The Washington weekly post., 1899-06-20
Died a Poor Man.
Hands Night for Silver.

In the death Of Richard Parks Bland
the cause of free coinage Of silver loses
its most conspicuous, most persiSten,.
most hopeful champion. Bland and silver
VIII ever be linked together in common
brotherhood. To write the story of his
lie is TO chronicle The long and unsuc-
CesSful effort 10 remOnetiZe the white
metal. He began the battle when men
who are now foremost in the hight were
learning the alphabet and knew nothing
more Of silver than the value Of a dim .
ia the purchase of childish toys He
never weakened in his devotion To the
cause. II was his hobby, his one life mis-
sion and dream. He clothed himself about
with the silver question until he almost
became lost IN 1t, like a mautle-WTapUed
figure Thus he became largely a man
oi one Idea. He spoke upon little else in
congress, and even with death staring
hlm IN the face he proved MS loyalty.
Less than ten days ago he was invite, 10
an antitrust dinner IN ST. Louis He
could not attend, but wrote a brief let
ter. Faithful To the last, he urged that
free coinage AT the ratio OF l6 10 / should
re kent 10 tine front as the leading issue
Of the day.
Perhaps Bland first began TO appreciate
silver as "A money metal when he en-
SaScd in mining in Nevada ana CaiifOT-
MIA. He was born in Kentucky in 1885,
S.Nly-Iour years ago, and went ont TO
the Pacific slope in 1855, remaining there
ten years. Although born in a slave State.
me war did aot appeal 10 him. and il WAS
INh1 before ne came East 10 Missouri, IN
which state he settled, purchasing a farm
near the town OF Lebanon. He flImed
and practiced law, and became Interested
IN politics. lie had Eeen in the state only
eight years and was thirty-SeVen years
OF age when lac was elected 10 Congress
To reach that point In so short a time
and especially when he had not been in
The Confederate seTviCe-a matter which
counted for something in those days
meant that his sturdy honesty aud abil-
ity attracted the attention of his fellow
citizens. lie remained in Congress all
the rest of mis- life, with the exec ptlOu
OF the two years which followed the Re
pLblican landslide Of 1891.
Died a Poor Man.
Nearly n quarter Of a century did Bland
serve in Congress when he entered he
had farm near Lebanon and somS
thousands of dollars, yet he died poor. In
This one sentence is told the story OF
his Unimpeachable honesty. lie was
scrupulously conscientious. In the clos
Ing days Of the Fifty third Congress.
W hen ne was about 10 retire TO private
lie. some OF his admirers in Colorado
sent him a magnificent service of solid
silver. Bland received the box by eX-
press, opened il. glanced al It's contents,
closed IT, sent Il back. and said nothing
about II % any one. This was CharaC-
terirtic OF the man. He was the father
at thr Bland dollar, The famous dollar
ui our daddies," but he never lined his
own pockets. He Iaboryd. as he thought
and hoped for the hctterment of the
" hole people. or himself he took 10
thought whatever.
zhere Is absolutely no doubt Of the sin
cyrty OF BANDS position on the silver
.-.gsti0n. lie honestly believed that with
the TemOuetlZatio OF silver would come
untold blessings upon the human race.
lie knew, as he expressed II once, that
there would De- temporary wrench 10
capitalists and bankers, but ne felt that
jlIs would bC small price 10 pay for the
benefits that would eventually follow Hr
thought that n the United states entered
upon the free coinage Of silver all the
other nations Of the world would br
forced 10 do likewise. and. sincerely beliey-
ing this he worked with all his might
10 accomplish the result. To The study
OF the financial question he gave all Of
his time. When he entered Congress