The herald., 1896-02-28
MAJOR MKINLeY ON FINANCE

Mai. VIM Mckinley 10 q daisy-a daisy
in full bloom. No wonder the presiden'
! tial bees swarm about him. William
I wants to be president. He doesn't desire
to imperil his chances by taking any de-
cided stand on . question about which
| people differ. In fact, that is precisely
what he is determined to avoid. And yet,
| to keep himself before the public as a
statesman, he must talk. 1t is liberal
educationn in the art of skipping and
| skimmins and skating over thin ice to
watch William and hear him discuss the
money question.
On Lincoln's birthday he addressed the
Marquette club at Chicago and launched
his presidential boom for the five hundreth
time. He spoke with that impressively
solemn manner of his which would make
no distinction in pathos and proIuudity
between an announcement of the end OF
the world and the price of peck of pota-
as patriot who will sacrifice his leisure
and his life to serve his fellow countrymen
in the highest and best paying Office in
their gift.
Major Mckinley discussed the financial
question of course. -Four years ago he gave
the Sherman silver purchase bill. prolific
parent of most of our financial ills, his un-
qualified endorsement. 1t was passed
when he was chairman of the house COM
mittee of ways and means. 1t was the
price silver mine-owning senators de-
manded for their support of Major McKin-
ley Is monstrosity.. They saw that the ma
jor was parcelng out the substance and
cuticles of 7O.00O,000 people among a
privileged few contributors to campaign
funds and they demanded their share of
the sway. They thought they would get it
by the Sherman bill.
p.tt tI, ii E1A
necessity of discussing finance. because it
has been alleged that he knows only
one subject, rides only one horse, serves
only one master, worships only one fetch,
viz, the tariff. He desires to demon
strate that he is an all-round statesman.
And so he talked finance in his Mar.
quette speech. Hear him, ye gods and lit
tie fishes. Listen to him. oh! oracle at
Delphi, and hang your diminished head in
shame. This is what he said:
I'VE stand for currency of gold, silver
and paper with which to measure our ex-
change, that shall be as sound as the gov
ernment and as untarnished as its honor"
What in heaven above, the earth beneath
or the waters under the earth the major
means by the above. other than that he
proposes to talk boldly and freely, and
fully and frankly about finance and say
not blamed thing, blessed If we know.
vately, until after the election. His atti-
tude is as wobbly as it was when he was
in the agony of parturition with his Mon
strosity, and put hides on the dutiable list
and tiien on the free list and then back
and forth four or five times in as many
hours.
But we can fancy the major swelling out
his heaving bosom to the bursting point
and breathing forth threatenings and
slaughter against any one who proposes to
have the currency of the country less
sound than the government and more tar
nished than it's honor.
One of the beauties of the majors pro-
nunciamento is that, bound by no further
pledge, he could as president do anything
ever proposed by anybody in connection
with the finances and swear with uplifted
eyes and hand on heart that he vas keep
ing Ills pledge to the letter.
Major Mckinley will not be the Republi-
can nominee. If he was could the country
a ford to elect a man who affronts the in
telligence of the public by so tawdry, so
poor and cheap and palpable an attempt
to play a confidence game on them? What
ever is done let man be elected who has
some convictions on the chief question at
issue and has the courage of them.-Terre
Haute Gazette.