The herald., 1897-04-17
THE PLEDGE is REDEEMED

The free coinage of silver by inter-
national agreement I'VE pledge ourselves
to promote"
| The "gag" in this roaring farce comes
in at the catch-word promote" Every
old habitue of the political stage will
recognize the quotation from the st.
Louis convention of 1896.
Well, the promise has been kept. The
cause of silver has been promoted"
and now the matter is practically at
rest. The administration has relieved
it's conscience and the pledge of the
platform has been fully and finally re-
deemed. How was this done? 1t will be
remembered that the unfortunate dis
agreement between the former executive
and the majority in congress upon the
question of the national finances made 1t
useless to attempt by legislation to re-
store silver to its monetary status. In
this extremity the utmost that could be
done by congress for the cause of silver
was done by the passage of an act for the
promotion of an international agreement
for the adoption of bimetallism. OF
course if the executive had been friend
ly to the cause of bimetallism this legis-
lation would have been superfuous at
the initiatory stage, because the ques-
tion was really great international one,
to be considered through the state de-
partment and our representatives at the
foreign capitals. AS it happened, how
ever, the act was not approved until the
last days of the presidential term and
was accordingly turned over to the in
coming administration.
This posthumus measure is the instru-
ment that has furnished the present ad-
ministration the rare opportunity OF
seeming to promote cause which is the
pet antipathy of the head of the state
department, through which avenue alone
properly influential representations can
ever be made to foreign governments
upon so grave a question.
AS the case stands at this time. the
president has appointed three United
States commissioners to an international
monetary conference. This is bold and
well-rounded declaration, and most ad-
mirably adapted to give direction to
protestations of the fearless fulfillment
of party promises" But it should be
stated that the assumption that any such
conference will ever be held at any time
or at any place is. up to the present time,
purely chimerical. The office to which
these commissioners are appointed has
no existence and no specific duties.
We have no assurance that the ma
tions of Europe seriously contemplate
any change in their national finances
1t is true that commissioners are fire.
quently appointed by governments to
negotiate treaties, but such appointments
are usually made after the respective
governments have determined through
the usual diplomatic channels that
treaty or agreement would be mutually
advantageous.
In this case there is no such assurance,
no such intimation. On the contrary the
sentiment in London is emphatically
against the free coinage of silver and
no effort is made to conceal the fact.
This country is, to day, overwhelm-
ingly in favor of bimetallism and will
welcome any honest effort that tends
i'll that direction. But the appointment
of three American citizens to go to Eu-
rope and convert the nations to their
financial views is an act about as ex-
travagant as it would be were his ex-
cellency to commission one of our local
colored citizens to go forth and evan
gelize the Dark Continent.
Let Secretary Sherman who, as sem
ator, wrought the scheme of demoneti-
zation, show, by his advocacy of this
is not merely trifing with the public and
covertly seeking to bury the polity it
pretends to resurrect. He has a corps
OF able representatives abroad who can
execute the will Of the administration
and obtain all proper information neces-
sary for his guidance.
But as we discover no movement We
need not look for action in that direction.
In fact, the question is narrowed 10 a
local one. Bimetallism has been pro
noted" a political pledge has been re-
deemed and here we have, in all prob
ability, seen the very ending OF the play.