The Mason County journal. [volume] (Shelton, W.T.) 1886-1927, 1896-07-24
Silver in Mason County.
To the Editor of the Ledger:

OedI 1Hero appears TO be som
misunderstanding in regard to the al
tltude of the bimetallic republicans q
Mason County. It is our opinion thu
the sentiment of majority of the re
publican voters of Washington wa
misrepresented by the delegation t,
st. Louis and that the party would
have been stronger, and on a NOR,
durable basis had it made o more pro
nounced declaration in favor of tn,
restoration of silver. Nevertheless
we do not propose to go on a chas,
alter demo-populistic vagaries. Re
publicans usually favor reconciliation
tor reasons different from those which
lmpel democrats and populists to
make that the leading issue. The
democrats, consious that they have
made a muddle of everything else that
engrosses the attention of the Ameri-
can people, have no other ISSUE
With them it is Hobson's choice.
The populists, in hopes that it will ell
evate them into power and enable
them to put into operation their
scheme to demonetize both gold and
silver, support the issue. Republicans
support it because they think it right
to restore a condition that was taken
away without due consideration for
the will of the people.
The republicans of Mason county
will therefore be found working for
| blmetalism in the ranks of the ONLY
party they consider competent to deal
lntelligently with this difficult prob
lem, under existing conditions. Very
few republicans are in favor of de-
fiant, reckless, 16-to-1 policy without
regard to the effect it might produce
on the business of the country.
International agreements doubtless
the best way to settle this matter, and
it is probably feasible, provided this
government exerts all its powers to
that end. If the republican party,
when 1T again assumes control, does
not settle this matter in accordance
with what appears to be the will of
the vast majority of the people, then
the government is likely to fall under
the control of party that will enact
free coinage law without regard to
the consequences. The leaders cannot
shirk the responsibility.
w. WOODS.
This undoubtedly the view that all
silver republicans who have under
stood the principles and policy of
their party are taking, or will take be-
fore November. They can hope for
nothing for silver, or for anything else
from the democrats or populists. be-
cause neither Of those parties has pro-
posed or is proposing to use any eff
cient means to bring about remoneti-
zation. More than that, they have
refused to use means in the past that
would have been effective. When the
Wilson German bill was under consid
Grafton in the senate in 1894, Senator
Lodge offered an amendment prOvid-
ing that no other country now on a
gold basis should have the benefit of
the reduced duties proposed unless it
would join the United States in an eff
fort to restore silver to its money use.
This would have been most effective
means to compel all foreign countries
to take more favorable view of silver
and would have been specially effective
with England, the country most bene-
fitted by the reduction of our duties.
But every democrat aud every populiet
in the senate voted against the amend
ment.
Democrats and populists we're as
much in favor of silver then as they
are now, and they not only failed then
to make use of powerful means to
secure the international use of silver,
but they are now proposing to use no
efficient means of this kind. They
are proposing nothing but to issue the
ukase of this government that silver
shall be used as money and on an
equality with gold at the ratio OF l6
to /. Worse than this, they have
promised not to use the credit OF the
government to sustain this silver edict
no matter how necessary it may be;
they have promised to strike down
the national banks, and have 80 ar
rayed them in eternal opposition to
the matter; they have struck at the
supreme court, and have in effect
pledged themselves not to encourage
nor assist the Nicaragua canal in any
way-by their pledge that the govern
ment shall not issue bonds for any
purpose in time of peace-and yet
some people really seem to think they
will do something beneficial to silver,
without taking advantage of any of
the means that would be useful in re-
storing it to coinage, or doing any
thing else that would benefit the coun-
try. They seem to think that q DEM
ocratic and populist congress, and
democratic and populist president will
simply have to do little speech max
ing, little voting, little signing and
a>little proclaiming and that will eier-
nally fix thinge-Tacoma Ledger.
Highest Of all in Leavening Pow