht That He Is Not "a Presiden-
tiai Possibility. That He Would
Not Run IL Nominated apd wouIa
not Serve III Eiected-He is on
posed to Free Coinage.

whitney to-day made public n state
nhelt ia when he defines the political
SITUATION, makes his position clear as
ieSdrus MS decision to remain In this
couhLFy instead of going TO Europe.
anu cohciudes by saying that he is
not Il presidential possibility; that he
would not Il if nominated. and
would not serve If elected" The state
ment III part is as follows:
1 II 1t necessary 70 make a public
statement ~embodying my views on the
situation, TO correct misconceptions
ana save time now occupied i'm an
sWerlng questions. Far too much i'm
poftance has been attached TO my de-
clsion TO 20 to the Chicago conven
tion. l have been practically out of
polltlcs for four years and there are
now many Eastern Democrats who
can do much more than | can for the
party. | shall not assume any position
Of leadership. Ny decision to stay was
simply based on the duty of every per-
son who believes in the party for it's
principles, to stay by and lend his aid
ana take his chances when the great
crisis is upon the Democratic party.
Fundamental differences Of principle
exist inside the party, marked almost
by sectional lines.
The great question, to my mind, is
whether the party meets in convention
now as in 1860, with issues and differ
ences that are for the moment irrecon-
ciliable. For the past fifteen years
leaders of public opinion in the South
and West have been advocating as
the great remedy for existing ills the
free coinage of silver at Is to l, with
or without the cooperation of other
nations.
1T has come to believed in, there,
quite generally and conscientiously. A
large majority of the delegates to the
coming Democratic convention have
been elected by the people for the pur-
pose of Incorporating hat doctrine
into the platform Of the Democratic
party.
Our people, on the other hand, en-
tirely disagree with these views, and
believe almost universally that it will
bring general ruin to the business and
prosperity of the country. 1t is deemed
n new doctrine when it is proposed to
be Incorporated into the platform of
the national Democracy. 1t is true that
in no previous platform of the party
can it be specifically found. Conse-
cuently no party obligations hereto
fore assumed oblige them to subscribe
to it,. Under these circumstances, il
the results of the Democratic conyen-
ton should be to establish as the issue
of this campaign the free coinage of
silver at q ratio of IS TO l independent
of other nations. in the intensity of
feeling likely to arise, it is TO be seri-
ously apprehended that a disruption
of the Democratic party might occur.
Certainly, no substantial following
| could be secured for the doctrine
mons Eastern Democrats. They
might not vote the Republican ticke
for other reasons believing that the
| Republican party stands for other is
sues detrimental to the country, but
the Democrats in the East would not,
in my opinion, vote for it,.
''This movement for free coinage
| purports to have for its object the es-
t%ablishment and maintenance of gold
and silver as the money of the country
upon equal terms with each other and
with a parity of purchasing power.
If. by the proposed measure, that OBJ
iect could be secured, there would not
be substantial disagreement In the
party. Every national Democratic
platform that has heretofore spoken
upon the subject has declared for both
gold and silver money. 1t is our ira
ditional policy. But the maintenance
of the double standard at the present
time is not a question of desire; it is q
unestion of ability. The commercial
yaIue of silver has declined greatly in
the markets of the world.
Whatever the causes are and VINO
ever is to blame, the fact is that silver
has declined, and free coinage o at
16 TO | is the same as our offering Tor
all the silver in the world about twice
what it is selling for in the market.
International exchanges have TO be
| paid in gold, and it would seem plain
that if we, under these conditions,
omen orr minis to the free coinage or
| silver and gold ut a ratio of compara-
five value which is largely in variance
with the commercial value OF the Two
metals, we must take the entire silver
surplus ourselves, maintain its parity
with gold. or else we shall so TO a Sill
yer basis ;,
Mr.. Whitney says that there Is
grornd for the belief that internation-
nj %bimetallism will soon be an estab-
Iished fact. He says that If the Dem
| ocrats should declare for free silver
tbev will he badly beaten In Novem-
nor He closes his statement by alb
solutelv declining to become a candi