Daily capital journal. (Salem, Or.) 1896-1899, 1896-05-14
TONGUE AND THE SILVER RE-
PUBLICANS.
SALEM. Or. May II.

and ON silver: and u is now time Tor
us To make up our minds how we like
IL, as far rs we have gone.
Those who heard Mr.. Tongues two
hour speech here, last Tuesday night,
know that he devoted about one hour
and three-quarters to the tariff, and
fifteen minutes to the financial ques-
ton. His remarks on the tariff were
all right. We agree with him about
the desirability Of protection. But
we all know that tariff is the easiest
subject in the known world tn talk
about, on either side, and Mr.. Tongue
had the advantage of being on the
right side. About other questions on
which voters would like to hear his
ylews-like river and harbor improve
ments, coast defences, the navy, the
Nicaragua canal, foreign relations,
immigration and naturalization, PEN
sions, funding of the Pacific r. r..
debts-about anything, in fact, but
tariff and silver, he, out of his pro-
found erudltion, had not one word to
say.
And how did he treat the silver
question? He had the exalted ef-
frontry to tell us that it was merely a
question of providing market for
the product of three silver-produclng
states-that was all that bimetallists
clamed 1t might do to tell that to
the gold fanatic, who knows no bet
ter; but / am addressing free silver
RepL blicans, who know why they are
for free silver, and ask you, how can
we have any feeling much different
from contempt for the man who
comes asking our votes to send him to
the congress OF the nation, when he
either has given no thought to the
greatest question before the people, or
else deliberately misrepresents the
whole issue?
When Mr.. Tongue was nominated
we were given 10 understand that he
was "friendly tosilver." In certain
way IL is true. lie is as friendly to
silver as Is Grover Cleveland or j.
Sterling Morton or the Baron de
Rothschild himself. He claims to be
more friendly than Mr.. Cleveland, for
he would retire all the 81 and 81 silver
certificates issued by the latter, and
obllge the people to use the silver
coin itself instead Of depositing 1t In
the treasury and using these small
bills TO represent it,. What wonder
full scheme sin behalf of silyerm In
fact, stripping his talk of all "gufI, >"
he is undisguisedly for the single gold
standard pure and simple-nothing
else.
And now shall we help with our
votes TO elect man whose position on
this most important of all issues is
Numerically opposed to our own?
He tells us that the tariff is the main
issue, and the currency question is of
little Importance, but in this
he disagrees with every one
even his own most ardent sup
porters. Are we such juvenile bird S
that we are to be caught with any
such chaff? The money question is
not of secondary, but of the first i'm
portance, and it is so recognized all
over the Union. II he is elected, the
news will go out that We have chosen
not "protectionist"-but a "sound
money man." and it will be flashed
over the wires that "Oregon has de-
clared for the single gold standard >
And when he takes his seat in cong
rcss it will be as supporter Of mono
metallism and the uncompromising
opponent of free coinage. We know
this do we not? Then how is he en-
titled TO one single vote from an ad-
vocate OF free silver? Shall we stul-
tify ourselves by voting against the
very principle which we profess to up
hold9
1t is true he is the regular nominee
OF our party. So is Mr.. Ellis the reg
ular nominee in the other district.
What have the gold standard men
done there9 They have simply bolted
and put upa man Of their own views.