The San Francisco call., 1896-07-03

ure calculated to debase our currency or i'm
pair the credit OF our country. We are, there
Iore, opposed to the free coinage OF silver, ex-
cept by international agreement with the lead
ing commercial nations of the world, which
we pledge ourselves to promote, and until such
an agreement can be obtained the existing
gold standard must be preserved. All our sill
yer and paper currency must be maintained at
parity with gold" This is the substance OF
the financial plank.
1t will be observed that the party pledges
itself to maintain the silver and paper cur
rency of the Nation upon plane of equality
with gold. This is what the party specifically
promises to do. The party also says that ic
opposes the free coinage of silver except by
agreement with other nations. but it expressly
bases that opposition upon the hypothesis that
such independent free coinage would tend TO
deDase the currency or impair the credit OF the
country. The opposition to such coinage Is
pred1cated upon the mere opinion or belief
that the currency would thereby be debased.
There is no pledge that such opinion or belief
will remain unchanged. The only positive
promise made is that the silver and paper cur
rency shall be kept equal with gold as money.
This is the grand object 10 be accomplished.
! he party says thatit does not bolieve that this
can be accom- plished if free silver coinage were
restored in this country at the present time,
and therefore it opposes such action.
Now, ii during the progress of the financial
discussion that will agitate the country be-
tween now and the time when the Republican
party takes possession OF all branches OF the
Government, it should become clear and plain
beyond the possibility of reasonable retuta-
tlon that the only way to prevent the debase
Inent OF the currency ana the impairment OF
National credit and to maintain the silver and
paper currency equal to gold, is to restore free
silver coinage without waiting for other ma
lions to act in the matter, it would clearly be
the duty OF a Republican Congress TO pass
lree coinage law and the duty OF a Republican
PRESIDENT TO sign it, and If it were done there
would not only be no violation but q faithful
observance OF the main pledge in the financial
plank OF The platform, to wit: the promise to
keep all kinds of the Nations currency at a
parity with gold
II II becomes as plain to majority OF Re-
puEncan members of Congress as 1t now is TO
thousands OF logical thinkers that the Cleve-
land-Carllsle plan of borrowing gold to keep
up the parity OF the currency is powerless to
accomplish that object and tends directly to
the destruction OF such parity and the conse-
quent deDasement OF the currency and impair
ment OF the Nations credit and that free silver
coinage is the only possible means of keeping
every dollar OF the Nations money as good as
any other dollar, it would be incumbent upon
those members TO act in accordance with their
convictions; and if they did so and passed
free silver coinage law they would act con-
sistently with the spirit of the financial plank
of their party platform.
Republicans should understand that inde-
pendent free silver coinage advocates, in.
ternational free silver coinage advocates and
honest bimetallsts of all shades of opinion can
consistently stand together on the Republican
platform and each in his own way fight the
common enemy, the gold monometallists.