The islander. [volume] (Friday Harbor, Wash.) 1891-1899, 1897-04-08

These declarations Of appreciation made
by Great Britain, France, Spain, The
Netherlands and other great commercial
countries, and the concomitant sentiment
animating the conference, give the great
er hope to all who hold with the Repub-
lican party that bimetallism by interna-
tiOnal agreement affords the only practic-
able solution compatible with American
common sense and American honor of the
difficulties under which silver is laboring.
Change of Sentiment Abroad.
The Brussels conference adjourned to
meet May 80, 1893. Just two months
before that date a motion made in the
British Parliament to call the conference
powers together was lost by a vote of 148
yeas to 229 nays. On that occasion the
Chancellor of the Exchequer expressed
himself thus regarding the conference:
IF, in the future. it is to do any good, it
must discuss proposals made by response
bic Governments If the United States
shall call it together again her Majesty's
Government will probably be ready to dis
cuss the question and would consider, in
a courteous and friendly manner, any
proposals that might be laid before it."
But on the 18th day of March, 1896,
dissenting voice, ''urges upon the Gov
eminent the ACCESSIBILITY of doing all in
its power to secure by international agree
ment staple monetary power of ex-
change between gold and silver" in other
words, in little more than three years
Parliament had changed it's sentiments
completely in regard to bimetallic stand
ard and had evidenced it by turning
nf on in CT 70 oil 11pfo rms
ity for such measure as the Republican
party favors.
Thus the way now seems to be more
clearly open than ever before for the Re-
publican party to carry out it's desires for
international action in favor of true BIZ
metallism.
That the time is now more suspicious
for favorable International action than
ever before was testified by Congressman
McCreary, of Kentucky, who was a mem
Der of the last international monetary
conference, a Democrat and a supporter
of Bryan in the late campaign, though
not agreeing with the extreme views ex-
pressed in the platform in behalf of inde-
pendent action on the part of the United
States.
In discussing the bill for an information
al bimetallic conference in the House, on
Feb. 26, he said: "Four international
monetary conferences have been held in
the last thirty years. The first was held
at the invitation of France and met at
Paris June IL, 1867; the second met at
the invitation of the United States at
Paris Aug. 16, 1878; the third was called
by France and the United States and held
in Paris in 1881; the fourth and last was
held at Brussels in 1892. There were
but nine nations represented in the con-
ference of 1878; thirteen represented in
the conference of 1881, but at the last
conference, held in Brussels in 1892,
twenty nations were represented and all
of the delegates were in their seats the
first day the conference assembled.
While the monetary conferences that have
been held were not successful on the"main
question, they made substantial progress
in the cause of bimetallism and helped to
educate the people to open the way for
that international agreement which 1
hope will come after while. l believe
the prospect for international bimetallsm
is better now than ever before.