The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1896-06-17
DEMOCRATS FOR
GOLD

BY majority Of ll3 in a convention
of 759-or. by vote of 436 to 353-the
Democrats of Minnesota take their
stand on the single gold standard.
The platform endorses. not only
gold standard, but the financial policy
Of Cleveland and Carlisle, including
the bond issues. the stoppage of silver
coinage, and the the policy OF issuing
gold in place of "coin" in payment Of
treasury notes, greenbacks and bonds.
The platform in full is as follows:
We, the Democrats of Minnesota in
convention assembled, heartily COM
mend president Grover Cleveland. for
ms veto OF the outrageous river and
harbor bill, his economical and just
administration and his answering
integrity, and reiterate our confidence
In and our admiration of our leaders.
We maintain our allegiance to the
cause of tariff reform, and are uncom-
prcmisngly opposed to any change in
our tariff laws that will tend to rein
trench the cause of protection. Our
motto is. No step backward!
We are unqualified in favor Of the
present gold standard Of value. We
favor the use Of both gold and silver
as money and believe that our govern
mont should command and keep in
circulation as part of the circulate
ing medium as large an amount Of sill
yer as can be employed without de-
stroylng or threatening to destroy the
exiS ting parity of value between the
unit OF silver and the unit of gold.
We are opposed to descent to
mn M fol ~ Iii nd II
tcularly to silver recommendation
with its deprecated standard of sill
yer.
We therefore oppose the free coin
age OF silver by our government at
the ratio Of Is to l, without the Co
operation on the part OF the other
commercial nations OF the world. 1t
would reduce the country to condi-
tlon OF silver monometalli entail
ing upon US financial panic and COM
mercial and industrial disasters. We
are utterly and revOcably opposed to
the adoption of any such policy.
This settles once, and for all the
claim Of those Democrats who hold
out that the party represents free
coinage. Even had the convention
managed to pass free coinage plank
after close fight, the people would
have had no assurance that the party
would enact free coinage legislation.
1t is divided party on that issue, and
a party which is divided within him
self on dominant issue is powerless
to legi>late. But this convention
gave lib majority for the gold stand
q re- in n.
nesota ought now to have no doubt
where they belong. They belong with
the only free coinage party in the
Northwest-the Peoples Party.
Let US see what this convention in
dorses. 1t atfixes, it's official approval
to the Wall street and British none
tary standard; to the financial policy
of Grover Cleveland: to the bond syn
dictate deals: to the creation of $262,-
100000 of bonded debt in times Of
peace; to the doctrine that the United
States, which produces the largest
portion Of the worlds silver, shall
submit to have London fix price up
on 1T; to the doctrine that the consti-
tutional prerogative Of American
Congress to pass coinage laws shall be
subject to the consent of European
gold brokers and bond holders; to the
doctrine that the money of the consti-
tuition, the gold and silver coinage
system Of Washington and Jefferson,
OF Jackson and Lincoln, would entail
Financial panic and commercial and
n al lie 70 ri
that the American people shall have
no voice in the establis hment Of their
monetary system. and that Europe
shall have the supreme control
through international agreement"
There is not gold broker or bond
holder in Europe that does not stand
squarely on this platform. Roths-
child stands upon it. The Bank Of
England stands upon it. Piermont
Morgan and Russell Sage stand upon
it. John Sherman stands upon it.
Will the farmers and workingmen
who still call themselves Democrats
allow their support to go to such a
platform? Will they allow the Doran
convention to hand them over to Wall
street control? Can such a party
longer hold them in allegiance to
Europe? Have they delivered their
votes to a political system governed
by European money lenders?
Even on the tariff the Mime
sofa Democratic convention prom
Uses simply to take no backward
STEP" They do not promise to take
any forward step. The party has been
in power four years and done nothing
but pass one protective act, and it
now simply proposes to take mo back
ward STEP" This seems simply that
they propose to do nothing. They will
do nothing on the tariff, and do moth
ing on the currency except to support
the present gold standard"
1t is painfully apparent that the
old party is past its period of useful
ness. The farmers, workingmen and
free coinage voters have already left
the party and gone to the Peoples
Party, leaving the Democratic rem
nant to the control of the bankers
and professional politicians, and that
is why the convention was so strongly
in favor of the gold standard. The
remaining progressive voters in the
party-all who set patriotism and
principle above partisanship-s
hasten to cut loose from the old boss