, 1896-09-14

parity. We consider our silver dollar
today as good as gold because 1t has
back of it the credit and faith of the ma
ton pledged to maintain its parity with
gold. Under free coinage this credit and
faith will be withdrawn from the new
coin. The government will have no in
terest in or responsibility for it. These
men propose, however, that the power
of congress shall be exercised to compel
our citizens to accept in payment of
their debts a dollar that is intrinsically
worth but SO cents, without being able
to compel corresponding relief to the
American debtors, when foreign cred
itors demand of them payment in gold.
No law has yet been able to make all
men honest; but no law should compel
them to be dishonest.
But more sacred TO every citizen
than the honor and business interests
of individuals is the honor of the ma
ton. If the United States is a debtor
by virtue of the bonds it has issued; if
for these bonds gold was paid, justice,
morals and national honor all cry out
for redemption, principal and interest,
in the same coin. But it is claimed that
on the face of these bonds the govern
ment is given the legal right to redeem
them in silver coin. A question of
morals should always rise superior to
a legal question. For the $3.50, 900 900
of government bonds now outstanding
we have received gold coin. and unless
the intelligence of this nation be blunt
ed and its patriotic impulses paralyzed,
these obligations will be redeemed in
similar coin.
Il have heard it said that no attempt
will be made to affect existing obliga-
tons if the work of the Chicago con-
vention be ratified at the polls. The
proposition not to %repudiate thes obli-
cations was overwhelmingly defeated
by the convention after Mr.. Bryan had
concluded the speech which resulted in
his nomination. Under free coinage,
gold would be exported or boarded and
silver would become the money of the
country. With silver or fiat paper mon
ey as our only means of revenue. how
can these millions of United States
bonds be redeemed in gold?
with a legitimate proposition to in
crease the number of United States su-
preme court judges. or to abolish with
in constitutional lines life tenure in Of
fee, l may have no controversy; nor do
I object to proper criticism of judges or
public officials. But when an open. bold
attempt is made to increase the number
of these judges with the avowod pur-
pose of securing a decision on any ques-
ton in a predetermined. plain. patri-
otto and intelligent men nay well hold
up their hands in horror.
"In view of this Indictment of the
work of the Chicago convention, l can
not support Its candidates, except upon
the plea of party regularity. The claim
that democrats should support the tick
ct for the sake of regularity would have
more Weight if 1t were urged on behalf
of a candidate whose democracy was
unsullied. admit the impossibility of
drawing a platform that in all things
will be satisfactory to all democrats.
But never before have we been ask
cd to make compromise between ma
tional honor and national degradation.
The democrats who responded to Presi-
dent Lincoln's call to take up arms for
the maintenance of the nations honor,
did not cease to be democrats because
they proved themselves patriots.
1T is not pleasant to break our asso-
Citations. / wish l could bring myself
to believe that the Chicago convention
was right and that national blessings
might flow from the ratification of its
work, but my conscience. my judgment
and the experience of other nations
convince me of its error. I believe most
firmly that the success of this ticket
would mean a paralysis of business, and
that the employer Of labor would be I'M
able to secure the necessary credit to