The Weiser signal. [volume] (Weiser, Idaho) 1890-1904, 1896-06-25
THE VIEWS OF FORAKER
CLAIMS THE FINANCIAL PLANK Is
NOT A NEW IDEA.
Before the Convention Republican
Managers Had Determined on
the Gold Standard.

Cincinnati, June Elm view of Senl-
tor-eloct Foraker's relation to the making
of the platform. at ST. Louis and his re-
lations with Senator Teller four years
ago in a similar capacity, his utterance
On the subject of gold and silver las.
night in his ratification of the nomina-
tions becomes of peculiar interest
He said / want to take advantage of
this opportune time to say word about
the effort now being made to make 1t
appear that the republican party de-
clared in its plank for something new
in St. Louis.
That is not true. The declaration of
the republican party embodied in Its
financial plank defines exactly what has
been the position of the republican party
through all the years with respect to
| this silver question. Silver was demone-
| tized in 1873 and ever since that we have
| been on a single gold standard About
| the same time several of the leading ma
tions of Europe demonetized silver and
ever since that time an effort has been
| made to get back to the standard. se
| have seen three International money
conferences. the object of them being 20
agree with the nations upon an interna-
tional ratio according to which we could
|
| these efforts have failed.
| 1T has been constantly and repeatedly
declared by both parties that bimetal-
lism was desirable in preference to gold
| or silver monometallism Both parties
have agreed that we could maintain the
parity of the two metals and bring about
| bimetallism again by an international
| agreement. Some have insisted in the
| meanwhile that If we could not do 1t
that way we could do it alone without
regard to what other nations might see
fit to do. The republican party has con-
stantly, consistently and persistently
stood up against that idea.
-Four years ago when we held the con
vention at Minneapolis it was my for
tune to be the chairman of the committee
on resolutions. as | was at the st. Louis
convention, and it was my fortune to
be associated that committee with
Senator Teller and his associates from
the silver states who came to that con-
vention and came before that committee
asking us to insert "A plank pledging the
republican party to the free coinage of
silver. We refused to do it. We declared
that we were in favor of international
bimetallism. but that until that was
brought about it would be our policy
to maintain silver at parity with gold
by issuing no more of it than could be
, maintained at "A parity with gold.
"They accepted the result and remained
in the republican party. That declara
, ton was simply the same declaration a.
the one adopted the other day, that w
, would stand precisely where we wer'
until we could do better.
, I'VE were annoyed that we could no
| Inn toll lion, IA,
| international agreement; we were un
willing and refused to attempt it by fre'
and Independent coinage of silver. The,
S did not feel called upon to go from
the party then; their conscience did no
y seem to trouble them much now
They remained in the party four year
| onger. When the last session of congres
j commenced as a result of this democrati
- free trade experiment the governmen
was found to have deficient revenue-no
: enough revenues to meet its current ex
= penses. bill was prepared in the hous
- and passed by that body without partisa
n division almost. providing for lncreas
e of revenue. That bill was known as tn
Dingley bill. 1t went to the senate.
/ "The national credit the national hon
or the national life at stake. TIL
d gentlemen said the bill was unobjection
y able, but they refused to vote for IT. tina
e is six of these gentlemen from the silve
e states did press the majority. who di
:, not agree with them. to sacrifice the
IS convictions and vote for the free, unlimii
|. ed and unrestricted coinage of sive
The great majority in the senate woul
- not be coerced by that minority. Thi
action on the part of these people d
i rected the country to that subject as
T had not been directed before. And ther'
- fore when we met at st. Louis we wei
not in favor of a different stand to |
+. taken by the republican party. but fc
,s more explicit declarations of our prii
ciples than we had heretofore made, am
inasmuch as they had thrown down Il
gage of battle by demanding free silv
- and seeking to coerce us to accept "
concluded that it was a good time
meet them half way, join issue and L
J., the battle come on. They appeared b
" fore the committee and were part of Il
= committee just as they were four yea
ago. They made the same demand al
- we made the same answer. but when y
~ came to write platform we said v
% would make 1t so plain that all wou
>" understand. and so we declared that
were unalterably opposed to the free al
- unlimited coinage of silver until we C;
have an International agreement. and
the meantime we will preserve the exis
ing old standard.
er ITO conclude with word, when Sen
e. tor Teller and his associates bolted t
lie party at the st. Louis convention tn
as had no cause for 1t whatever that d
ks not exist four years before. at the MINI
OF apolis convention, and when the repub
de can party made the declaration IT q
Its make at st. Louis it did not change
he position one particle but simply made
an absolutely certain, I'm order that the
his could be a settlement of that questi
srs that the proposition for free. independe
of and unlimited coinage of silver is
N proposition that we did not enterta
We did not entertain II because in G
judgment 1t does not as Senator Tel
10 and his associates claim, mean blmet
lism. but simply silver monometallism
ne I'VE go into this battle with our &
-. liant standard bearer representing
-, people of America. protection to Anne
"a can Industries and American labor q
.o,o an absolutely sound dollar with VIII
.a, to do our business. An absolutely sot
at dollar not simply for the merchant q
Inc banker. but for the wage Garner as W
H., We propose that the dollar we put i
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