The Republican journal., 1896-08-27
Mr.. Blaine on Silver.

VAT. blaine on Silver.
How PopulIsts are disappearing His state.
ments. Republican Committee Sending Out the
Whole Speech.
In the United States Senate, February
I, 1878, Mr.. James G. Blaine of Maine
delivered a speech upon the bill then
pending to authorize the free coinage of
the standard silver dollar and to restore
ITS legal tender value. This speech is now
pelng revamped by both the silver men
ana the gold advocates in the pending
campaign, and portions Of the speech are
used IN support OF free silver coinage and
of the gold standard
Mr.. Blaine handled the suhiect from, tho
standpoint OF bimetallist, and therefore
his remarks taken in part in certain places
and without the qualification of the suc-
ceedlng paragraphs can be construed in a
meaning exactly opposite to the sentiment
I expressed in another portion. After nav
ing tflbute to the value of silver in the
monetary system of this country and de-
plorlng It's decentralization, he declares
against the adoption of the single silver
standard. He then opposes just as vigor-
ously the single gold standard and ex-
! presses the desire that silver might be re-
monetlzed, but deprecates the effort of
the United States to attempt this task
alone and at the 16 to ratio. and declares
that it must be done by international
action.
! Careful reading of Mr. Blaine's speech
shows that in the summary of his conten-
tons he places himself substantially in
the position that is now taken by the Re-
publican party through the declarations
OF the st. Louis platform, which pledges
the party. to endeavor to secure inter
national bimetallism, and which opposes
independent tree coinage of silver at 16
to |.
The free silver men have extensively
circulated throughout the west some quo
tations from that speech of Mr. Blaine,
ms is done IN the form of small hand
pllls containing two paragraphs from the
speech, as follows:
II believe gold and silver coin to be the
money of the Constitution-indee the
money of the American people anterior to
the Constitution-whic that great or
ganic law recognized as quite independ-
ent OF its own existence. No power was
conferred on Congress to declare that
either metal should not be money. Con-
gress has, therefore, in my judgment, no
power to demCnetize silver any more than
to demonetize gold: no power to demone-
tie both
Few persons can be found, | appre-
bend, who will maintain that CONGRESS
possesses the power to demonetize both
gold and silver or that Congress could be
justified III prohibiting the coinage of
gold; and yet in logic and legal construc-
ton it would be difficult to show where
and why the power of Congress over silver
is greater than over gold, greater than
either over the two. Ii, therefore. silver
has been demonetized, | am in favor of
remonetizing it. If its coinage has been
prohibited am in favor of ordering it to
be resumed If it has been restricted am
in favor OF having it enlarged
1hls was the phrase from Mr. Blaine's
remarks which the free silver people have
set up. alone and unqualified by suisse
quent expression, and have cast it broad |
side through the West as words from the |
lips of one of the greatest Republicans |
who ever lived endorsing their position
1t was expected to work well among the |
silver Republicans and prove the clinch- |
ing bolt in the argument to fasten them TO |
the free silver ticket
The Republican Congressional commit
tee was informed of the circulation of
these one sided selections from Mr.
Blaine speech and proceeded at once 10
counterfeit the effect by causing the distli-
button OF the whole speech with the quall-
flying remarks.
Representative Tawney of Minnesota
tells story showing the effect of the mis-
in one case.
Minnesota is great Blaine State.
you know said Mr.. Tawney, land any
utterance of shat statement receives atten-
ton. | heard that a prominent Republic
can in my section was talking of voting
the Bryan and Sewall ticket | went to
him and asked him what on earth he
meant by such talk as tn t.
g Silver is all right he said. and you
fellows are wrong
why do You think SOP | asked
81 am with Blaine on this question.
He was for silver, and his opinion is good
enough for any Republican to follow
''Nlth that the fellow dragged out of
his pocket one Of these Democratic hand
bills and quoted Blaine to me, triumphant
y. | told him he had been imposed upon.
and then produced the speech in full He
quickly discerned the true position of
Blaine and became furious with his
Democratic misinf"rmers.
II they will lie about one thing they
will lie about another, he said, and with
that he has taken the stump for the Re
publican platform, as stated by Blaine
and reiterated by the st. Louis couven-
ion