New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1896-05-19
THE PLATFORM SAFE.

No one can carefully examine the abstract or
Republican platforms OF this year, which was
printed by The Tribune yesterday. without see
ing that action of the 81. Louis Convention on
the money question Is already settled beyond
possibility of dispute With 40 delegates com
mltted by their State platforms 10 the main
tenance Of the present standard. only ~ for free
silver and 81 in doubt or Ion-committG, the
silver leaders themselves openly say that the
matter Is settled. Like Senator Mantle all who
believe in free silver without conditions ayow
their conviction that Governor Mckinley has
gone over wholly to the gold side and the fact
that Colorado Idaho, Montana. Nevada and
Utah, the only States which have silver boiling
Senators, give to Mckinley not single vote Is
an honor TO him Nor is 1t strange that they
remember his words In joint debate with Gov
ernor Campbell
I am opposed 10 free and unlimited coinage he-
cause II means that Ne Will be pa; upon a silver
basis. and do business with silver alone. instead
Of with gold, silver and paper money. with which
do the business Of this country to-day. every
Of them good gold. will not
ask you 10 take any chances on this question.
will clearly and unequivocally say To you tina,
my voice anl influence are IN favor u the best
money that the ingenuity % man has devised.
But those who imagine that everybody except
themselves must BE- insincere and dishonest will
doubtless urge that the sound money platform.
on which President Harrison. Senators Allison
Quay and Cullom. Speaker Reed, Governors Nor
ton and Mckinley all stood In 1872 has some
how become unsound, and HAT repetition Of IFS
very words in 1896 means a straddlc. That
would place even Senator Sherman himself In
the list OF the non-committal But Ohio. Mis-
slsslppi, Oregon, South Carolina, North Dakota
and Virginia. the States which have In their
latest platforms rcafiirm@l the platform Of lS!r2,
have I'D delegates in convention Many Of
these delegates are known 10 be personally rs
earnest men can be for the best money In
the world. But omit them all. and there still
remain GlS who are directly pledged by their
State platforms to maintain the gold standard
This Is not only majority, but more than two
thirds Of the Convention. II Is safe 10 say that
far more thar half the delegates from these
States interprc: the declaration Of 1892 exactly
as President Harrison interpreted it when n can
didate
Still. the men who dishonesty pretend TO find
doubt about the Republican position will urge
that the declaration in some Platforms that the
parity of gold and other money should be main
tanned, Is not really declaration for maintain
ing the gold standard AS II is not possible TO do
greater violence to the meaning OF words these
carpers add that there must be some dishonest
evasion in the minds Of Republicans who have
adopted such platforms, or else they would have
pronounced for the gold standard in many
words. II that were true. Iowa and Senator
Allison must be ruled out as dishonesty palter-
ing with the question, and General Clarks0n
with them, and Illinois and Senator CullOm
also, and Arkansas and New-Hampshire for
these four States chose 9S delegates and used
the parity" idea in their platform. II all these
We're deducted. and all the delegates from States
adopting the platform Of 1892. there would still
remain 800 clear majority OF the whole Con
venton, expressly pledged to the maintenance
Of the gold standard. Nobody can honestly
doubt that the men who passed this New IIamp-
shire resolution. for example, intended to make
it as clear as they possibly could that they were
for the gold standard without reservation:
We demand the enactment OF currency laws
that will provide circulating medium In gold
silver and paper. which will be always inter
at It's face value. because each and
every dollar OF II is OF the same purchasing power
as gold dollar.
In these two classes there are 90 delegates
and it is as certain any futuSe event can be
that much more than half of them will vote with
the clear majority of $40 for the gold standard
OF the thirty-two States from which these dele
gates come it is possible that three or four might
neglect to choose thoroughly trustworthy sound
money members Of the Committee on Resolu-
lions. But there would yet remain much more
than clear majority, even II every little Terri
tory were represented, making fifty members Of
the committee 1t is worth while to notice also,
that the six States which. including Ohio. have
reafiirmed the Minnesota PLATFORM have in
structed nearly all Of their I'D delegates to sup
port Mckinley knowing his declarations above
quoted In debate with Governor Campbell, and
the four States adopting the parity" form have
Instructed. Arkansas for Mckinley. Iowa for !