The Coconino weekly sun., 1896-06-25
SILVER MEN.
Dramatic Scene Before the Resolutious
 Committee of the Republican Conven.

| Aicdn convention was in continuous session for over five hours yesterday considering the platform. It was final. ly agreed to.
 l The feature of the day was the ac. tion of Senator Teller and other silver members of the committee on the financial Hank. Senator Teller opened the opposition to the platform by offering his amendment for free and independent coinage at the ratio of sixteen to one. Neither he nor his colleagues had any hope that MT, Teller's proposi. tion would prevail. and the Colorado senator took the floor to formally an- nounce that they could no longer act with the republican party if gold plank was placed in the platform. His address was most etfectiug. His ex- pression of regret that he had reached the parting of the ways moved some of his colleagues to tears He displayed no bitterness, but he was impressively sad in expressing regret at what he termed the act of the party in ''leav- ing him and his associates"
 The financial plank was reached about noon and after offering his sub- stitutes Mir. Teller made vigorous speech in support of them.
 He spoke vehemently in opp osition to the gold standard plank, declaring his belief that in taking this course the party was departing from it's vaunted position of defender of the rights of the people and putting itself ir the hands of bond-clippers of Lom. bard and Wall streets. This policy he denounced as un-American, unpatriotic and opposed to all the best interests of humanity. He expressed his sincere regret that such a course should be adopted-not because it affected him personally, but because it was a step that would seriously affect the welfare of the people of the entire country. As for himself, he had been a repub- lican since the anti-bellum days. He had assisted in securing the nomina. tion of Lincoln and had supported him in the campaign. Naturally. there. fore, the step now proposed was re- garded by him in tho most serious light, and he sincerely hoped that the step would not be taken.
 Mir. Teller, in the course of his re- marks, said that if the gold standard plank proposed was adopted he would consider it incumbent upon him to sever his connection with ths conven- tion. Believing, as he did, upon this subject, which was of all questions the nearest to his heart, he could not con- sistently continue his relations with a body which was so determined to an. tagonize his convictions of right and duty, and, as he believed, stultify it's own record.
 Mir. Darlington, of Pennsylvania, re- piled briefly to Senator Teller, chal. longing the position of the senator's address referring to the dictation of Lombard street, and saying this was a poor return for the money-amounting to many millions of dollars-which had been invested in the west by the men of the east in building railroads and other enterprises. "We have given you our money freely" he said, "and are surprised that you should now want to pay us in money worth only 50 cents on the uOllar
 "Colorado," responded Mir. Teller, "has always paid her debts and will continue to pay them. What we ob- ject to IS the paying of S2 for Sl re. ceived." He then proceeded briefly to show that silver had not depreciated, but that it was gold that had increased in value.
 Senator Lodge spoke briefly, but largely in a way personal to Senator Teller. He spoke of the esteem in which the Colorado senator was held and the respect felt for him, but said that, notwithstanding this feeling, it was impossible to follow his idea of financial policy.
 Senator Dubois followed in an ear nest speech. He dwelt especially upon the service the west had been to the republican party, showing that that section had never in it's hour of need been untrue to the party call He dwelt especially upon the strength of the west in the senate, and showed how the republican party had owed the maintenance of its protective tariff policy and all other party policies to the votes of that section in the senate.
 Often when their own sectional in. terests were in no wise involved, he asserted that the inter-mountain states had been regular in supplying two senators for the support of these lines of policy, while New York, with not one republican senator, and Illinois with only one, and southern states, to say nothing of Indiana, Wisconsin and other northern states, which had not been for years represented in the sen. ate, are inaugurating a contest which is not only ruinous to the west, but he believed, to the entire country-not only ruinous but unpatriotic and com trary to the principles of the party, and in view of these facts he, too, felt constrained to announce his intention of leaving the convention in case of the adoption of gold standard plank. Mir. Brewer replied to Senator Du. bois, saying that the silver senators hod ,,ra otica11y cavared their cOnnec.