The copper country evening news. [volume] (Calumet, Mich.) 18??-1907, 1896-10-20
DEMOCRAT PLATFORMS
None Of Them Ever Before Ad.
vocated Free Silver at Is to I.
BRYASITE CONTENTION REFUTED.

OF silver mt TIE Present Legal Ratio
Ever Advocated.
The contention OF the Bryan wing OF
Democracy that the Democratic party
has always advocated the.f free and un-
limited coinage of silver at the present
legal ratio of Is to l. Is not at all i'm
keeping with the facts in the case.
says Mr.. L. Mont Reilly of Kansas City.
have carefully investigated the
platforms of every Democratic nation
al convention in this country and not
one of them advocated free silver at
any ratio (much less 16 TO ID. until the
platform recently adopted at Chicago
made that strange Populistic departure
in q frenzy of excitement and threw
Mr.. Bryan upon II to make the race
for president.
The first platform ever adopted at
national convention In this country was
the Democratic platform adopted at
Baltimore. Nd, March. 1882, upon which
Andrew Jackson was nominated and
elected. This platform has nothing 10
say on the money question.
The Democratic national convention
held in Baltimore in May. 1886. nomi-
mated Van Buren, and elected him, but
made no platform whatever At the
Democratic national convention held
in Baltimore in 1910. which renominat-
ed Van Buren,. the platform opposed
ma tional banks, but makes no mention
Of the silver question in any way.
The Democratic platform adopted at
| Baltimore in 1874, when James K. Polk
was nominated, also opposed national
banks, but failed to say that they ia
vored for the free coinage of silver.
The Democratic convention of 184s
held at Baltimore, nominated Lewis
| Cass OF Michigan. and adopted the
| Polk platform and Endorsed his admin
istration. but again forgot 10 say any
thing about free coinage of silver.
The Democratic convention met In
| Baltimore in 1852, and nominated
| Franklin Pierce, adopted the platform
| Of lS4s, but did not express themselves
| in any way as TO the free coinage OF
| silver
The Democratic convention held at
| Cincinnati in 1856. nominated James
| Buchanan for president. but sal moth
| ing in regard TO the silver question In
the platform. but opposed national
banks.
In 1860 there were two national Dem
| ocratic conventions, one nominating
Douglas and the other nominating
Breckenridge, and, while they differed
| In some respects, they both opposed
national banks and neither had any
| thing TO say in the advocacy of the
| free coinage of silver at any ratio.
The Democratic convention held at
| Chicago in 1864, nominated Mcclellan.
| but the platform makes no mention OF
the money question
| I'm 1868 the national Democratic con-
| vention was held in New York and
nominated Seymour and made no dec
| laration whatever for free silver. but
did say in the platform, plank 5. "One
| currency for the government and the
people, the la borer and officeholder. the
| pensioner and soldier, the producer and
bondholder."
In 1872 the Democratic convention
held in Baltimore nominated Horace
| Greeley, but made no mention OF the
money question in any respect. The
straightout wing of the Democratic
party that would not support Repub-
lican Greeley held a convention in
Louisville, KY, in 1872. and alCo made
no mention of the money question. but
| one Of the planks in their platform lie
worth quoting to the Bryan wing OF
| the present Democracy. II Is as fol-
lows: Resolved. That We proclaim 10
| the world that principle Is to be pre-
ferred to power: that the Democratic
party Is held together by time honored
| principles. which they will never ex-
| change for all the Offices that presi-
dents can confer We welcome an eter-
nal minority. rather than majority
purchased by the abandonment OF our
principles"
The Democratic national convention
| held in st. Louis in June. 1875, nomi-
mated Samuel j. Tilden OF New York
for president This was what was
| called the reform convention OF the
Democratic party. The first plank In
the platform reads: Reform IL nec-
essary to establish a sound currency
restore the public credit and maintain
the national honor" The platform then
proceeds to denounce the Republican
party for not making any advance
toward resumption Of specie payments
| But not one word Is in that platform
| mentioning or advocating the free COIN
age of silver. Now remember. this was
| in '76, the first national convention held
since the alleged "crime of 49," and
| there Is not one line. not one word, In
that great reform platform that either
mentions or condemns the "act of 1s73.'
Now, II the "act Of '73" was crime
why did not they denovnce 1t then and
put q plank in their platform in favor
| OF the free coinage OF silver? IL II Is
q "crime" now, II was then. and the
| Democratic party should be chastised
for its stupidity In not discovering II
until now.
In 1880 the Democratic national con-
vention met in Cincinnati and nomi-
mated General w. s. Hancock for presi-
dent, but the platform there adopted
| ala not say anything about the 'crime
| Of '7s," nor do the records show that
any delegate In that convention. or be-
| fore the committee on platform. Of
fered any resolution advocating or in
dorsing the free coinage of SILVER. The
third plank of the Hancock platform
| reads as follows:
Home rule. honest money-Tho
| strict maintenance of the public faith.
consisting OF gold. silver and paper
| convertible into coin. on demand the
strict maintenance of the public faith,
state and national. and a tarin for
revenue only"
| In July, 1884, the Democratic party
| met In Chicago and nominated Grover
| Cleveland. Although the grcenbacl
party had four years prior thereto. T.
the city of Chicago. pronounced In fn
YER OF unliu ted free coinage Of sisvef
asd gone down in awful defeai. no dec
laration was inserted In, taas Demo-
cratic platform favorine Tree silver.
nor did they condemn or denounce the
scrirnA ofl IA - Buf the nlatf0rm did