Graham guardian., 1897-04-09

favor free coinage with an excuse
for supporting the candidate nam.
I'd. In brief, while tho issue was
presented upon the one
side, it was not squarely met upon
the other,bu was confused in such
manner that the forces of bimetal-
lism were prevented from thorough
ly uniting, says the National Bimetal-
ist.
After campaign of unexampied
brilliancy and dash, Mr.. Bryan,
the bimetallic standard bearer, was
defeated. While this was bitter
disappointment to the many who
had allowed their hopes to soar too
highs we review the conditions
then existing the result is not at all
surprising.
Fiist of all, as before suggested.
the forces OF bimetallism were not
welded together into one compact
mass. Secondly, the administra.
ton of Mr.. Cleveland. nomlnally
Democratic, had been in power
nearly four years. During that
whole period industrial conditions
had gone from bad to worse, and,
although there was very little IN
Mr.. Cleveland's policy that met
the approval of the bulk of the
National democracy, nevertheless
all the odium which properly be-
longed to that policy, and all that
could be charged against il, had to
be carried by the supporters of
Bryan and Sewall. What is more
anomalies still in this connection
is the circumstance that while the
Republicans were assailing the
candidacy of Bryan upon the
ground that his election would be
equivalent to four years more of
"Clevelandlsm," Cleveland him
self was using the whole power of
his administration TO encompass
Bryan's defeat. Thirdly, the
Democratic platform was loaded
down with q weight of irrelevant
matter that was not IN issue, upod
which there were innumerable
differing shades of opinion, and
which really should have had no
place in national party platform,
1t gives the opponents of silver re.
storation an opportunity to divert
the minds of the people from the
main issue, enabled them to raise
the cry of anarchy" and brought
practically every great corporation
Of the country actively and ag
gressively to the support of Mr.
Mckinley. Finally, the monled
interests Of both Europe and Ameri
ca, with their measureless influence
and power, were solidly massed ir
defense of the standard of gold
The bankers controlled the bust
ness men generally, while the latter
directly forced their employees in
to line, and the result was that the
cause of blmetallism was defeated
not by "landslide," as was SC
vauntingly claimed, but by what
appears on close analysis to have
been a very narrow margin.
All Of these things considered
the showing made by the friends
of genuine America bimetallism
was a most remarkable one. Nearly
| 100000 votes were cast for Mr.
Bryan, and it is not pretended that
any of them were either fictitious
or forced. Every man who voted
for Bryan did so because ne want
ed to. On the other hand, with
out discussing the abnormal vote
cast for Mckinley in certain States
and the earnest fraud in connec
ton therewitn, it can be truthful
ly and with perfect propriety at
irmed that this plurality Of less
than 100000 votes was obtained
by methods wholly at variance
with the genius of American in
stitututions. To an unusal degree
the vote against bimetallism was
localized. Mr.. Mckinley owes his
entire plurality to the extraordin'
airy vote given him in few States
where there are vast numbers OF
men peculiarly subject to the in
auence Of the employer class. Mr..
Bryan's vote was broadly national
in characteT il was more widely
and uniformly distributed, and