Aberdeen herald. [volume] (Aberdeen, Chehalis County, W.T.) 1886-1917, 1898-05-26

an injury be done without the necessity
for it being proven beyond reasonable
doubt?
Bimetallists contend that gold and sill
yer have been driven apart by hostile
legislation, and that they can he brought
together bv friendly legislation. They
contend that legislation favorable to gold
has increased the purchasing power OF an
ounce OF goo throughout the world and
lowered the general level OF prices, while
the same general legislation has lessened
the demand for silver and lowered the
gold price OF that metal. They contend
that the restoration OF the free and UNI
/ limited coinage by Il great nation like the
/ United States will increase the demand
/ for silver to Il point where the minis Will
require all the surplus silver OF the world,
and thus, by raising the gold price OF sill
yer and lowering the purchasing power
OF an ounce Of gold, will restore the parity
at Is to l. and thereafter maintain the
parity at that ratio. 1t is true that some
! bimetallists do not believe that this ma
tion alone can maintain the parity at that
ratio. but shall the great majority who
| DO believe surrender their conviction 10
/ the comparatively few who doubt? Upon
what principle can the minority demand
OF the majority the right to dictate a
platform? Those who are opposed to the
gold standard must act together, and the
plan of action must be determined ny the
majority. The moment the ratio OF Ii to
is surrendered, our silver plank loses
its force. Those who oppose The ratio OF
Is to are not agreed among themselves.
No considerable body of men ask for any
other specific ratio. One man says 20 to
l, another "a, another 80; but all the OBJ
jectsrs together are small in number when
compared with those who firmly believe
in the ability of this nation to maintain
the parity at l6 to l. If it is proposed to
leave the ratio to congress, it must he re.
membered that those who desire bimetal.
lism demand affii NATIVE action and every
one opposed to the ratio fixed in any pro-
posed bill will be counted against any
kind of bimetallism. II the ratio is left
to be determined by congressman who
run upon different platforms, it gives
chance for a variety OF ratios. which will
eiiectually prevent any legislation iavora-
bic to bmetallism, and will also give a
chance for friends OF the gold standard to
slip into congress under the pretense OF
favoring some underlined ratio but who as
matter OF fact, would use their positions
to maintain the gold standard.
The ratio Of Is TO has been adopted
by the democratic party in a convention,
which, more than any recent convention,
received its authority direct from the
people. The rank and file OF the party,
instead OF leaving the ratio to the leaders,
expressed their own opinion upon the
subject, and that opinion has not changed
since tie convention. This ratio has also
been Endorsed by the populst party. the
national silver party, and the silver re-
publlcans. To abandon the ratio would
be wrong in itself, ard as impoltic as it
would be wrong. Ii tie democratic party
were to allow its policy on this question
70 he determined by few doubling
Thomascs, or by the deserters who sup
ported the enemy in the great struggle
between democracy and plutocracy, it
would lose the respect and confidence OF
those who now look to it as an efficient
means OF restoring government OF the
people. TO turn from its clear and cour-
ageous enunciations TO wallow again in
the mire OF ambiguity and deception
would ALLEVIATE those WHO have been drawn
to it by the platform Of 1896. The demo-
cratic party could have retained within
its fold the deserters Of 1896 if it had con-
sented to a meaningless platform, but it
preferred to lose some members of the
body rather than have the whole body
DESTROYED. Regeneration did not come
too soon. The gold democrats were rapid
ly making the party a rival OF the repub-
lican party for the favor OF trusts and
nothing else it drove from the party those
who had been manipulating the party for
private gain and using the government
for public plumber There are many OF
these deserters whose return to the party
would bring weakness rather than
strength, and there are millions OF demo
Gratis who would not surrender a single
line OF the Chicago platform to recover
every deserter who left because OF real
antagonism to the principles set forth in
that platform. | do not refer to those
who were misled There We're many
who left because they did not fully I'M
derstand the issues raised and they are
coming back of their own accord, be-
cause they find themselves in sympathy
with our platform.
The party can win more voters by
steadfastly standing by the right than by
weakly compromising with error, and
those won back to the platform will be
useful when they return, while those who
profess attachment to the democratic
] 10 ~, a.;