Omaha daily bee., 1896-02-22
CANDIDATE AND PLATFORM.
Record nnd Character of the Man
Moro RcIInhIc Thnn DccInrnfinns

81. Louis Globe Democrat trcp)
II is well fer the republicans to under
| stand at this time, when so much is being
| heard about the Platforms possible or prob
able expression on this or that issue. that
! the candidate counts for more than the plat
| FORM II have declining respect for plat
FORMS" said Jefferson Davis, in debate In
the senate with stephen A. Douglas two
weeks after the democratic party split in the
national convention at Charleston in 1860
Il would sooner have an honest man on any
sort OF n rlCkety platform you could cou-
struct than TO have man l did not trust
on the best platform which could be made"
"If the platform is not matter of much
consequence" retorted Douglas why press
that question to the disruption of the party?
Why did you not tell us in the beginning Of
this controversy that the whole fight was
against the man aud not upon the plat
form?"
But Davis was right. The record and
character OF the candidate tell what his
party Will do IL IL wins better than the most
carefully drawn and comprehensive platform
can. Jackson's denomination in 1882 meant
war upon the United States bank, but only
minority OF his party at the outset In the
campaign of that year favored any actual
assault upon IL, and platform OF the modern
form adopted at the convention of that year
would have taken moderate position on
that issue. Clay was the Wing party's real
platform in 1874, although that was one OF
the two canvasses in which 1t had the cour-
age to frame a platform Lncolns candi-
dacy In 1860, even If the platform on which
he stood had been silent on the question,
would have meant that the party's purpose
was resistance to slavery extension. but
nonlnterference with slavery In the states
whore it existed The democratic silver
plank of the platform of 1892 was inter-
preted in the south and west by few per-
sons to mean additional favors for silver, but
Cleveland's nomination was seen by every
hn IN a.
elected no quarter would be given to silver
by the executive.
The duty Of the republicans is to nomi-
nate man who Will be his own platform
OH the great issues. Everybody knows how
all the republican aspirants stand on the
tariff. All of them favor a reasonable de-
gree Of protection; none of them, not even
Mckinley in 1896, want duties which ap-
proach the prohibitive point or which brace
up trusts. Their attitude upon silver is the
important consideration The republicans
want man who Is as sound on the silver |
issue and as courageous as Hayes proved |
himself to be when he vetoed the Bland |
Allison law, which unhappily, was enacted |
as Cleveland has several |
times shown himself TO be, and as Harrison |
would undoubtedly have proved himself to |
be IL the free silver bill had reached him |
which stampeded the republicans in 1890 into |
passing the so-called Sherman law. Senator |
Teller declared a few weeks ago he had |
assurance in 1890 that Harrison |
would have vetoed any free coinage bill he |
could get his hands on and there are
good reasons for believing Teller Is right |
on this point. The republican party demands
a candidate who, on all occasions and in the
sentiment which arrayed 1856 republican con-
gressmen the other day against free silver,
as compared with eighteen republican con-
gressmen who were in favor of it.