Birmingham state herald. (Birmingham, Ala.) 1895-1897, 1896-12-24

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| critics of the people, and calculated to
| place the business of the country within
| the control of a concentrated money pow
| er and that above the laws and the will
| of the people,"
In 1856 the declaration made in 1852 was
in the Identical language adopted into the
| democratic platform and in 1860 the same
| deciara lion was expressly readopted by
| the party in national convention.
! In 1854 there were no declarations in
any of the party platforms on the fnan-
| oial or banking questions. Other issues
We're then to the front.
In 1858 the national democratic plat
form declared on the money question as
| follows:
zone currency for the government and
the people, the laborer and the office-hold-
| er, the pensioner and the soldier, the pro-
! Queer and the bondholder."
In 1872 the party accepted the liberal
republican platform of that year and
| temporarily abandoned all it's princi-
| Piles.
In 1876 the party declared for bank
| ing system:
well devised, and, above all, en-
| trusted to competent hands for
execution, creating at no time an arti-
| fetal scarcity of currency, at 10 time
| alarming the public mind into the with
| drawal of that vaster machinery of cred
| it by which 50 per cent. of all business
| transactions are performed-a system
oTen public and inspiring general con-
| fdcnce."
In 1880 the democratic party declared
| for "honest money-consisting of gold
| and silver, and paper convertible into
! coin on demand"
| In 1884 the party declared as follows:
1--WE believe in honest money, the gold
and silver coinage of the constitution,
and a circulation convertible into such
i coin"
In 1883 the platform of 1884 was ex-
! pressly adopted as democratic faith.
In 1892 the party declared:
I'VE hold to the use of both gold and
/ silver as the standard money eff the coun-
try, and to the coinage Of both gold and
| silver without discrimination against
| either metal or charge for mintage."
In 1896 the party declared as follows:
| Congress alone has the power to coin
! and issue money, and President jackson
| declared that this power could not be
+, delegated to corporations or individuals.
| We, therefore, denounce the issuance
| of notes intended to circulate as money
by national banks as in deroeation of
the constitution; and we demand that
| all paper which is made legal tender
| for public and private debts, or which
| is receivable for dues to the United
| States shall be issued by the govern
ment of the United States and shall be
| redeemable in coin"
| Thus it will be seen that the demo-
cratic party has in its national platforms
| declared specifically against national
| banks six times from 1870 to 1896, both
| inclusive It he's declared for gold and
| silver and paper redeemable only in coin
| four times 1t has never declared for
L -aIf 1,1
| them whenever a declaration on that
! subject was made, and yet the Advertis-
| er has the hardihood and recklessnegs
to proclaim as fact that the demo-
cratic party has never declared against
| the national banking system in it's ma
| tional platforms.
| The State Herald constructs the declar-
| atiens quoted to mean opposition 10 the
! national banking system but having been
| Informed by the Advertiser recently that
it esteems the State Herald as very
! ridiculous" and Ignorant" paper we
| are unwilling to leave this matter here to
be brushed aside by that all-wise paper
| by statement that none save the ri
diculous" and Ignorant" would be liable
| to put such a construction on the declara-
tons quoted as we place upon them. We
|
| from Circular No. z, scattered broadcast
over the country in 1892 during the cam
paign, when the Advertisers hero, Mr..
| G.. Cleveland, was a candidate for the
presidency as the nominee of the demo-
| cratic party, by the national democratic
| executive committee, which committee
had the campaign in charge. That COM
mittee will, we presume, not be denounced
by the Advertiser as radicals" and zig
| norant" and it will be seen that it puts
| about the same construction upon the po-
| sition the democratic party occupies and
has always occupied toward national
banks that the State Herald does.
Here is what the committee said;
"By thousands of American farmers the
| money question is regarded as the SUI
preme issue in national politics. Irrespec-
| tive of party utilization, they unite in de-
| manding such reforms in our system of
| issuing currency as will result in giving
! the country a sound circulating medium,
! whose volume shall be sufficient for it's
| business needs
Judged either by it's past record or pres
| ent promises it is evident that from the
republican party the debt-burdened farm
| er, struggling under heavy interest ON his
mortgages, has nothing to hope for.
| BY adroitly appealing to the patriotism OF
the people, on the ground that it was the
be forced during the war, the republicans
| succeeded in fastening the system upon
| the country, and have since been able to
| defeat all efforts to abolish it. To its
maintenance they are still pledged.
| The lengths to which the republican
party Is willing to go in order to keep
it's hold upon the currency was well illus
trated a few weeks ago by Secretary of
the Treasury Foster, in a speech deliv-
cred at Vermilion, o., in which he said
that the government should extend the
$500 0000 600 of A per cent. bonds, matur-
ing in 1907, for fifty years at 21a per
cent, for the purpose of continuing the
national banking system or. in other
words, he wants to borrow money that
they did not need and to present the
bondholders with s11. 100000 yearly for
fifty years in all, $3.50, 0o0,0 900, so that cer-
tain banks may have the privilege OF
issuing notes. If they are so inclined.
On the question of national banks the
republicans have always ranged them
selves on the side of those interested in
having money scarce and dear; none the
less have they shown in all of their &C.
lions their lack of sympathy with the