The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1898-03-02
THEIR DUTY PLAIN.
SKY CLEARED FOR SOUND MONEY
DEMOCRATS.

Vote ON the silver Resolution shows the
Republican Party Stands Firm For Pub
lie Honor Where the silver Men Blum
dered-A vital Point.
The voting in the senate and house
on the silver resolution will leave sin
cere sound money Democrats no room
for doubt as TO their duty. The senator's
who have professed TO represent or lead
them have all proved false save one and
all the representatives save two. The
greed of the party for power at any cost.
even at the cost of national dishonor.
proves too strong for convictions of
duty with almost every Democrat in
congress. The overwhelming preponder-
ance of silver fanaticism in that party
forbids the hope that it can be drawn or
driven from the standard of reputation
before another presidential election.
The only Democrat in the house from
New England voted for the resolution.
Messrs. Mcclellan and Sulzer spoke,
and they, with Mr. Cummings, voted
for the resolution. and other New York
Democrats were paired in favor of it,
while one from Pennsylvania and one
from South Carolina were the only
Democrats who, with Mr.. Gallery in
the senate. refused to declare that pay
ment of bonds in 60 cent dollars would
be no violation of the public faith.
The Republican party in the house
did honor to itself by prompt and al
most unanimous action. Only one mem
Der. Republican with Populist indorse-
ment from North Carolina, voted for
the dishonoring resolution, while all
others stood faithful. In the senate the
Republican detection was just what was
expected, entirely from mining camps.
except one senator from New Hampshire
and one from North Carolina, and of
the 43 senator's who supported McKin-
ley there were recorded against the res
olution 36, or nearly five-sixths.
Now, as often before, the great body
of Republicans stand firm for the public
honor, even though it costs the loss of
states formerly Republican. The record
shows on that side courage to face loss
or risk in defense of honest money. and
on the other side hearty preference for
reputation or cowardly trucking to it
by every Democrat save three On that
record the men who care for public
honor and want sound money will have
to make their choice.
1t is in this respect of the case that
the course of the silver men has been a
blunder. They have made it no longer
possible for Democrats like Murphy of
New York, Smith of New Jersey, Gray
of Delaware and Faulkner of West Vir-
ginia to be reelected from eastern
states unless those states can be carried
by party of free silver and repudia-
ton. Nor can Lindsay hope to succeed
in Kentucky unless by the defeat of the
party which has just elected senator
from that state; nor can Turpie of In
diana or Mitchell of Wisconsin or Roach
of North Dakota hope to recover on that
issue states in which the Democratic
party was beaten III 1896 by relatively
heavy majorities-in Wisconsin by
100, 900, in Indiana by 1900 and in
North Dakota by 5000 Whether Mr.
White can carry California for free sill
yer, as he could not in 1896, has yet to
be seen. With him the eight Democrats
who have proved false to the people of
their states should all be retired. and
all except Mr.. Lindsay can be retired
next year, as Mr.. German of Maryland
has been already. These changes would
give clear majority in the senate for
sound money during the latter half Of
President McKinley's term, even if III
Wyoming, Utah and Montana the sill
yer men should elect the senators.
Because this is to genuine sound
money men the vital point of the whole
struggle they cannot refuse to concen-
trate their forces upon legislative can
didates who will vote TO retire such SEN
ators. In exposing to view thus early
the record of the senator's who have to
be put out the silver men have done
their utmost TO prepare the way for a
complete victory for sound money next
fall After the recent avowals in the
senate it will do them no good to pre-
tend that their resolution does not mean
national dishonor or to quote votes cast
in 1878, when the silver dollar was
worth 80 cents and many believed free
coinage would close the narrow gap and
restore it to par and stop the decline, as
excuse for votes in 1898, when the sill
yer dollar is worth 60 cents or less,
with even Japan and Russia abandoning
its use as money. They have forced
upon the people the naked issue whether
or not senator's who vote to pay the pub
lie debt in 60 cent dollars or in silver
worth no more than 20 cents, if il should
fall so far, ought to be reelected next
year. New York Tribune.