The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1897-02-15
AN OPEN CONFESSION.

Nothing is 50 salutary for the body
polite as that the issues before the
people shall be clearly defined. When
they are and the people have made a
decision there is something definite
and tangible as the result. The issue
of the late presidential campaign was
clearly defined and the decision was
definitive The two great parties
aligned themselves on opposite sides
of the overshadowing money question,
and the people declared in favor of the
Republican party and the gold stand
ard. Now an effort is making on the
part of the Republican party to make
the people think it is going to do
something for silver" through an in
ternational monetary conference. It's
purpose may be sincere; that its hope
is strong and buoyant no one believes
for a moment; in fact this. effort on
the part of the Republican party to
do something for silver through an
other international monetary confer
ence looks verv much like a solemn
mass for the dead.
1t IS a gratifying thing to have
genuine, simon-pure Republican paper
acknowledge the facts in the case as
they are. The New York Commercial
Advertiser of the 10th inst. says:
Representative Hill will have the cor
dial approval of all right-minded Re
publicans for his stirring and singing
denunciation of the monetary confer
ence bill yesterday. As Mr.. Hill per-
tinently said, in referring to the last
Republican national platform, the
stilted phrases of a platform dictated
by half-mature thought in June should
be read in the blazing light of the No
vember victory If the people of the
United States, regardless of party, ever
decided positively. Squarely and une-
ouivocallv in favor of any measure Of
public policy. they did it last Novem-
Der, when, by an Overpowering popular
plurality. they declared for the main
tenance of a single gold standard 1t
is futile TO point to the incidental ref
erence in the Republican platform to
international bimetallism. This sub
ject was not mentioned during the
campaign. Practically the whole po-
litical struggle of 1896 turned on the
one question of gold recommendation
versus silver recommendation. All the
arguments used on the Republican side
and all the stupendous mass of facts,
figures and statistics employed by that
side went to show, and were intended
to show. that the single gold standard
was the only safe standard for this or
any other progressive nation to up
hold. Republicans so firmly and earn
estly took this view that everywhere
they adopted yellow as the party color
and proudly displayed it on every po-
litical occasion, to the CONSERVATION
and rage of Bryan and his white
badged followers. It is too late now
to recede from this position. Any Re
publican, high or low, who attempts
to do so is guilty of political treachery.
The project for another international
monetary conference has been called
an ''iridescent dream" 1t is worse; it
is a monumental sham and fraud. Such
a conference, If successful. would re-
suit 81 one of two things-it would
either debase the present gold standard
or It would not If it cheapened that
standard the majority of the American
people would be outra geously betrayed;
il Il cid not cheaper it the Bryanites
would be grossly humbugged. The
monetary conference bill should be
promptly killed. The mere introduction
of the bill was an affront to every
American citizen of intelligence, hon
esty and self-respect.
OF course. the Republican party was
for gold all through the campaign and
never once mentioned the question OF
an international agreement regarding
an enlarged or any use of silver as a
money metal. Anything even squirting
at silver was tabooed in the Republic