Democratic Northwest and Henry County news. [volume] (Napoleon, O. [Ohio]) 1894-1905, 1896-03-19
SCORING ITS PARTY
On the Financial Plank, and for
Its Silence on the Cuban
Question.

The Columbus Dispatch, an inde
pendent Republican paper with &
large constituency, on their scoring
the Ohio Republicans on their none!
plank in the platform, and also fol
their silence on the Cuban affair, fol
fear it would injure Mckinley among
eastern voter. The Dispatch edi
torially says:
As is usual in platform-making il
both leading political parties, the Re
publicans of Ohio dealt largely il
glittering generalities in the finance
plank which was adopted by the
state convention yesterday. They
declared for bimetallism, certainly
and published the usual meaningless
words about "honest dollars" but
there was a conspicuous neglect tC
make a plan definition of how the
words "bimetallismn is to be inter.
preted. Said they:
We contend for honest money; fol
a currency of gold, silver and paper
with which to measure our exchange
that shall be as sound as the govern
ment and as suntarnished as its honor.
There will be no disagreement with
that, and so far as the simple state
ment is concerned, the clause easily
might be incorporated in the plat
forms of the Democrats and populist
parties, in addition to that of the Re
publicans, and meet with unqualified
approval in all. The man who does
not want "sound money" and a cur
rency of ''gold, silver and paper" is
the fellow who is still selling pelts to
his neighbor for strings of wampun.
But to secure this ''sound money the
Ohio Republicans says:
We favor bimetallism, and demand
the use of both gold and silver as
standard money, either in accordance
with a ratio to be fixed by a interna-
tional agreement, if that can be OBJ
tained, or under such instructions
and such provisions, to be determin-
ed by legislation, as will secure the
maintenance of the PARTIES of the
two metals, so that the purchasing
and the debt paying power of the
dollar, whether of gold, silver or pa
per, shall be at all times equal
The radical silver element says that
is exactly what free coinage would
do, and everybody else believes il is
exactly what free coinage would not
do. There is satisfaction, in such q
declaration as that, for all sorts and
conditions of financial belief, and the
plank will doubtless be used to meet
any possible contingency that may
arise. Unquestionably, the Republi-
cans of this state are in the aggre-
gate emphatically opposed to the
free coinage of silver, because they
believe it would be harmful to the
commercial and industrial interests of
this country. Why, then, should they
not have said so? Is the intelligence
and the candor of the Republican
party of Ohio to be stultified because
of the vote-getting ambitions of any
one man or set of men?
The finance plank of the Republi-
can state platform is uncertain and
insufficient. The free coinage of silv-
er will be the most important issue
of the coming campaign, and upon
that question there should have been
some declaration not constructive-a
declaration so simple that all who
read might understand Who knows,
after reading the plank adopted yes
terday, whether the Ohio Republi-
cans are for or against free coinage?
If it be fact that the Republican
state convection failed to make any
declaration upon the Cuban question
from fear that it would injure the
candidacy among eastern
business men, the neglect is deserving
of the severest censure. Discreet sill
ence may be necessary to the skiliful
incubation of presidential boom,
but no candidate can gain respect by
deaf and dumb upon so
public questions as that of
the rebellion i'll Cuba. Absolute sill
ence upon the Cuban question, too,
was an implied criticism upon the
course of Senator Sherman, who has
been n most ardent and powerful
advocate of the belligerent rights of
the insurgents. A convention of his
own party in his own state, and
wholly controlled by his particular
friends and associates in politics,
naturally would haye been expected
to give at least a qualified indorse-
ment of his attitude. 1t is evident
that this omission to speak of the
Cuban affairs was not due to over
sight, for it is known that the matter
was discussed by members of the res
olutions committee the night before
their report was presented to the con
vetion. The omission doubtless passed
the delegates in the convention hall un-
observed, but the committee had full
knowledge of what it was doing-or
not doing-and the influences which