The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1896-02-18
cHAIRMAN Morrg AppREss.

CHAIRMAN MOTIFS ADDRESS.
The address of ]. j. Mott. chairman
of the national committee of the Silver
party. to the people of the United
States. which appeared in our columns
yesterday. is rather a disappointment.
1t lacks that vigor Of Anglo-Sa1on
expression that a treatment of the sill
yer question now calls for. 1t pos
sesses none of the elements of a bugle
blast such as will call the people to-
gether from all parties to the support
of a great cause. AS an appeal to the
people to lay aside party obligations
on the special question of free silver in
the coming campaign, it is weak and
win be Intellectual
Chairman Mott lays too much stress
upon the election of a president of the
United States. He says: "The one
hope Of the people, am convinced, is
the election Of a president pledged IN
conditionally and unreservedly to the
free and unlimited coinage of silver
and gold, the same as from the foun-
dation of our government until 1873
The election of president by the sill
yer forces is only part of the mighty
task of restoring silver to its proper
place in our monetary system. Impor-
tant as that part is, it is not all. We
need also a House as well as a Senate
that will pass free coinage bill, and
unless we get it the hope for free coin-
age is remote indeed.
Mr.. Mott does not clearly show the
necessity for the organization of a
third party. On this head he says in
part:
Long patience and dispassionate re-
Election has convinced me that an IN
dependent American financial system
is absolutely necessary to the restora-
ton of national prosperity, and the es-
tablishment of commercial conditions
in this country that will give the COM
mon people-the agricultural and Ia
boring claSses-an equal show with
capital and concentrated wealth How
can it be effected? Can it be done
through either the Republican or DEM
ocratic party as now constituted?
Clearly the answer to the last question
is no; not as now constituted; but it
is our opinion that it is much easier
to effect the necessary change in the
Democratic party that in the end will
secure the right legislation for silver
than to do it by organizing third
party: for such is the multitude of
things that intrude themselves into the
affairs of government that we doubt
very much if there would be sufficient
cohesive strength in marty formed
for the single purpose of giving the
country free coinage of silver. to hold
it together long enough even to do
that
Further on Mr.. Mott asks, Shall we
longer heed the false promises of par
ty platform declarations? Shall we
longer submit to the academic discus
sion of what bimetallism means? Shall
it be another campaign of struggling
and equivocation?" To that we say
no, most emphatically no; and we be-
Iieve that in the Democratic party the
sentiment is rtpening as well on the
side of the single gold standard as on
the side of bimetallism, to squarely
define the position that shall be as
sumed, and one of two things win
happen: Either the gold men in the
national convention will predominant
and declare for the single gold stand
ard, in which event the free silver men
will walk out of the convention; or else
the free silver forces will predominant,
and unequivocally declare for the free
coinage of silver, in which event the
single gold standard men would leave
the convention. In either event there
would be a re-af1irmation of Simon
pure Democracy to which those who
loved the principles of Jefferson and
Jackson would at last gravitate; and
in our judgment only in this way will
party be formed that will settle the
money question. It is the mission OF
the Democratic party to settle the
wrong inflicted upon this country by
the vicious legislation of The RepubH-
can party; and the Democratic party
will not fail of its mission.