The Ketchum keystone. [volume] (Ketchum, Idaho) 1885-1899, 1896-06-20
ST. LOUIS CoHvEHT1oH.

O~6
l 81. LOUIS CONVICTION.
Senator Tellsr's Free Coinage Resolu
j lions Voted Down.
lREPU8xLoANs DECLARE FOE GOLD
| The Republican National Con
vention met at st. Louis Tuesday
Jnne 10th for the purpose of nom
mating President and Vice. Presi
dent The following is the fnan'
cial plank adopted:
The Republican party is unreservedly
for sound money. 1t caused the enact.
ment Of the law providing for the resump
tlcn IF specie payments in 1879; since
then every dollar has been as good as
| gold.
We are uualterably opposed to every
! measure calculated to debase our curren.
cy, or impair the credit Of our country.
We are therefore opposed to the free
coinage of silver, except by international
agreement with the leading commercial
nations of the world, which we pledge
ourselves to promote, and until such
agreement can he obtained, the existing
gold standard must be preserved. All our
silver and paper currency now IN circula-
| ton must he maintained ut parity with
gold, and We favor all measures designed
to maintain invlolable the obligations of
the United States and ali our money,
whether coin or paper, at the present
standard, the standard of the most en-
| lightened nations Of the earth.
TELLER's FIGHT.
Senator Teller, the only representative
on the committee of the silver element.
offered a. substitutes several propositions
providing for the free and unlimited
coinage Of silver. An animated though
some THAT one sidedcd discussion follow
ed, the Colorado Senator holding up the
silver end alone. All of the free coinage
propositions were defeated by the uni.
form vote of 8 to /.
The first proposition submitted by
Senator Teller was as follows:
The Republican party favors the use Of
both gold and silver rs equal standard
money and pledges its power to secure
the free, unrestricted aud Independent
coinage of gold and silver at our mints
at the ratio Of sixteen parts Of silver to
one of gold.
When this was voted down, Mr.. Teller
offered tho following, proposed by Sena-
tor Cannon aud intended to combine sill
yer and protection:
Resolred, That the Republican party, in
National convention assembled, holding
to the great truth that its highest mission
is to advance the interests of the tOilers
of the United States hereby reatfirms the
doctrine of protection to the American
industries aud resolves to use all its power
to achieve bimetailism, Being the free,
unrestricted and independent coinage of
silver at our minis rs it was coined pre-
vious to 1873.
These resolutions having been disposed
of by the adverse vote of 8 to ], the Col
orado Senator then offered proposition
for the coinage Of the American product
This resolution was worded as follows:
The Republican party pledges itself to
the free coinage of all silver which may
he produced in this country and offered
at the mints ut the ratio Of sixteen parts
of silver to one Of gold.
This resolution was defeated by 8 to l.
The financial plank in the plat
form declaring for gold and
against the free coinage of silver
was strenuously opposed by Sena-
ators Dubois, Teller and other sill
yer men who warned the party of
certain defeat with the gold stand
ard; but the adherents of the plat
form we're immovable, and it was
adopted almost without discussion.
The group of western silver men,
headed by Senator Teller, of Color
ado, announced to their colleagues
when the gold plank in the plat
form was adopted, upon the high |
vote of 40 to 10. that they had
reached the parting of the ways
and that nothing remained but for
them to bolt the convention.
There were some affecting scenes
in the convention when speeches in
the nature of valedictories to the
party were made by
Senators Teller, Dubois and other
silver men who shed bitter tears at
the prospect of bidding farewell to
their party. Senator Teller among
other things said:
Mr.. Chairman: shall break from the
party of my youth and the party of my
choice and the party of service and the
party that has given me honors as few
men have been given honors, feeling a.
though were going to my grave, "a
though was burying my best friends,
md nothing but the supreme conviction
IF the danger Of maintenance OF this gold
could induce me to make such
! sacrifice.
It is stated that the Idaho dele
CATION as q body, majority of the
Utah and Nevada delegations and
! part of the Montana and North
Carolina delegations, it is said, will
70 out with the Colorado men under
he leadership Of Senator Teller.
If It required an annual outlay of
10000 to insure family against any
erious consequences, from an attack of
Al