Birmingham state herald. (Birmingham, Ala.) 1895-1897, 1896-04-21
THEY TALK OF BoLTING.

claiming to be democratic which is not
and never was democratic cannot be
truthfully denied. 1t has been associat-
ing with the democratic party since. the
war, not because those who compose it
We're democrats, or believed in the prn-
ciples of democracy but from some other
| motive. When the democratic party had
a majority of the members of congress,
and through that majority the party had
been committed to the free coinage of
| gold and silver at the ratio of 16 to /, we
heard no mutterngs from the east such
as we hear now. Just prior to the meet
| ing of the last national democratic con-
vention the house passed a free coinage
bill and nearly every democratic senator
| voted fer the law. The gold contrac-
| tionists were not so bold in those days.
At Chicago the party declared for the
| coinage of both gold and silver into
standard money, without discrimina ton
against either metal or charge for mint
age. With the party absolutely commit
ted to the free coinage of gold and silver,
| both by the votes Of the democratic con-
gressmen and senators and the plain and
unequivocal declaration of the party in
| Its platform. Mr.. Cleveland was chosen
standard bearer, and the people, believ-
ing that he would yield his own convic-
tons to those eff the party that honored
him rallied to the support of the ticket
and elected him by a very large major
ity. At that time we heard no such ex-
pressions as the following from the
moulders of democratic opinion in the
east. The New York Herald, for instance,
in recent issue says:
4 what if the free silver men do con-
troll at Chicago? Let the true democrats
! leave the convention, nominate solid
| gold man on a solid gold PLATFORM and
take the field for an aggressive cam
paign. In any case if this is done the
| people, irrespective of old party lines,
| will rally to the rescue of their own
cause with invincible force. All that the
real democratic party now needs is the
| courage to carry the war into Africa.
Every patriot must support this war if
we are to escape the untold miseries of
| free silver and an unstable currency"
Just the other day We had the following
from the New York World:
1T would be hard to name any proba-
bic contingency in which the Sound mon
| ey' democrats, the defenders of the his
| toric democratic doctrine the champions
| of honest money, which is always and
everywhere the best money. would sup
port free silver candidate, or indorse
| repudiating and panic-invltng plat
| form. "
And about the same time we find the
| following in the Washington correspond
ence to the New York Evening Post. a
newspaper that is probably nearer Mr.
| Cleveland than any other paper in the
country:
zone thing is certain, should the con
vention declare for free silver there will
be a wholesale administration bolt of
the regular democratic ticket Several
| cabinet officers have 50 declared their
| intentions and those who know Mr. Cleve-
| land best predict with confidence that
| he would antagonize free silver in what
| ever form it appears"
Not only these, but any number of
other papers in the east. representing
as they do the sentiments of those who
have been acting with the democratic
| party, but who are really not democrats,
| are talking the same way and in the
same spirit. Why is it that we hear
| such talk now and did not hear it four
| years ago, when the party was declaring
for free coinage of gold and silver? Is
| Is not because of the fact that those pa
| pers and their constituency realize that
the people are not going to take the
platforms for their part and give the
eastern money power the candidates any
| longer? We thing so. 1t appears very
clear to us that we would have heard
that same cry four years ago but for the
fact that the people We're only getting the
| platform while the east got the candi-
| date. Those who are now ready to bolt
the action of the convention were just
as ready to have done so in 1892 had the
issue been drawn as it is today. If
man known to have been favorable to
the free coinage of gold and silver had
been nominated at Chicago in 1892. in
stead of the man who was nominated,
the eastern democracy would have bolted
the convention then just as they now
threaten to and will do when the conven-
ton acts this year That is the kind of
| democrats we are asked here in Ala
| bama to stand aside for, and to permit
to make our platforms and name our
| candidates. We are told that Alabama
should not take any stand on the finan-
cial question. but just let our delegation
| go on up to. Chicago, and in order to
| keep the New York and other eastern
| states democrats from boiling the party,
| permit them to make the platform and
name the candidate. Unless we are very
badly off on our figures and in our esti-
nation of the determination OF the real
democrats of this country to run their
own business, this is going to be a year
for the boys in the east who have been
masquerading as democrats to get ex-
| actly where they belong This is going
to be the year when the people are go
| ing to have not only the platform but
the candidate, and when that time comes
the eastern contingent will depart. They
are and have always been democrats only
to help foster republican doctrines upon
the country.
THE SINGLE TAX.
Henry George and his single tax adj
vocates are making desperate effort to
capture the state of Delaware. Probably
they have selected Delaware flor their
experiment because it is smallstate and
presumably easy to convert. They have