Willmar tribune. [volume] (Willmar, Minn.) 1895-1931, 1896-04-07
TUESDAY, APRIL 9TH. 1896.

- A0~~'
OLD MASSACHUSETTS, AT
1T AGAIN.
She learns nothing and for
gets nothing. The Minneapolis
Tribune says:
"We regard the silver agitation as
hurtful to business and destructive OF
confidence, and, as has recently been
shown, hostile to all tariff legislation
designed to give protection to our in
dustries and revenue to our treasury.
We are entirely opposed to the free
and unlimited coinage of silver and
to any change in the gold standard ex-
cept by International agreement "
This is the ringing declaration of the
Massachusetts Republicans on the
financial question. What a model it
would make for the financial plank of
the St. Louis convention.
Now go back forty or forty
five years aud read the Boston
papers of that period, and you
will find this, very same language
in regard to the slavery agita-
ton. Unable to answer the log
ic of Garrison, Phillips and the
host of anti-slavery agitators
their last and only argument, if
argument it could be called, was
this: ''You anti-slavery cranks
are destroying this nation with
your incendiary talk in favor of
the liberalism of the slave. You
will break up this Union. For
Gods sake stop this anti-slavery
preaching and peace and good
will will again reign between
the North and the South, and the
slavery question will be settled
by our Clays and Websters, and
men that can look at this ,ques-
ton in a broad light
But Wendell Phillips and even
at last Abraham Lincoln told
these scared Boston State Street
neddlerS that the Union WAS al
ready destroyed the minute that
the fugitive slave law was pas
sed; that a Union half slave and
half free could not exist; that
without justice to all, white or
black, this Union could not, and
ought not toexistfor any length of
time; that in fact, it was not the
agitation against slavery but the
existing wrong of slavery that
endangered the Union.
We may answer Massachu-
sets republicans just exactly in
the same language in regard to
the present silver agitation.
It is not silver agitation that
has destroyed business conf.
dence. Not at all. The silver
agitation and Populism is the di.
rect result of the destruction of
business prosperity and conf
dence. A vicious financial poll
cy has produced business par
alysis. Hard times have raised
up these silver lunatics just as
the crime and evil of African
slavery produced anti-slavery
agitators,. To claim that
the silver agitation has prod uced
the hard times aud is now pro
longing it is absurd. 10 be sure
if the people of this nation would
or could quietly submit to- be
-
plundered by our present nation
al financial policy, as they have
been for the last four years. then
indeed we might have peace. II
the people Of the north IN 1850
would or could have resigned
them selves to the reign Of sla.
very then there might have
been peace by stopping the
Z slavery agitation B Ut men are
not built that way " henever
wrong exists men will fight that
wrong And the only way to
stop agitation tor redress Of
Wrongs:iis to correct the rong.
Int Masses etts pol tiiciians
have learned nothiinlg and for.
got nothing il these forty gears.
aBost State street .pedd lers 81
tttdda knoW az, 81 6 tsi shout 8 I'D:
ma nature Aid the & less01s 81
( I,;si Ifv thai 1hiir fof tl19rssl