The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1896-06-12
A QUESTION OF PRINCIPLES.

The Union is for bimetallism, gold and silver
as the unit paper money for convenience ana
plenty of it, an independent money system OF
our own Protection so high as to protect all
American industry. This is the Union. No
gold bug rot about us. but Simon pure Repub-
lican principles as founded long before the Free
Press editor Joined the Republican party. The
Free Press talks as though the Union had not
always been a Republican paper, when in fact
it outstrips its contemporary down.the creek Tor
loyalty to the Republican party two to one
Lake Crystal Union.
Well, if you are for bimetalllsm,
what is bimetallism that you talk so
much about? If you will turn to the
Century dictionary, which is recog-
nized as a standard authority on the
history and meaning of words, you
will find it says that bimetallism is
specifically that system of coinage
which recognizes both coins OF silver
and coins of gold as legal tender TO any
amount, or the concurrent use OF COINS
of two metals as a circulating medium
at a fixed relative value" Ihe
italics used are ours. 1t will be no.
ticed that it defines bimetallism as
that system of coinage which gives
the concurrent use of coins or TWO
metals" 1t don't define it as a sys-
TEN Of free coinage, or of any system
that would drive one of the metals
out of use. We have today one OF
the most practical systems of bimet-
allism ever attempted. 1t is the
only system under which there has
been the concurrent use of the two
metals. 1t recognizes silver to lar
ger extent than ever before, and as
aresult of it we have more silver in
use today than ever before in the his
tory of the republic. Under the free
coinage laws that were in effect
prior to 1878, there was no concurrent
circulation nor coinage Of the two
metals, and instead of bimetallism
there was, what Mr.. McCleary has SO
aptly termed, one-at-a-time-meta
ism.
If you will look at the dictionary
again, Mr.. Union, you will hnd thai
the term "bimetallic' is Of recent
origin, having been first used in
France in 1876, or three years after
you claim bimetallism was turned un-
der. The real fact of the matter is
that the word "bimetallism" has
been much abused by the free silver
monometallists, and made to 'coveI
sins" that do not belong to it,
You say there is no gold bug rot
about you, but simply Simon pure
Republican principles, as founded
long before the FREE PRESS editor
joined the Republican party Well,
who defines those principles, you
or the party through it's chosen repre-
sentatives? If you, wherein do they
rise above the rank of personal opin-
ions. If you look to the party to de-
fine them, will you please state when
and where, and under what conditions
the party ever pronounced for free
silver and other Populistic notions
you have been advocating of late?
The party has never pronounced for
free silver as one of its principles, and
if we are to take the fact that from
twO-thirdS to three quarters of the
states in their conventions electing
delegates to st. Louis, pronounced for
the existing gold standard, as a
criterion, the Republican definition
for sound money at ST. Louis week
after next. will be in direct accord
with its past principles, and the most
emphatic statement ever made. If
you outstrip US in loyalty to the Re-
publican party. it is queer loyalty
that allows you to subscribe to Popu-
listicsnotiOns. Better jump back in
side the organization or else relinquish
the patronage you enjoy as having
once been a Republican. You can't
ride free silver horse and remain
loyal to the principles of the Republi-
can party as will be set forth by it's
chosen delegates in the national con-
ventiOn on the 10Th of June. You
might as we'll claim to be a Republi-
can and advocate free trade.