The Maryville times. (Maryville, Tenn.) 1884-1944, 1898-03-26
THE OLD RATIO BEING DROPPED
Democrats Weakening on the Six
teen to One Basis.

teen to One Basis.
Sixteen to one as the democratic war
cry is not as vociferous as it was.
Symptoms of weakness are developing.
Some old democrats are asking why,
if the ratio was changed in Jackson's
time from fifteen to one, there is any
thing particularly sacred about sixteen
to one, or any other rigid figures. 1t
is stated that certain democratic SEN
ators and representatives are planning
a movement to declare for silver, leav-
ing the ratio blank, and that several
well-known leaders, not including Mr..
Bryan, are encouraging the scheme.
In the first place, they argue, sixteen
to one has been passed upon by the
people. 1t was defeated, and would be
defeated again by larger majority, for
the world since 1896 has been steadily
drifting away from the silver standard.
Every democrat knows that his party
is divided on the silver plank. In the
interest of harmony it is proposed to
declare for the free coinage of silver,
leaving the ratio to be determined by
circumstances-that is to say, by the
current views of majority of con-
gress, with the approval of the presi-
dent.
Signs come from other parts of the
country than Washington that there
are democrats ready to let the old ratio
go by. the board. Some silver men
nominally not democrats take sim
liar view. In his recent speech review
ing the experiences in Europe of the
latest bimetallic commission Senator
Wolcott suggested that something pos
sibly might be done abroad by chang
ing the ratio to twenty or twenty-five
to one. EX-Gov. Boies, of Iowa, has
Just published his plan to send all gold
and silver at the market price to the
government vaults to serve as security
and basis for the redemption of gov
eminent paper issues. A Washington
correspondent reports one of the cham
pions of the new scheme to have said:
''The ratio may be twenty to one or
twenty-five to one, or even thirty to
one. No matter. The point is that
by this means the democratic party
will regain control of itself and of the
country, and be able to restore silver
to its proper place as a money metal.
This is the principle at stake; the ratio
is q mere detail"
But that is not the principle at stake
by good deal. This government has
never surrendered the principle that
the gold dollar and the silver dollar
shall be on a parity at the worlds mar
ket price. In fact, the government eX-
listed nearly 100 years before this poll
cy was looked upon in any other light
than as matter of course. The peo-
pie cannot accept an uncovered 64-cent
silver dollar or an S4-cent silver dollar
without giving up the long existing
parity between the gold dollar and sill
YER dollar, each representing 100 cents.
They accept A cents worth of silver
now as a dollar only because the gov
eminent protects it with 100 cents in
gold. The democrats might as well
stick to the old ratio if they propose
anything less than parity with gold.
Their new scheme is a shuttle and a
| fraud, and will lose them the support
of those whom they ding-donged into
the belief that all the worlds financial
and industrial fabric rested unalterably
upon sixteen to one.--St. Louis Globe
Democrat.