The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1898-07-15

trict. These men rank hign among the
accredited representatives OF the sill
yer cause" They have trusted lieuten-
ants In the w~eIl-known workers in In
diana, in Illinois. in Michigan. in
! California, in Georgia. in Minnesota
in all the states that thus far have
been heard from.
These states nave no part of the n
nancial interest in silver that Mon
tana has-they are nghting on the
merits of the cause. They did not get
the help they ought to have received
from Montana toward legitimate cam
paign expense in 1896. They are ask
ing nothing now. except that Montana
adjust itself c~heerfully TO the policy
which these accredited representa-
tives of the silver cause" feel sure Will
lead up to complete union OF all the
silver forces and thus to certain victory
in the presidential campaign Of 1900.
1t is history that splendid COM
monwealths X ndian and Michi-
gan and Illinois yield to his leader
ship. The states that make the trou-
BILE are the little ones-Montana. Utah.
Idaho: silver states at that.
Il is h%umiliating that. in the effort
to restore silver to its sovereign money
function. Montana has to be coaxed
for its consent to the policy which, In
all the strong states where silver has
friends, finds ready and enthusiastic
support. The trouble is that Montana
Is made top-heavy by a few men whose
determination 1t is to push free coin
age or any other public interest aside
IL they find that II stands in the way
OF their own selfish ambition. And
that is true of other states which
ought TO be foremost in yielding to the
leadership of the accredited repre-
sentatives of the silver cause"-state
like Wyoming and Idaho where, as in
Montana, country politicians spend their
time in chewing up one mother and
impudently undertake to make great
public interests bend to their ambi-
ton.
All that is asked of his little con-
| stltuency in Montana, by the "accred-
tied representatives of the silver
cause" is that II show itself loyal to
the policy adopted by silver's friends
in the great constituencies. That the
Miner opposes this most reasonable re-
quest is no news-it has bitterly OPP
posed It right along. 1t gives notice
of renewal OF it's opposition. That is
| the way we construe the Miners refer
ence to Montana as the stub-toe
state" although we never before heard
Montana called by that u~ncomplfmen-
tary name. It's all very nice to talk
about the so-called Integrity and in
dependence of the democratic party;
the national democratic silver leaders
are talking nothing of the sort; they
are exhorting all the silver forces to
union; they have no hesitation in say
ing that IL the independent democratic
party undertakes to operate by itself
and in present disregard of other or
ganizations thai help silver's cause,
that Independent democratic party VIII
40 to dead-certaIn defeat, and carry
silver down with It, in 1900.
bdNlUB nOliinS nv" vi '"N
here, in outline, is the situation-it Is
not at all obscure: We have in the
state the gold republicans; they polled
Just about twenty per cent OF the vote
cast In Montana In the election of 1896.
We have the silver republicans, their
organization including a good body OF
men who, in view OF patronage and
their belief that the wal is going to
make McKinleyism permanent, are
itching to desert silver n strike
hands with the gold republicans, in the
firm belief that the combine can carry
Montana. We have the democratic
party of the state, it's membership in
Guiding a good number of men who,
prompted, some of them by partisan
blgotry and some of them purely by a
personal political ambition. are doing
what they can to drive the silver re-
publicans into the gold republican
camp and all they know how to dissi-
pate rather han to build up silver's
suppo i'm this silver state. Between
these, the upper and the neither mill
stones-partisan bigotry and selfish,
personal ambition-is free coinage GO
ing to be ground into a helpless. shape
less mass? No; never fear II. That
won't happen-not in Montana.