Cottonwood report. [volume] (Cottonwood, Idaho) 1893-1901, 1896-07-10
Work of the silver Leagues
Sound Money Democratic Conventions
Overwhelmed Without Any
Concert of Action.
Tariff Is McKinley's Hope.
Some of His Supporters Not Aware CT
the Danger; Others Think 1t
Exaggerated"

specter has risen in the rural counties of
this state, threatening to overshadow par
ties and conditions and obliterate partisan
lines from the Pennsylvania boundary to
the st. Lawrence and from Lake Erie to
The Hudson. The farmers are worshiping
the silver calf. In many of the counties
| there. is no actual organization of the
friends of free silver. An organization and
an active free silver campaign would
make many of the strongest republican
counties in the state doubtful in Novem-
ber"
Continuing, the Herald says that even
without an organiza ion the free silver
farmers knocked the sound money men
| off their feet in many places in the state
| in the recent democratic primaries, and
| proceeds to enumerate localities where
this has been done. prominent among
| them being such counties as Lewis and
Genesee. The latter is the home of Bob
Maxwell. leader of the Cleveland demo-
cracy in western New York
| On test vote the silver men knocked
| out the friends of P. Flower in the Sec
| ond Assembly District of Jefferson coun-
| ty, and would have carried both districts
| had they been organized. Silver is likely
to control both party organizations in st.
Lawrence county. and the free silver
democrats of Onondaga and Monroe
| counties were in control at the Saratoga
convention. Summing up the whole situa-
ton, the Herald says that the reports
of its correspondents show that it is the
republicans rather than the democrats
who should De alarmed. The situation
is like a noun ain forest in August, ready
for the match. The republican leaders
are in ignorance of the actual state of
affairs-it has all come about in three or
four weeks. The county democratic lead
ers, having become acquainted with it in
their caucuses, are secretly anxious for
| free silver to triumph in Chicago. They
think they can shift the tariff issue and
| carry the farmers almost solidly for free
/ silver.
From st. Lawrence county the heralds
| correspondent telegraphs that that rock
ribbed Gibralter of republicanism is one
enormous debating society, and the only
subject debated Is free silver; the tariff
1 has been forgotten. The writer portrays
the deplorable condition of the farmers of
that section of the state. and says that
tremendous fall in the prices of farm
products has made the scarcity of money
| in the rural districts almost grotesoue
Cheese sells for from to 6ls cents a
pound; butter. has been down as low as
10 cents; potatoes must be fed to the
stock.
When the Wilson bill was enacted and
Canadian hay began to come across the
line and undersell the New York product
the. farmers were inclined to blame the
democratic party. Lately they have been
told that even If that be true the republi-
cans Will be powerless to give relief with
in year or two, and that in the mean
time something must be DONE.
That something they are beginning IN
believe is free silver, and this belief has
the writer says, become so deep-sea .ed
that that section of the state has been
verted to free silver. Three free silver
leagues have been organized in St. Lawr-
ence county alone, and others are be;ne
rapidly organized in various counties of
the state. Senator Malby of ogdensburg
Is quoted as admitting that the free silver
sentiment is unusually strong.
FROM WATERFOWL comes the word tbot
the spread of the free silver sentiment Is
astonishing, and bids fair to crvst.I,za
unless something is done to counterao ~
1t. The editor of the WATERFOWL Times
W. ID. McKinstry, formerly one of tha
civil service commissioners, went ovar
the county, and afterward stated that
what he had learned about free silver
in that part of the state astounded him
IL the silver men only organized he
thought the result would be doubtful for
the republicans. The Herald's corras-
| pondent further said that he discovered
the farmers were no longer thinking ~
the tariff, but Of the benefits to he de-
rived from free silver; one republican
candidate for sheriff and two for treas
urer were making a canvass on an ont
and-out free silver platform; the cashier
OF the leading financial institution NJ
WATERFOWL was for free silver. and re-
publican farmers were pouring into
Watertown's book stores for free silver
literature; that the one great tonic of
conversation, in fact the only tonic. ia
the free coinage of silver and the bene-
ficiai effect it was declared to be sure to
| have on prices.
| As the correspondent writing from Os-
wego puts it, that county has .'gone
daft on the question of free silver to-
gether with the other northern counties
of that state. The movement does not
appear to be confined strictly to either
party. A free silver league of 100 men,
berS has been organised ana ts s,,,oo.