New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1896-06-03
HYPOCRISY EXPOSED.

An exceedingly useful lesson would be LOST,
now that the camor with which Mi McNlhlc!
has been so noisy and abusivcly assned dur
ing the last five or six weeks has meas'irapi!
subsidized II this most notable feature OF the
preliminary campaign should be permitted l"
pass out of memory. and with II the motive ana
purpose of the attack For nothing is more
certain than that these assaants will be fopnd
no less clamorous and aggressive In opposition
70 NcI[inlcv's election than they have been to
his nomination. though on profeSscdly different
grounds The Democratic and Mugwump news
papers Of this city-such as the sun, Her
aid" Times" World and Evening Post
have never had any doubt az to the position OF
the Republican party on the currency question,
nor any doubt as TO the absolute certainty that
the St Louis Convention would adopt n pat
form of frank and outspoken opposition not
only to free silver coinage. but to all forms oil
that financial heresy. They have never had
any doubt that the candidate put IN nomination
would be in hearty sympathy and accord with
tho party on this question, and we do not De-
lievc that any one of them has doubted for IN
| instant that Mr.. McKinlcy's hostility 10 free
coinage and all other forms of financial hcrcSy
! IL as positive and uncompromsing rs that OF
any Wall Street banker. And Yet. knowing
|
for Mckinley to submit TO catcchlsm OH the
subject. as though he were bidding for nom
nation IN order to rcassurc the moncycd inter
ests and prevent panic
The utter insinccriy and hypocrisy Of the
clamor with which the Democratic ana Mug
| wump press and one Platt newspaper filled
| their columns day after day and week after
week were well shown up in nm Interview
which a reporter for the platt newspaper had
some time ago about the time the whole pack
were In full cry-with n prominent Repub-
lcan. a strong Morton man. and n delcgat" 10
the National Convention. The reporter said.
| You are Morton man and represent u Nor
| ton paper Won't yOu give me an Interview
Setting forth the reasons why Mckinley ought
| ito answer the questions everybody X asking
| about his views on the money question:
WELL don't know, said the delegate. re-
nectlvcly This IL politics isn't ~: Being
answered IN the affirmative. he took pad from
his desk and said: Lets see: in the first place.
"who are the people who are asking questions:
Here's The Sun-put that down suppose
Mckinley should answer The sun 10 lis own
Satisfaction would The Sun then favor his
nomination. well. no" "Then there's The
Herald Would The Herald favor McKin-
ley if he should give that paper the answers
lit desires?" NO" "Put that down. Herald
no And The Times'T' NO" Would The
"world:' NO" would The Evening POST
NO" Would your paper NO" "The
"only prominent Republican who Is insisting
"upon having an answer from Mckinley Is Tom
'Platt Would he support him If he gave a
satisfactory answer mo; Of course not"
"Wcll there You are; look at the list. Can you
see anything in that ist'-holding up the pad
| with the names and the answers-''that offers
| IAN excuse. not to say an inducemcnt, for Nc
| "Kinley to violate precedent, and break what
"has come 10 he settled rule In such cases
"and permit himself TO be catechiscd in the
manner proposcd:' The reporter smiled and
made no answer. But the Interview was not
published
| The cold truth Is that all these newspapers
with the exception. perhaps, of Mr. Platt's. the
| motive Of which was not far 10 seck-wcre
actuated by the single purpose Of divcrting at
tention from the tariff issue represented by
Mckinley upon which the public mind was
and still is firmly fixed. lust go they strove to
make 1t appear in 1893 when the repeal of the
Mckinley tariff had just begun to be felt in
commercial depression. paralysis Of business
and financial distress, that all the trouble was
due to the silvcr-purchnsc provision OF the act
publican votes because II had proved q failure
as financial experiment. these Democratic
and Mugw nmp newspapers continued 10 harp
upon it az Republican legislation which had
caused all the trouble This. too. when there
was not an intelligent voter in the land who
did not know that the contrast between I'M
common prosperity in England and uncommon
business distress in this country was due 10
the substitution Of n British for an American
tariff under a Democratic Administration. and
not to anything connected with coinage the
currency. IL was n pretty game. and fairly
well played. But II was, all the same. n game
Of deceit and hypocrisy; and II Inns failed TO
divert the attention Of the people from their
} determined purpose-irst because the people
understood It from tho start and. second. he
cause the favored candidate Of the Republican
party has had the good sense. and the quiet
but determined fxty Of purpose. not to permit
himself to bc moved by noisy cnmOr to be put
In the undgnfed attitude Of bidding for Pros.
identinl nomination His wisdom and their by.
pocrisy will appear all the more clearly when
few weeks from now he will be placed In III
uneouvocal attitude before the country upon