The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1896-08-29

Senator Ellsins, in the campaign which
he Is making. u greeted everywhere by
great crowds, and his speeches are hav-
Ing good eject. This fact IS worrying
the Popoeratic leaders In the state no
little. and they are rssortlps TO every
menna In their power TO counteract the
good work he IS doing for the cause of
sound money and protection.
One OF the means resorted TO Is to dis
tribute c~irculars wherever the senator
Is announced to speak, containing gar
bled cxtfacts from q speech made two
years ago. in which the senator express.
cd his friendllness to silver. These cir.
culars do MT have the effect Intended
or hoped for by the Popoerats, for they
only serve to Increase the size OF his
audiences to hear him expound and ex-
plain the Republican position on the
money question. and to hear him show
up the dishonest attempt to twist his
former speech Into an endorsement OF
the free silver cause.
Tho Grafton Sentinel, In reporting Mr..
Elktns' speech at that point Wednesday
night. says:
In connection with his presentation OF
the money question he gave such an
answer TO the posters and dogers clrcu-
lated BY the Poppcrats about town,
quoting disconnected extracts from his
Paramount speech In 1894, in a way to try
to make II appear that he n then for
silver. that the Popocrats wish now they
had not bearded the lion in his den."
He used his Falrmont speech with the
effect OF 4 boomerang against the Popo-
Gratis, and took up one OF the aforesaid
posters, read II. and rcafiirmed 1t, as
sertlng as he had said then that silver
should be used as well US gold. and the
parity between both maintained" The
point OF the maintenance OF the parity
was the central idea. This the Chicago
platform did not promise. Furthermore.
he had never then declared for the free
and unlimited coinage OF silver. and GER
tainly not at the suicidal ratio OF l6 to !,
when the real valuation was 80 TO l.
There Is quite a difference between
the Republican who is a true friend OF
silver, who believes that 1t zhould be
used as a money metal and kept on q
parity with gold, and the Democrat or
Populist who favors Its free and unlim-
tied coinage without international agree
ment. which would result In a debased
currency, and drive out OF the country
the gold which Is the mainstay OF our
money system, and enables the govern
ment to make every dollar we have Of
equal debt-paying power with every
other dollar.
Our Popocratlc friends In their effort
to get votes are careful not to draw the
line. They forget the direct issue, which
is laid down In their platform. That
declaration is for the free, unlimited
and independent coinage of silver at the
ratio Of 16 to l, without regard to the
action of any other nation with which
we. have commercial relations. 1t is a
bold declaration for a thing which
would, as Is admitted by every flnancler
in the country. bring us 10 a silver basis
and lead to no bimctallism, but silver
mononentallism.
This is the issue, ard not one VOID
can be found In any speech by Senator
Elkins In advocacy Of that heresy. There
is no intention on the part of those ad-
vocatins the gold standard OF doing
away with the silver VIC now have, but
on the contrary. to retain 1t and to coin
1t when needed under such limitations
as will maintain its parity and debt
paying power. Under u present gold
system we have more silver in circuln-
ton than I've ever had before, and every.
dollar passes for 100 cents.
Misrepresentation OF the question will
not change the clearly defined Issue be-
tween the true friend OF IN homes dollar,
such as Mr.. Elkins is, and the man who
IS advocating %a,dcbased currency by the
adoption OF the free and unlimited l6
to l fallacy declared for In the Bryan
platform.