The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1896-04-24
The Situation.

Just where they should have gone ten
years ago or sooner. The democratic
party, nationally speaking, is hopeless
wreck. With Grover Cleveland and the
office-ho1ding class pulling one way on
the financial question that is just now
crowding every other question out OF
sight, and the entire West and South
declaring for free silver and electing del
egates to the national convention to
assemble at Chicago in July, there is no
prospect of harmony or agreement. The
leaders of the party in the East and exc
trenle North, and their following who
will be heard, are more rabid goldbugs,
if possible, than the republicans, and are
we'll nigh sworn to spit on and repudiate
anything like free silver platform and
candidates. This disruption is SO disas-
ferrous and irreparable, that no one even
pretends that there is hope for that
party electing the President, and more
than scattering delegation of the next
Congress. The rank and file ofthe party,
who in their simple faith of the party
name have piled up the vote for the party
in the past, now feel, and even say, that
it would be throwing their votes away to
vote the democratic party ticket next fall.
They know they cannot advance the
cause of free coinage, which they are
almost to man in favor of, by voting
hopeless democratic party ticket, and
they are seriously meditating going over
to the Populist party in body. This is
strengthened by the certainty that the
goldbug portion of the party are going to
fall in with the republican party and use
every effort and all means within their
power to seat gold ring President.
Large numbers of the rank and file of the
democratic party have openly come out
for the Populist party, as they are in
sentiment with the Populist cause.
The only purpose silver democratic
nomination can serve is to make diver
sion, and hold as many as they can of
their old party from going to the Peoples
party and electing President and Con-
gress next fall.
This is the true state of affairs; no hum
bugging about it. Even the great daily
papers which are all in the interest of the
gold ring, being owned by the money
power, pretty nearly openly confess this.
If the democratic party is without hope,
the republican party is in state of fear
and trembling. The money power, which
is the machine part of the party, has
bulldozed and browbeaten the wealthy
class, which dominates everything in the
party, so that they dare not, if they were
inclined to, say word against the
''sound money" and gold standard fraud
the banking class is trying to force down
the peoples Threats. The common voter
of the republican party feels so overborn
and helpless that he does not raise voice
against the policy of his do,nineering
goldbug masters, and thousands of them
are quietly stepping out and joining the
Populists. Numbers of them speak out
boldly and claim that their souls are their
own, but the great body keeps quiet, so
that the goldbug leaders have everything
their own way, and elect Sound money"
delegates and pass gold standard plat
forms without opposition. 1t is conceded
on all sides that the republican platform
is to be gold platform or the entire gold
ring will step out, shut up their pocket
books, aid the campaign would simply
disappear. There would be no republican
campaign, or election either, but Sound
money" party with all the money back of
it. With the money bags withdrawn
from the democratic and republican CAM
paigns, there would be no canvass by those
parties.
Every observer of political events
knows these are absolute facts. The
working, humble, business men of the
republican party who make use of their
own Judgment, are satisfied that the news
paper blowhard which their subsidized
press is keeping up about the sure victory
their party is to gain and elect President
and everything in sight, is not the belief
of the leaders. The republican party is
losing voters every day, who are going
quietly over to the Populist party, while
thousands are seriously studying the
situation and will be found voting the
Peoples party ticket in November.
1t is not at all strange that this should
be the case. Every week they feel that
harder times are closing down upon them.
They feel their homes and business Slip
ping away from them, and nothing but
dark, impenetrable cloud of uncertainty
before them. Their Congress is in session
and is not even trying to do anything to
relieve them.
The gold standard and Sound money"
which were promised to be the sure cure
for hard times and revival of prosperity,
has been in operation or partial operation
for twenty odd years and every single
year has brought harder times. The great