The Owosso times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1897-1926, 1897-10-22
Washington Letter.


Washington Letter.
Special Correspondence:
WASHINGTON, d. c., Oct. Is. '97.
| Further evidence from Ohio corroborates
the statements that the silver question has
been absolutely eliminated from the dis
cussions there in the campaign. And silver
was practically the only plank Of the DEM
ocratic platform adopted but three months
ago. Mr.. Bryan proposed to canvass the
state thoroughly in the interests of silver
and speak from every stump. Exon
gresham T0wne entered the state with an
idea of speaking for free silver many times,
but for some reason Mr.. Bryan has not kept
faith with his assertions and Mr.. Towne has
been peremptorily ordered off the stump
by Allen o. Myers. McLean's manager, with
this action sustained by Mclean. Bryan,
Towne, and others, who have been for the
past two years laboring In the interests Of
the silver trust, view this turning down"
with nothing less than dismay, because it
means to them that the democratic party is
abandoning the free coinage talk in every
state where its managers see any real hope
! of success at the polls this fall. This gen.
eral programme has been adopted In all
states where there are campaigns, as is
shown by the various reports When it came
to direct clash, as was the case the other
day between democracy and Bryan; democ-
racy won aud Bryan was snubbed. The
New Workers were about entering on their
campaign and Mr.. Bryan wrote urging them
to keep free silver to the front in their
fight: Chairman Jones, however, advised
them to eliminate free silver, and Jones'
advice was followed. Silver is practically
tabooed in this falls campaigns and the
free silver men are excluded from partici-
patton In them. This seems nothing short
OF wonderful, in view of the fact that only
three months have elapsed since the demo-
cratic leaders determined that free silver
should be the leading issue of this year
where state and local campaigns were to be
fought In Ohio, Iowa, and Kentucky, as
we'll as In other states, 1t was made the chief,
and, in some cases, practically the only
plank of the platforms. The Marylanders.
uHder Senator Germans shrewd leadership,
managed to save themselves from being
obliged later to run away from the plat
form, by straddling it at their convention,
but In almost every other case free coin
age was the watchword of the state and
local committees as much as it was of the
democratic national committee of last
year. In Massachusetts,, the George Fred
Williams element of the democracy adopted
ii. In New York a segment of the democ-
racy declared for it, and in Ohio. Virginia,
Kentucky, Iowa, Pennsylvania, Nebraska,
and other states 1t was to be the leading
issue of the campaigns.
THE CHANGE.
But all this happened within the last
three or four months, and all these ratifica-
tons of free silver by various conventions
were before the passage of the Dlngley law
and the signing of that measure by the
President. This occurred later, and what
was the effect? Immediately the wheels of
industry began to revolve. 1t is useless for
prosperity has not returned to thousands of
homes throughout the land. Immediately
with the passage of that law, and in some
cases In anticipation Of It's passage, facto-
ries began to resume and to increase their
numbers .of employees, and thousands of
men who had been looking vainly for work
suddenly found it, and at good wages too.
The hum Of industry was heard on all sides,
and the factory smoke began to roll out in
black volumes. Employers began paying
out money to labor which they had been
previously boarding, afraid to embark In
business ventures, and the employees began
to demand the necessities of life from the
farmers. Farm products rose in price and
laborers had the money with which to buy
them. Not only wheat went up, in which
there is shortage" abroad, but all other
farm products advanced likewise. And,
strange to say, simultaneously with these
advances the price Of silver steadily fell,
reaching low-water mark never dreamed
OF by the democrats who were proposing
last year to supply the country with SO cent
dollars. Things reached such state-sil-
yer down to nothing, and everything else
up and going up-that there remained moth
ing TO do but to drop the silver Issue and
forget 1t. although 1t had been made the
leading plank In most of the platforms,
I NTT I'm