Birmingham state herald. (Birmingham, Ala.) 1895-1897, 1896-06-21

was dTrdnSeu, IOf the. east TO MAKE the
platform, and for that privilege they
were to supply the money to buy the tick
cts way into the White House, If such a
thing be possible. The money power
thinks.it can be done. 1t is to be a CAM
paign of corruption. The leaders and
manipulators know that their only
chance for success lies in their ability to
corrupt. They agreed with Hanna to
put up the money to buy half dozen
states. The following from the New Or
leans Times-Democrat of June Is fur
nishes such a clear idea of how the bar
gain was made and of the character of
campaign we are to expect that We re-
produce it here:
The goldbug republicans of the north
east, headed by Senator Lodge of Massa-
chusetts, and the free silver men of the
west, headed by Senator Teller of Colo
RADIO, brought so much influence to bear
up Boss" Hanna & Co. in favor of a
straightout declaration for "sound
money" that the McKinleyites were
compelled to give up their straddle and
write a money plank sustaining the ex-
lsting single gold standard. The Nc
Kinleyites made many wry faces about
granting this concession to the minority,
but Doodle considerations at last pre-
vailed, and gold monometallism" was
run up to the convention masthead.
AS the straddlebugs were in a great
majority among the leadership one nat
urally expects to hear that influence of
quite unusual potency was used to make
them accept the single standard declara-
ton of the minority But the influence
was there, and has been exposed by the
st. Louis Republic. That journal states
that the adoption of a straight gold
plank by the straddlebug majority was
result of casting up accounts and cal
culating what the goldbugs of the north
east could contribute towards winning
victory in November.
1t was agreed, after much powwow-
ing, that the party could not count upon
any of the western or. silver states, and
that the only states in fact that they
could reckon with any certainty upon
were these:
connecticut .,.......... ...............
Delaware ............ .................
Massachusetts ............ ........... Is
New Hampshire .............. ........
IEeW Jersey 49,. :. ............ ....... ~
New YORK ,.:............. ............. 80
OilO .'s...'s..s........ ............... 70
PennsylVania ............... ........ 80
Rhoue 1Sland .....,........... .........
nIlnioh. ''...''..''...'. ....'.........
Wisconsin ............... .............. IL
Iotal ................ ................l55
Duls as II takes Zzf VOTES III the efecLO-
raj college to win evidently another sew
enty or so of votes must be scared up
somewhere. And here it was that the
goldbugs of the northeast got in their
work. They offered or undertook ac-
cording to the statement of the st. Louis
Republic, in return for an explicit plat
form in favor of gold, to buy the vote of
the following six states:
LIMOS ............. ............ N
Ihulana '.'......,............ ...............la
iowa ..'.. ..'.''''.. ''..'... ...'..'.''... Id
Maryland ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Minnesota .....................
Total ....,.......:... ................"..8
Here are the words of the Republic in
announcing the astounding and shameful
propositions
ut was agreed that, in view of the I'M
popularity of the gold standard in the
western states, it would require a cam
paign fund of $6,o00,000 to put Mckinley
in the White House. The men who were
insistent upon the insertion of gold in
the platform were asked what they could
do toward raising this fund The wires
were kept hot. Wall street was commu-
nicated with; all the great centers of
finance were, hastily interviewed. The
representatives on the ground of the great
moneyed concerns were asked what they
had to offer. And the responses were so
satisfa Glory that. MraHanna and his as
sociate managers%if he has associate
mana gers1assented. to the insertion of
gold -..,4-a,s-,.,.ssao5sfste
Anything disreputable was never
known in the history of republican poll
tics; and, whereas the bimetallic democ-
racy would have welcomed a straightout
gold plank IN the republican platform,
as the people would then have had an OPP
portunity off, showing by their votes
whether they are in favor of continuing
the British gold standard or of reverting
to the double standard of the United
States constitution, that opportunity for
the people to express Themselves has bsen
set aside by the transaction described by
the Republic. The issue Is not going to be
a straight issue of bimetallism VS.. gold
monometalism; but it will be an issue of
bimetallism on the one side against gold
recommendation plus the biggest corrup-
ton fund on record by which the gold
bugs of the east expect to buy the vote
of half dozen states and rivet for years
longer upon an impoverished people an
inequitable money system devised and
worked for the enrichment of capitalists
at the expense of the mass of the people.