The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1899-12-01
Money Question i'm the South.

- ENTIMENT in the South has |
.Nezzzs recently been undergoing al |
most as sharp change on the |
question of currency as 1t un- |
derwent on expansion The Democratic
leaders and newspapers that lean to-
ward the gold standard are at present
putting forth their best efforts to in
duce gold Democrats to abandon the
idea Of nominating a separate ticket
next year. They insist that the pres!-
Dental campaign be made square
fight between free silver and the gold
standard. AS an exchange intimates
they regard the denomination of Bryan
as virtually assured. they are desirous
that the money question shall be
settled once for ALL This position i'm
plies, of course, that gold Democrats
should vote the Republican ticket so
as to make more crushing the defeat of
the cheap-money forces. It is a sem
sble conclusion, and probably nothing
has contributed to it so much as the in
creasinE sentiment at the south for ex-
pansion. Practically no lines of
! demarcation between gold Democrats
and the Republican party are left.
| 1t is significant. however. that many
| of the Cheap-money element in that
section are taking precisely the same
! view as to the desirability of a straight
| fight between free silver and the gold
standard. They still profess to be de-
voted to free silver, but they see moth
ing to be gained for either their party
or the country in prolonging the strug-
| gle beyond another national campaign.
Without questioning the sincerity OF
their attachment to free silver, ii Is evil
dent that this class of southern Demo-
Gratis do not believe the country will
go to smash in case free silver should
again be defeated. The south was led
into the silver movement through de-
sire for more money, but now that
southern banks have more money than
they can lend to good advantage and
nearly all southern Industries are thriv-
ing opposition to the gold standard in
that section is perceptibly waning.
Expansion, too, has orened the eyes
Of southern free silver leaders and
business men to the vast possibilities
for southern Industries in markets in
the Far East. Some of the strongest
eXpansionists in the south are free-sil-
Yer men. which would hardly be the
case if they believed the prosperity
Of their section depended solely, as
they have tried to believe in the past,
on unrestricted silver coinage They
have discovered n new path to south
ern prosperity. This plainly is the rea-
son why many OF them are willing to
see the money question finally settled
one way or the other next year.
It is impossible, OF course. to tell
what issues will be most prominent in
the coming national campaign. If
Bryan should be renomnated the
money question will inevitably come
to the front, and If peace and order
shall have been restored meantime in
the Philippines southern desire for a
direct battle between the forces of
free silver and of the gold standard
may be realized. The hopeful thing
is that the south is wearying of the
money question and is eager to turn
its attention to other issues. Whether
this will lead to a breaking up of old
party lines in that section it is prob
ably too early to say, but the tendency
is in that direction. At any rate the
south is beginning to realize that it's
future prosperity lies in trade oppor-
, tunities across the waters, and nothing
win tend more to eradicate false eco
nomic notions i'm that section thar
trade contact Of the latter with the
| outside world.