The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1896-06-15
Free Coinage of Silver Condemned
and the Existing Standard
Advocated.
THE INDIANA AND NEW YORK FINANCIAL
PLANKS WILL BE COMBINED.
Mark Hanna Has the Matter in Hand and Has
Consulted the Republican Leaders, Excepting
T. c. PIatt and the White Metal Men.

ST. LOUIS, NO., June 14.-This has not
been day of rest for Mr.. Hanna and his
associates, who are managing the CAM
paign of Major Mckinley. More effective
work in the matter of constructing plat
form has been accomplished to-day than
in any twenty-four hours up to date. Mr.
Hanna, since coming to St. Louis, has re-
ceived letters and kilograms from all parts
of the country from representative busi-
ness men giving him, frequently in detail,
their ideas as to what the financial plank
should be and how it should be expressed
These have been collated and arranged.
The various platforms adopted by Repub-
hcan State conventions have also been
carefully analyzed and considered. Since
the arrival of prominent leaders Mr..
Hanna has availed himself of the oppor-
tunity OF personal converse with them on
this important subject.
The result of all this is that early to-day
Mr. Hanna prepared a rough draft of the
platform, which he has submitted to al
most every prominent Republican in St.
Louis except the free-silver men and Mr.
Platt and those Immediately connected
with him in his fight against Mckinley
This platform, so far as the financial plank
IS concerned, is a com bination of the senti-
ment expressed in the platforms OF the
New York and Indiana State conventions,
but so framed as to omit the words gold
standard" It will declare for the exist
ing standard" and strongly condemn the
free coinage of silver. This financial
plank will be preceded (if Mr.. Hapna's
programme goes throug h) by a strong and
vigorous declaration for protective tariff
and reciprocity coupled with a brief his
tory of tariff legislation and the disastrous
effects upon the country of the Wilson
bill, with its attending depletion of the
revenue and its constantly growing de-
felt.
Mr. Fairbanks OF Indiana, who will be
the temporary chairman of the conven-
tion, was with Mr. Hanna the greater
part of the day, and among his visitors
were Mr.. Depew and Mr.. Bliss of New
York, Mr.. Quay of Pennsylvania and Mr..
Lodge of Massachusetts,. OF all the promi-
nent leaders in st. Louis. Mr.. Platt alone
was conspicuous by his absence, but it is
understood that he was made cognizant of
the purport of the proposed financial
plank by others who discussed it with Mr..
Hanna.
While it is true that many of the East
ern delegates preferred a declaration out
right for gold, not one criticized the propo-
sition submitted to them as being ''strsd-
dix" or considered it other than as gold
standard platform, automatically ex-
pressed. One welI-known New Yorker,
who is identified with the moneyed inter-
ests of that city, stated to Mr.. Hanna that
the plank was strong, even if it did omit
the word 'gold."
He argued that the words "goId stand
ard would be misleading to the people at
large. They might imagine it to be some
thing capable of q construction other than
the one which they themselves place upon
it. To declare for the present standard
was, he continued, so plain a presentation