The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1896-06-02
SILVER MEN IN CONTROL.

~aecurate and best informed newspaper
men in the capital, who is the wash
ington Posts most valued political
writer. has a four column article IN
Yesterdays Washington Post show
ing that the silver Democrats will have
n majority of at least seventy-five in
the National convention. He thinks
IL NAV reach $50. He figures up 430
votes certain, beyond any peradvan-
ture. In this estimate, no votes are
counted from Indiana, Ohio, West Vir-
ginia. Florida, or Georgia. AS to these
States. Mr.. West figures that Indiana
viii certainly send 26 silver delegates,
though the unit rule may take them
all: Ohio will give SO to silver to 10
against, though Senator Jones claims
40 of the 46; West Virginia will give
for silver out of the IL; Georgia will
give 90 for silver and for gold; Florida
may give for gold, though this is
doubtful. This gives silver SIT dele
gates when only 456 will be necessary
to nominate. In these calculations
Nebraska is not counted, and South
Dakota is put in the gold column.
Mr.. West then states that a very
large proportion of the silver delegates
are from States that are always in the
Democratic column. He also shows
that, with the exception of New York
the votes for gold mainly come from
States that are always in the Repub-
lican column.
Mr.. West is eminently correct also
when he comes to discuss the causes
that led to the uprising for silver. He
shows that since 1873 the great drift
of the Democratic party has been to-
wards silver, as it had been before the
war. "This is as plain as pikestaff.
The veto of the bill to coin the seig-
norage he calls the awakening" and
this diagnosis evidences Mr.. Vests
thorough knowledge of what he writes.
Up to that hour many men who in
the party, having faith in the admins
tration, believed the money question
would be settled on the basis of BIZ
That. veto said, 1t must
be all gold, and no silver" Democrats,
who. believe in silver and had not dis
trusted that the administration would
carry out the record and pledges of the
party, received rude awakening, and
went to work to oppose the financial
policy of the administration.
Mr. West is likewise correct in at
tributing the success of the silver
movement to the thorough organiza-
ton of the silver forces, inaugurated
in Washington, ID. c., at the silver con-
ference year ago, and also in the
active interference of the Federal of
fice-holders in trying to carry the
party for the administration. The
one, working as an effective affirma-
tive agency the other as an irritant.
Concluding his very exhaustive re-
sumo of the situation, Mr.. West quotes
Senator Burrows, of Michigan:
Ldge, of Massachusetts; and Gallinger,
of New Hampshire, as being very du-
bions about Republican success if
Democrats nominate silver man,
but Mr.. West thinks the doubts of
these Republicans not well founded.
He argues that the Cleveland admins
tration gold standard Democrat would
rather, as a general rule, vote with the
Republican party than his own, and
he thinks except in Colorado, Idaho,
Montana, Utah, and Nevada, aggre-
eating only Is electoral votes, the Re-
publicans will lose nothing by defec-
ton of Republican advocates of silver.
This is the ending of his article:
'9But whatever the result may
be, there is no doubt that the
great mass of people would like
to see the Republicans declare for
gold and the Democratic conven-
ton be equally outspoken for the
free coinage of both metals. The
campaign would be interesting. to
say the least, and the result one
way or the other would settle a
question now surrounded with
thick veil of speculation and un-
certainty"