The DeLamar nugget. [volume] (DeLamar, Idaho) 1891-1900, 1897-05-28
Whittier Are We Drifting?

The question at the head of this ar
ticle we wish to apply not only to the
so-called Silver Republican party in
Idaho but to that party all over the
United States.
According to the National Republi-
can party platform, voter can not be
a Republican and a bimetallist. The
meaning of the word Republican, so
far as the monetary system of our gov
ernment is concerned, is decidedly and
unequivocally monometallism; gold and
that alone. This being the case what
are the Republicans who believe in the
free coinage of silver going to do about
it? That is the question that every
honest voter should ponder over and
each individual one of them should do
everything in their power to bring
about a unity, for without it all efforts
will be in vain. ga house divided
against itself cannot stand" is just as
true saying now as it was eighteen
hundred years ago, ard will apply to
matters political as well as matters
spiritual.
1t is, without doubt, severe struggle
for those who have voted with the Re-
publican party all their lives, and who
have looked upon that party as the
symbol of all that is good in politics, to
cut loose from it, but remember the
commandment, "If thy right hand of.
fend thee, cut it off," That the Repub-
lican party has accomplished much
good since it was organized, no one will
deny. Judas lscariot was once good
man. No doubt he cast ont as many
devils and healed as many sick rs Peter
or James or John or any OF the lis
ciples of Christ, but it woulG be sim
gular, indeed, to hear person contend
that Judas was still good man when
he betrayed his Lord and Master. The
cases are parallel. We honor the Re-
publican party for what it has done in
the past, but when it sells us to the
Poatius Pilates of Wall street and cru
cities us to cross of gold, we cannot
see why we should love it a. y more
than we would any other Judas.
But what are we going to do about |
it? You may say "Oh it's too soon to
talk about that now" We contend |
that it isn't. The trouble with last |
falls campaign was that it was not |
commenced soon enough. Very little
a tive work was done until after the
Chicago convention. We mean united
work. OF course there had been indi-
viduals in the field, such as Jones and
Stewart, of Nevada, Teller, of Colorado,
and others, but their operations
lacked unity and failed to do the work
that an organized party could and
would accomplish, and even after the
Chicago convention, the efforts of the
leaders in the silver party were direct
ed as much to securing harmony in
their own ranks as it was to fighting
the enemy. No wonder the goldbug
party were triumphant. They were
united. And it will be the case again
unless there is change made in the
modus operandi of the so-called silver
and in 1900 your Tom
Watsons will be bobbing up serenely,
and with the same effect as in '96.
No, it is not too soon to talk or act
either. The goldbug party are keeping
it up. Electing their president did not
cause them to cease work. There will
be another president to elect in 1900
and they realize that in order to sue
ceed they must work. This is why this
paper as well as others in the state, are
being continually flooded with goldbug
literature, advantageous offers, plate
service, etc.
Let the silver pdrtys whatever may
De their names, drop some of their
let them ignore their minor i
keeping in view the vital
question of free coinage and unite on |
t and any one can tell you whittier we [
ire drifting We are drifting into such
l solid mass that the combined power j
If Wall street and the goldbug press [
an not prevail against us and it will |
rift William j. Bryan into the pres
dental chair and the United States S
DtO ,,rocparitv .