The Windham County reformer. (Battleboro, Vt.) 1876-1897, 1896-07-03
The Advantages or "a holt.

! There are circumstances in which ths
running Of two candidates. gold mar
| Ia the East and a silver man in the South
aud West-might contribute to the de.
feat of McKinleyism and the benefit OF
the Democratic party. Such conditions
would exist il the silver men swept just
enough states to fall short of a majority
and gold Democrat carried New York
and Maryland. Thctwo elements would
have between them the majority of the
electoral college, and the gold men would
ask the silver Democrats 10 come to their
candidate and to give him a majority of
/ the electoral college in December. The
silver men. having made the best fight
they could, would be reduced so a choice
between two gold candidates, one a Re-
publican and protectionist. and the other
revenue tariff man. Their constituents
could hardly blame them for preferring
the Democrat to solid vote for the
beaten silverite, which would send the
election int the House and seat Nc
kinney.
A more important advantage of a sep
arate gold ticket will be its effect upon
the election of members of Congress.
Gold and silver Democrats might act to-
gether in certain districts, but in most
such eases the gold men weuld insist
that the candidate for Congress should
be for the gold standard. In many other
cases separate gold candidate for Con-
gress would divide the Democratic vote
and help sound money Republican. Ii
would strengthen the Democratic ticket
in the East TO run clean-cut gold ticket.
and might have an important influence.
even IL the silver men should elect a
President and &c strong In the House. a
score or two Of sound money Democrats
would be able to accomplish much more
in case the division in the House WAS
close than an equal number of Republic
cans. Their influence and arguments
would be likely to have much the same
effect which they had in the, sd Con-
gross. when the conservative men from
the South gradually dropped away from
the silver column and reduced sup
posed silver majority of 30 or 80 to less
than nothing.
The more probable advantage of run
ming n gold Democrat, from the sound
money point of view, is found in the
division which it will cause in the Dem |
ocratic vote in the doubtful states. The |
might obtain "A considerable |
number of votes for Mckinley from |
sound money Democrats If they were |
reduced in the choice between Mckinley |
and silver extremist.
The tendency would be, however, for !
Democratic voters to drift gradually into
the Democratic ranks as the campaign |
approached its close. without regard To
their views on the money question. A
separate gold Candidate would give them
a leader around whom they would be
proud to rally for the purpose of demons
strsting their strength in the party.
Shrewd sound money men say that such
candidate would not in any case
weaken Mckinley in states where the
light was essentially between him and
he silver candidate, because the voters
who were in earnest on the money ques-
ion would swing over to Mckinley on
election day if they felt that his electoral
ticket was really in danger.
1t might be possible in some states.
ike Kentucky and Indiana, to run Il
lnion allround money ticket,with threeor
our electors pledged to the gold Demo-
rat and the remainder to Mckinley.
his would he only the fair counter
movement to the plan of the silver Re
ublicans to run union silver tickets in
he states where the Republicans are
troBg.