Shepherdstown register. [volume] (Shepherdstown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1849-1955, 1899-08-17
An Open Letter to the Baltimore Sun.
SHEPHERDsTowN, w. Va,
Ant L. 1000

| of the Declaration oil independence, Ile
| Constitution of the United States and
the Bill of Rights. as well as for the
Justly merited rebuke of the executive
policy of the conquest of territory with
out the consent of the people of the ter
ritory acquired, all the people Of this
republic Officers personally interested
excepted) are, or ought TO be, under
lasting obligations to the Baltimore Sun.
| The principles contained in those three
articles, bequeathed 10 us by our fore
| fathers in order TO secure TO their pos
terity life, liberty and the pursuit of
! happiness, cannot be violated or disre-
garded without imminent danger to the
republic, it's eventual overthrow and the
establishment of imperialism and tyran-
ny upon its ruins.
| The precious inheritance OF liberty
was left to us not alone as ours, but as
! legacy to our poSterity, to be protected
and defended by us and to be handed
down TO them unsullied and unimpaired.
! We are heartily glad to see 50 able pa
per as the Baltimore Sun defending
! these principles.
! The following negative compliment is
only merited tribute to the great abil-
| itv and influence of the Baltimore Sun,
| and as its author has voted for every
! Democratic Presidential nominee from
! Van Buren, TO Cleveland, he ought at
least be spared the reproach of populism
and in the expression of his honest con-
victions you will please have the kind
ness TO pardon him for using the Ian
guage of plain man.
| believe firmly, as the great ma Ority
| a., thaf tho hi nod
ability and influence Of the Baltimore
Sun and the New York World elected
Mckinley.
The gold wing of the Republican party
and all the negroes, without exception,
with Hanna, Alger, Eagan and Gage at
| their backs, never could have elected
| him without the aid of the nominees OF
| the indianapolis convention, and that
convention never would have been con-
ceived or matured without the assurance
of the support of those two able papers.
| You know that the nominees of that
| convention never could have entertained
! the slightest hope Of their being elected,
| but they were willing TO sacrifice the
| great Democratic party upon the altar
| of the single gold standard, for every
vote cast for them they knew would
be "a vote for Mckinley and the Gold
| Trust, and for man who belonged to
VIGOROUSLY high tariff party that never
! kept faith with its promises TO the peo-
! pie when the election Of one of that party
! was at stake, or when the betrayal OF
! the public was necessary 10 accomplish
! the robbery Of the treasury. But lit
| tie matter of envy or political plque or
hatred OF the nominees of the great ma
| ioritv of the Democratic party at the
! Chicago convention was sufficient to
! cause Cleveland and German to SuIk;
the former, until then, had been the
| idol Of the entire Democracy of the
country. but he had warped every NOM
Der of his cabinet except HOke Smith to
| the support of the single gold standard.
! Wilson. until then, had been the Idol of
| the Democratic party Of his congress
sional district, but he and Carlisle. in
order 10 atone for their past sins in the
support Of Democracy, had lately be-
come converts to Cleveland S faith IN
the Justice of John Sherman'S act Of
dropping the silver dollar from the mint
bill in 1873, without the knowledge or
the consent Of any Of the other members
of the committee having charge OF the
bill.
With the aid of this little clique you
defeated Democracy in 90, and we are
now reaping the reward will you help
to redeem il in 1900? Net by any miser-
able monetary bubble as in 90 but by
fair toting upon the long established
principles Of true JetTerSonian DemOc-
racy. Let the monetary question be
relegated until after the election as 1T
ought to have been in 80
True you elected Mckinley, but did
YOU benefit the people or serve your
country well by placing the government
in the hands of an executive who, in
stead of the proud, imposing pre-emi-
nence and frmneSs of a Cleveland, has
shown TO the world i'm the impotent,
wavering and disgraceful conduct of the
war with Spain and the Philippines only
the vacillating servility of man in the
hands of Hanna, Alger, and Eagan
To the credit of his administration he
has left on record one act of executive
frmneSs in retaining in office for months,
after universal condemnation, the Sec
rotary Of War and the CommiSSary-Gen-
eral for poisoning the soldiers with en-
balmed beef. The influence and the
untiring energy of the Baltimore Sun
accomplished the defeat OF German,
who, perhaps. deserved defeat; but in
his defeat you defeated Democracy in
the State of Maryland Did you benefit
the condition of the people or the hopes
of the State by placing it in the control
of party who keep no terms with their
promises to the public Perhaps you
had some hopes of reform in the purity
of elections by placing the State in the
control of that political party.
AS an encouraging inspiration of such
hope, past experience may be taken as
an example. and as a proof Of the fair
dealing and the integrity of that politi-
cal party in elections, the seating OF
Hayes, who was not elected, over Til
den, who was elected, may be taken as
virtuous example. But in the way of
political traffic the State of Maryland is
the gamer for what she has lost in the
representative ability she has gained in
numbers, for one German she has ac-
quired LowndeS and Wellington, and
they too may have taken instruction
from Billie f. Chandler on the science
and virtues of purity and fair dealing in
elections.
But if a more recent example should
be necessary to confirm you in the faith
of that party's integrity and fair deal
ing in elections, perhaps reference to
the seating of GetZendanner, who was
not elected, over Shafer, who was elect
ed to the Senate of West Virginia from
the thirteenth senatorial district of this
State. may be taken as another vlrtuouS
example of the immaculate purity of
that political party. \ review of the
management of the treasury under every
secretary from McCulloch to Gage, eX
cept that of Manning, will reveal the
fact that it has been run to the entire
satisfaction of the Gold Trust. but very
consistent with the utter neglect and
total disregard of every interest due TO
the public and of every duty they owed
to the great masses of the people. You
aided the Indianapolis convention and
the Gold Trust to defeat Democracy and
elect Mckinley in '96 will you help to
redeem it in 1900 or will you again