The herald., 1898-08-29
A FUNNY FLOP

The instrument that pretends to SET
forth the principles of the Republican
party of this state would be exceeding
dull were 1t not to be read in conjunction
with its predecessors. When thus COM
pared it becomes positively funny. II
says:
We reafflrm our belief In the financial
plank of the Republican national plat
form of 1895 as being a sound and cor
rect exposition of the views of the Re-
publican party upon the finances of the
country.
We have before US the plank in ques-
ton upon which we have wasted many
weary hour attempting to extract
therefrom a meaning. 1t says:
The Republican party is unreservedly
for sound money. . We are OPP
posed to every measure calculated to de-
base our currency OF impair the credit
Of our country. We are therefore OPP
posed to the free coinage OF silver
except by international agreement with
the leading commercial nations Of the
world, which we pledge ourselves to pro-
mote, and until such agreement can be
obtained, the existing gold standard
must be preserved.
Whatever may have been the specu-
lations concerning this plank in 1896, we
know now that it was intended to mean
that the gold standard must be main
tained, international agreement or no In
ternational agreement, and that it IL
the intention Of the Republican party
under the control of Mark Hanna to
commit the country to the single gold
standard. The bill proposed to congress
by Secretary Gage confirms this. The
platforms adopted by the Republican
party of nearly all of the eastern and
middle and most of the western states
excepting Utah, are in line with this
Hanna plank.
Now, if Mr.. Burns convention had
stopped with the plank above quoted, nc
one would have laughed aloud, though
some might have smiled-when Oar
wasn't looking. But the Republican
state convention adopted another plank
which reads:
We commend the efforts Of the ma
tional administration to secure an in
ternational agreement and urge that
the attempt be renewed whenever an
opportunity to do so shall be pre-
sented.
This is real funny. Everybody knows
that the Wolcott commission was the
f1attest failure that ever made a trip tc
Europe at the expense of the government
Mr.. Wolcott so stated in the United
States senate, and he there charged the
national administration with thwartine
the efforts of the commission, which the
state platform commends, by privately
advising the European courts that VIZ
did not want an international agreement
at all and that our commission wa.
merely a political play and pretense t.
keep platform pledges.
But, passing the international fizzle
we notice that the state platform
recommends another monetary commits
! sion to secure an international agree
ment." AS Mr.. Mcguire points out, 4
does not say whether 1t Is an agreement
for bimetallism or for beans; and THU
is immaterial for the edict has gone GU
from Hanna that the issue henceforth Il
the single gold standard as agains
American bimetallism. Upon this fssu
the fight must be fought to finish. Bi
metallists will need have no fear If tn
issue is stripped of the hypocrisy of in
ternational dreams with which to catcl
the votes Of million bimetalists of thi
country.
The funniest flop is yet to be noted
On the 9Th day of May, 1896, at Sacra
mento, the Republican state convention
adopted money plank which had n,
strings attached to it or holes through
which the Republican party Of this stat,
could fall. Here 1t Is:
We favor the free and unlimited COIN
age of silver at the ratio of 16 to 1, and
the making Of silver as well as gold
legal tender. in payment Of all debts.
both public and private.
It may be unkind to twit about facts
We quote this Republican plank OF 1ss