Fergus County argus. [volume] (Lewistown, Mont.) 1886-1946, 1896-09-17
CARTER FOR M'KINLEY.
MOntana's Senior Senator Will Not
Desert.
Good and Sufficient Reason Why Republicans
Should Indorse the Republican Cham
pions, 1cKinIey and Hobart.

Senator Thos. III. Carter addressed
the following letter to the Republi-
can state convention held at Helena
last week, defining his position and
urging Republicans to stay with
Mckinley and Hobart:
ITO the members of the Republi-
can state convention-Gentle i
have cafIcis.ly desired and'ap to this
day have fully expected to enjoy the
privilege of personally appearing be-
fore you to report upon the course
of conduct pursued by me as dele
gate from this state in the recent
national convention of the party at
st. Louis. An unexpected occurrence
has burlened me with a pressing and
imperative duty demanding my
presence at the national capital and
it il now obvious that | will not he
able to return i'm season attend the
convention.
Feeling that a statement is due
from me to- the Republicans of the
state i'm convention assembled, | am
under the circumstances left to the
alternative of addressing this letter
to you.
"As a Republican l am proud of
the history and achievements of the
party to which we belong. 1t took
charge of this government 35 years
ago when the union was on the eve
of dissolution and the credit of the
government a disgrace to the nation.
The states were reunited and the
union preserved. Slavery was abol-
ished. A splendid system ofnational
currency was substituted for dis
creditable state scrip. The bonds of
the government, although greatly
increased through the burdens of
war, were raised from a condition
of dishOnOr and discredit to rank
with most desirable securities known
| to the financial world. Under the
beneficent influence and the enlight-
ened policy of the party villages be-
came cities, waste places became ter
ritories, territories grew into states;
the two oceans were bound together
with great transcOntincntal rail-
ways; homes We're provided on the
public domain for millions of our
countrymen; law and order We're
established and maintained i'm every
part and portion OF our country.
rlade Mistake in 1873.
lin the process of unbuilding the
financial system of the country, the
party made mistake, according to
my view, i'm 1873 by demonetizing
silver Tentative measures have
been from time to time employed
since then with "a view to correcting
that mistake. These have not been
successful In 1892 the party plat
form pronounced for bimetallism
and that plank of the platform was
the subject of conflicting construc-
tions in various sections of the
country. Last February i'm the
senate l thought proper to appeal to
the party to abandon evasive Ian
guage in dealing with this great
| question. In that appeal men of all
shades of opinion on the financial
question within the party concurred.
1t became a settled determination
upon all hands to give clear and dis
tinct utterance to the consensus Of
opinion within the party upon this
silver question, without evasion,
hesitation or purpose to deceive.
The ST. Louis convention assembled
and there members of the party who
believed in the free and unlimited
coinage of silver at the ratio of 16 to
one. by the independent action oi
this government. met in counsel and
Exchanged views with other Repub-
licans who believed in gold mono.
metalism. AS the net result, the