Evening star., 1896-10-22
Where The Star Stands.

Our contemporary, the Post, gives pub
iicity to statement of its namesake. the
Columbus (Ohio) Evening Post (silverite).
that The Star is a gold standard paper,
radically, and one might say, insanely
so,'' in contrast with the Washington
Pests attitude on the same issue. which
the Columbus paper seems to think Is for
gold. but not enough to hurt.
As a distributor of news. The Star has
been. and continues to be, independent and
impartial. publishing facts, no matter what
their political effect and giving all sides a
hearing in it's columns. 1t has made the
first publication of numerous manoeuvres
In this campaign to which the public was
entitled, in absolute disregard Of their bear
ing upon the fortunes Of any pa rticular
presidential candidate. Its arrangements
for securing and printing the news and un-
colored views of the progress of the cam
paign In the doubtful states are locally un-
eGualled. and it proposes to supply It's read
ers with full and accurate and unbiased
information until the November election
has lost news interest
In the ordinary political campaign The
Star, which assumes to speak for voteless
washington, is. editorially, Independent
and conservative. becomes the repre-
SENTATIVE VI lHe NdTu Ol the naIl0n, whose
guardians in Congress are drawn from all
parties. But ON local questions involving
directly the city's welfare, The Star is and
has ever been radical, aggressive and
forcibly outspoken. The issues of this
campaign remove it from the ordinary
class, in respect to which Washington is
philosophical and comparatively indiffer-
ent, give to it vital. local interest, and
make of it a subject of deep local concern.
demanding radical treatment The Star
ccnceives it TO be its duty to resist a blow
aimed at Washington. even when a politi-
cal party or hoGge-podge of political
parties is the aggressor.
NO more disastrous shock could be ad-
ministered to the material interests of the
capital than the overthrow of the merit
system, as proposed by the Chicago con-
Ventlon and Mr.. Bryan. The whole popu-
Ast program concerning the capital, in it's
relations to the general government, as in
dicated In Congress, is of so threatening a
Character as to inspire every public-spirite0
and every selfish Washingtonian to fight
with all his power in struggle which is
one IN some respects of seif-preservation.
Then the proposition to reduce one-half the
purchasing power of the salaries of the
government clerks and all other wage
earners of the city seemed especially hurt
ful locally. since from a siver-coalftion
Congress the clerks could hope for no in
crease Of the amount of their salaries to
compensate for loss Of purchasing power
and would be lucky il they held their
places, and escaped an additional reduction
in the amount of deprecated money to be
paid to them Finally, as The Star viewed
1t, the silver program involved national dis
honor, and the capital which shows forth
the republic in miniature and responds to
every forward or backward step which the
nation takes. is especially affected by any
stain upon the republics credit.
For these reasons The Star has left no
one in doubt of its editorial position in the
present campaign 1t has NO patience with
policy which nominally declares against
the silver coalition, yet has no reasons
which it is able to state for this opposf-
ton, ard which finds nothing whatever
except topics for sneering comment In the
arguments advanced by the sincere oppo-
nents of silver. The Star views the Chi
cago program as one of disaster to Wash
ington, and of distress and dishonor to the
republic And 1t is radical enough to ex-
press openly its real opinion in the matter.
and to fight to the best of it's ability to
prevent that destructive program from
being carried into effect.