Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1896-10-22
FAVOR FREE COINAGE.
Foreign Journals Show the Weak
ness of McKin1eyism.
Hryan's Victory Would Facilitate an In
transitional Agreement on the Money
Question and Tighten the Burden
of American Debtors.

eigna journals have just been given to
the public by the Democratic Press
bureau of Chicago. By way of COM
Inent the correspondent who fur
nishes them to the bureau says:
IF Mark Hanna's hired men, now at
tempting in a clumsy way to carry out
his plans and those of j. Pierpont Nor
gan, were not totally ignorant of the
money question in this country-to say
nothing of the money question III Eng
land-they would never have chal-
lenged the authenticity of the London
Financial News article. Scores of
English papers have printed similar ed
itorials. There is a powerful bimetallic
movement in England. For the benefit
of the goidbug press that is now blum
dering through the primer class in the
money school, few extracts from Eng
lish periodicals are herewith submit
ted. They are genuine. They were not
printed two years ago. They were pub
lished last month and they were not
paid for by the silver trust. Sit down
and read them and absorb little in
formation on the subject which is inter-
estiug large part Of the world outside
of Maine and Vermont. The first Sc
ieetiSn is from the Manchester Guardi-
an Of September &c, 1896, and is as fol-
lows:
Since the opening of the campaign be-
tween Mr.. Bryan and Mr.. Mckinley for the
presidency of the United States. we have
taken the view that the victory of the
former and the Chicago platform would
be more likely to result in the speedy as
sembling OF interna tional conference
for the settlement of the silver question
than the trium phi of Mr.. Mckinley and the
ST Louis platform We have formed this
opinion Notwithstanding the fact that
while the Chicago platform pronounces
in favor of national bimetallism in the
United States. without regard to the opin-
Ions and convenience of other countries
the st. Louis platform expresses desire
to cooperate with other nations in meas
ures for the monetary rehabilitation of
silver We now have the important decla-
ration by Prince Bismarck that he also
holds that opinion. In his extremely in
teresting letter to Mr.. Culberson. the gov
ernor of Texas, the most redoubtable of
German chancellorS, who was, moreover
I'm office at the time when Germany adopted
the single gold standard, declares that he
has always had a prediction for the
double Standard and he adds not only
that he still thinks it advisable to seek
to bring about understanding between
!the'states, which are principally interested
dn the worlds comm cree, in the direction
OF double Standard but that should the
United States, utilizing their greater free
dom of movement in economic matters,
of double standard such a step would
have a favorable influence on the tablish-
ment of an International agreement and
the adhesion Of the European states
prince BiSmarck'S statement that when
I'm Office he did not regard himself as in
faflibie as against experts, is only a repe-
titiOn of an explanation which he made
about the time of the suspension of the
Herman sales of silver. when he compared
fhe gold standard to a narrow blanket
The experts referred to, are, of course
mot the professors of political economy in
the German universities, but amphauSen,
Delbrueck. Hamburger and the other
sta tesmen who were Immediately respon-
,sible for the German demonetiza ton of
silver. On the occasion referred to, Prince
Bismarck stated that at the time of the
Herman monetary reform he was too
slluch occupied with other important mat
derS to give attention to the question, and
therefore left it to the experts that he
had since discovered that he had been
.misled by the experts: and that he in
aended henceforth. with more leisure to
hint for himself.
The reasons why the victory of Mr.
Bryan would be likely to induce in interna-
tional conference are not very abStruSe
They really lie on the surface; but the
position has been Obscured by the Him
formed denunciatfons of Mr.. Bryan and his
supporters as anarchists revolution
aries socialists and 'repudiationists'
which have been so common since Lom-
bard street was startled by the adoption of
silver a free coinage plank by the demo-
cratic convention. Prince Bismarck
whose letter is practically an expression
;of wish for the success of Mr. Bryan
scarcely be regarded, even by the
Times, as person predisposed in favor
of either anarchists. repudiationists or
TevolutiOnarieS. In order to understand
his view of the situation We must consider
the probable consequences of the success
De Mr.. Mckinley on the one hand and of
Mr.. Bryan the other as bearing on the
interests of Europe.
Should Mr.. Mckinley be successful. his
government would be pledged to maintain
the parity of the silver dollars. the silver
notes. and the greepbacks with gold, at
whatever cost to the American excheQuer
The attempt has already cost the United
STATES in time of peace an additional debt
of ESQ. DOC, 900 within two years. European
investors, huancierS and bankers would
probably take the view that so long as
America continued to make such sacrifices
in order to pay in gold they would have no
reason for interfering; and the financiers
and stock exchanges this side of the
Atlantic would probably rejoice rather
than otherwise at another-to them
profitable issue of bonds backed by the
credit of the American government to take
the place in the European markets of the
hopeless American railway securities of
which European investors are getting
tired. AS for the European merchants,
they would, of course, view with regret the
probable imposition of another prohibitory
Mckinley tariff on imports into the United
STATES in order to protect the American
l..rN 4 -l-T- -