The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1897-10-21


abled to carry out the policies he has
in view. The pledge the Republican
party made that they would enact a
new tariff law has been redeemed, and
1t is to be hoped that until other ques-
tions much more important than this
one are settled, that this issue will be
permitted to rest. At best, for 30
years, It has been a mere question Of
enormously high schedules, and | am
sure that the people are tired of a
question that seems to be a mere grab
game, no matter which party is in
power.
The only other promise of any great
moment they made was in regard to
the finances. On this their platform,
adopted at st. Louis, and reafIirmed at
their state convention, says: 1--WE are
opposed to the free coinage of silver,
except by international agreement with
the leading commercial nations, which
we pledge ourselves to promote, and
until such an agreement can be on
tained the existing gold standard
must be preserved" Not word is
said concerning this great question
about the issue of the paper currency
of the country. Upon this most vital
and burning question, and which l
charge they knew at the time this
platform was drawn would be pressed
for an immediate settlement by the
banking interests Of the country, their
platform IL as silent as the grave.
In other words, the Republican party
has declared that this great country is
unable, as far as the question of coin
age Is concerned to establish a system
Of its own, and that they will not at
tempt anything in this direction un-
til the consent Of other nations can |
be obtained. Upon this currency ques-
tion they hoped to deceive and put the
people off their guard by saying moth |
| ing. What then are the policies wAch |
Mr.. Hanna says the administration |
want carried into effect? No one |
who has read his speeches, weak and |
miserable as they have been, can fail |
to note that he has only mentioned |
one, viz, a revision OF the currency |
laws.
Not Told Openly.
He did not come out openly and
boldly and tell the people just what
was intended, but if his views, which
are undoubtedly those of the admins
tration, are carried out no one can
doubt that the result will be the de-
struction Of all the paper money now
issued by the government, and which
Is all substantially a legal tender for
the payment of debts, NoOh public and
private, and the substitution there
for of a bank currency issued by pri-
vate corporations, and which | believe,
can not, constitutionally, be made a
legal tender. That this has been the
object of the great banking interests
of the country for many years, all who
have closely watched the progress of
events know. uradually, step by step,
they have been trying to convince the
people of the dangerous system under
which we are now operating. We
have heard nothing during the
last few years but of the continual
menace that the outstanding $346,000,
900 Of greenbacks are to the credit OF
the government. They have been
| IIiN NhNlNoo NholL, huN SNCl
since the manufactured panic of 1898,
1t has been continually asserted that
until they are destroyed we could have
no safe system of finance.
What next? Why, very shortly after
this we began to hear it promulgated
from these same quarters that simply
the retirement Of greenbacks alone
would not relieve the government
from the standing menace to its credit;
that this could only be completely
done by the retirement and destruc-
ton of all forms of paper money that
were issued directly by the govern
ment.
During the last campaign this fea-
ture OF the money question was not
as thoroughly discussed and brought
before the people as 1t should have
been. The Republican speakers never
alluded to it. No sooner, however,
was the election over than we were
told by these same people who had
been advocating the single gold stand
ard, with the decoy duck Of Interna-
tional Bimetallism attached, that our
present currency laws were the worst
that any nation could possibly be af-
flicted with, and that it was absolutely
requisite that they should be complete
ly revised.
A Convention Called.
They lost no time, for Immediately
there was held a meeting of the board
of commerce of New York city, calling
FOR convention to meet at Indianap-
oils, for the alleged purpose Of discuss
ing and maturing plans which should
be presented to congress at its next
session. Resolutions were offered and
adopted advocating this, and were sent
with circulars to every board of trade
In the country urging, them, as the rep
resentative bodies OF business men, to
send delegates to this convention.
Such meetings of the different boards
OF trade were called in the different
pitiss, and those attending them were
almost to a man the men who had
voted with the Republican party for
. single gold standard principally,
and these meetings were attended
Dy tho representatives OF tho oII-
ferent powerful corporations through
out the country. In our own
city, saw men at this meeting who
had never been at anyone before in
five years. Delegates we're thus ap-