The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1897-11-09

elected President OF the United states
Hinder normai conditions OF prosperity he
is. ON the other hand, doomed TO ineVlta-
ble defeat. An election like the one held
Tuesday Is apt to be very misleading.
Tho sound money men are, as a general
rule. men engaged in the active 'oca''ohs
Of life. and very few Of them are out OF
eron,ovment or follow the trade OF poll
ties In 1905. during the presidential can
vass ,hov were thoroughly aroused ana
every man OF them went 10 tne po's'
This year the elections were not deemed
,mnortant and vital so far as national
,ss,,as were concerned, and the result was
that the sound money men either Vo'eu
their preferences or remained away from
the polls"
But another thing to be considered said
Mr.. Patterson, is that the Hepuphoan
party has not as yet redeemed ils p'euses
to the country. The currency question
was undoubtedly great issue III i''''
and all other questions were pracucaiy
forgotten at the polls, but as soon as NC
Kinley was inaugurated he proceeded 10
treat that question as one ol
minor Importance and TO devote his at
tention TO the passage Of protective
tariff measure. That course OF the he-
publican party, continued Mr.. Patterson,
has dissatisfied a great many souha
money Democrats and some Republicans
and he added
Il regard the election Of 1892, when MT.
Cleveland was Endorsed. as the verdict
Of the American people for tarin REFORM
home rule and economic methods OF ad-
ministration. l regard the election OF
1906 as a verdict for sound money and
the enactment Of such legislation as VIII
Mace the United States on a firm and en-
during financial basis. / do not believe
there has been any reversal OF either
verdict The question Of the greatest
moment Is the financial question. just
now We are receiving importations or
cold because the balance of trade Is in
our favor. and therefore the financial con-
dition Is not acute The moment the re-
verse of this becomes true we are haple
"a have n repetition Of financial distress.
Men of intelligence in this country know
and the world knows. that our currency
system is unseientific and vicious, and II
NAV involve us in disaster at any tme'
Sound money Democrats did not sup
mort Mckinley either directly or indi-
rectly through preference. They did not
believe in his policy Of protection ana
they dld not believe any more than they
had previously believed in the doctrines
generally OF the Republican party. But
the country was face to face with great
crisis The question 10 be decided was
whether Bryan was 10 be elected upon a
free silver platform or whether Mckinley
should he elected upon a sound money
platform. All other questions were OF
minor Importance as compared with this
great leading question. Sound money
Democrats declared that they would not
support Bryan on such platform. Some
of them contented themselves by staying
away from the polls, others voted FOR
Palmer and Buckner and still others
cast their votes for Mckinley. But none
OF them desired, per SO. the success OF
the Republican party. They did not and
they do not believe in Republican doc
trine. They had no favors to ask OF Nc
Kinley they gave him no promises as TO
their future conduct. They voted for Nc
Kinley in 1886 under protest and simply
because his election was necessary IN
their opinion TO save the country from
Cd fpt q "a
ton had tried never so hard by currency
reforms and other measures 70 retain the
vote of the sound money Democrats 1t
could not have done so. But It has done
nothing whatever in that direction. The
Republican Congress passed high pro-
tective bill. which was most distasteful
70 all true Democrats, and nothing what
ever was done in the direction Of cur
rency reform. Moreover. the President
appointed negroes TO Office in tho South
and stirred up the Indignation Of the
white people OF this section Of the coun-
try. In short. the Republican adj
ministration has made itself as
6stasteful. not TO say as Of
fensive, as possible TO all Democrats
and the idea that Democrats who voted
for Mckinley in 1896 under stress OF cir
cumstances would by their votes in pure
" local elections endorse the Mckinley
administration is absurd.
II one thing has been demonstrated by
the election OF 1897 it is that the charge
from certain quarters that sound money
Democrats were going to the Republican
party was a gross Islander. They have
never had any idea Of doing so. All that
they ask and desire is that the Demo
cratic party will purge itself OF Populism
and stand upon the rock bottom principles
OF Democracy and whenever such plat
form is adopted sound money Democrats
will be the first to stand thereon and TO
bear the banner Of Democracy alone: