The Roanoke times. (Roanoke, Va.) 1897-1977, 1897-05-27
CHANGE OF FRONT.
Republicans Say We Are Untitled
TO be Financially independent.

now nears completion. The Republican
party of to day is not that of thirty years
ngo; it is not that of eight years ago; it
seeks u goal to-day directly opposite to
that it sought then. 1t wao, even as late
as 1888, avowehly opposed to the policy of
gold contradictions; it was not deaf to the
precept of bimetnllism, nor did it ignore
the principles of true protection. General
Garfield WAS nominaiea and elected to the
Presidency personally pledged to bimet-
allism, not quasi-bimetallism of the
Sherman stripe, not "a bimetallism that
uses silver only as n token and in a rela-
ton secondary to gold, but u bimetallism
as known to man who coined the word, q
bimetallism rs we know it to. day, and
that means the free and unlimited coin.
age OF both gold and silver into full legal
tender money. So also was General Har-
rison nominated and elected to the Presi-
dency because he was understood by his
friends to be a convinced bmesallist. He
was elected upon platform declaring
that 1.-The Republican party is in favor of
the use of both gold and silver ms money,
and condemns the policy of the Demo
cratic (ClevelandD administration in it's
Efforts to demonetZe silver" But Gen.
eral Garfield was assassinated ere he had
accomplished anything, General Harrison
turned cold shoulder to his friends. and
in due course repudiated his principles.
And then was fought the losing strug-
gle within the Republican party against
the abandonment of monetary policy,
demanded by equity and justice, demand
Ell in the interest of our producing classes,
ana the taking up of Il policy calculated
to benefit the moneyed cliques but to on
press and impoverish all those engaged in
the production of wealth; against the
abandonment Of the principles of true
protection and the advocacy of q monop-
oily tariff. The struggle awaited nothing
The moneyed cliQues succeeded in captur
Ing the Republican party AMI sealed their
success at St. Louis in June last, when
the party officially turned its back on it's
past record and pledged itself to the
maintenance of the single gold standard
until ruch time us the creditor nations of
the world might see tit tc release us from
the tribute which the gold standard
places upon us for their benefit and Join
US in the restoration OF bimet,llism by an
international agreement, something which
has never been known in the history of
the world This slender proviso alone re-
manned to connect the Republican party
with Its past, to make it's VOLTAGE less
striking. But even this slender thread
was broken during the campaign in which
the Republican party stood forth rs the
uncomprcmising champion of the gold
standard and the dear dollar 1t was as
such that it made the campaign and
achieved victory. Now, the election over,
we find Mr.. Mckinley picking up the
strings of international bimetallism to
the great chagrin of many of his ardent
supporters. We trust the strings will be
strong enough to bring about interna-
tional bimetallism, but we fancy they
will break. Should they not, great will
hA The h.
ment, and loud the protestations of our
gold contrnctionists.
But be this as it may, the Republican
party has declared the United States un.
fitted to be financially independent 1t
has declared that we must take our fiscal
policy at the hands of Great Britain; de-
clared that the law laid down for us by
the creditor classes OF Britain 20 our in
jury and their temporary profit is natu-
raj Law and must be obeyed. And ac-
cepting the monetary Law that others
gladly make for us, we are rapidly becom-
ing financially dependent in more ways
than one, fol the law that others make
for us aims to make money dear and de.
press the prices we can realize for the
products OF our labor, which, of course,
results in making our debts increasingly
burdensome. And this subtle shrinkage
in the value of property, of the things
that we have to rely on to pay our debts,
while our debts remain unchanged,
drives us irresistibly towards bankruptcy.
into place where we must mortgage our
property and our labor to our creditors,
where we must leave mortgage on the
future earnings Of our peopleas legacy to
our children, and thus make us the slaves
of poverty.
1t is the law that works to these
ends law that enriches others upon our
poverty, law conceived by those who
profit by its existence, that we call ~
natural law and. are asked 10 uuhesi-
tatingly accept rs such Yet we are told
that this natural law, which no law of
man can set aside, can be set aside by an
international agreement among the ma
tions to ho longer obey it. Such is the po-
sltion of the Republican party when it de-
clares that we must accent the gold
standard, that it is the standard of civili-
zation decreed for us by natural law, yet
turns around and pledges itself TO pro.
mote international bimetallism, thereby
recognizing that the monetary law of the
world Is not natural and Interchangeable,
but is the work Of man and can be
changed at mans behest.
But the Republican party has declared
that the United States is untitled to
change the monetary laws under which
we i've, however grievously oppressive
they may be. 1t has declared that we
must not undertake to change our none
tary laws without the approval of Great
Britain and Germany, the great creditor
nations of the world; that we must live
under such monetary policy as foreign
nations may accord us.
In the interest of the moneyed cliques
at home and abroad we have made one
great change in our monetary laws. We
have put aside silver ..as money metal
as the equal of gold we have caused an