The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1899-04-24


demand. You ought TO know that II our
gold and silver dollars shall be at COM
merclal par on the ratlo4cf 16 and
France shall open her mints again OF
the ratio OF 15ls. Their. since In our
country sixteen ounces of silver would
be required to buy one ounce of gold,
our silver would, just as It did in 1894,
60 to France. where only 15h ounces
would be needed.
Every tree Is known b. It's own
fruit" What has been the fruit OF the
Chicago platform? A tabula!ed state
ment OF percentages for 1882, 1896 and
1898, emitting the scattering votes and
classifying as Democratic the Silver
vote, the Populist vote. md the Demo-
cratic vote. Will be more persuasive
than any other form of words. In Col
orldo, Idaho, Kansas. North Dakota
and Wyoming the Democrats had not In
1892 an electoral ticket, but voted the
1 Peoples Party ticket In order TO take
those states from the Republicans.
That was true also In Nebraska.
In your unwarranted letter to me o.
| ~ ou pOlltltul
Ions because, as You assert, they are
hostile to those OF Jefferson, ''who stood
for sacred. well defined principles" JEFF
ferson was by you made the standard
and the test. In order to gratifv your
desire to know my opinions mailed to
Eou 4 correct record of all had said or
written on the Chicago platform since
the election Of 1886. ! did not, as you
wrote In your letter otithe 8th Inst, to
which am now replying. ask You to
point out objections said: You are
| at liberty to Indicate and expose any
| portion that Is unpatriotic. un-Demo-
| cratic. un-Amerlcan or In conflict with
| the Democratic creed as set forth in
Jefferson's first inaugural address,"
You reply that you have not standard
by which to determine whether given
| opinion Is patriotic or American. had
| suspected as much.
On the issue raised by yourself over
Jefferson You endeaVor to make not his.
| state papers the test of Democracy. but
the Innovations your co-conspirators
chiefly Republicans. inserted In the
Chicago platform. You complain OF our
| first Democratic platform. which was
Jefferson's inaugural address, that It
dealt only with general principles" OF
| course It did. It Is the function OF
| platform, in the American sense. to deal
with questions the conditions of which
are permanent. jefferson did, however.
| insist ION honest payment OF our debts,
| and sacred preservation OF the public
| faith" which sou ignore In your un-
| reasoning spite against creditors. In
your hatred Of creditors. You ignore the
| public credit.
Again shifting your position. you for
get to apply Jefferson's platform to
these three topics on which you say.
have taken position" First, stand
ard money; second, paper money; third,
| the income TAX.
| As to the first, you affirm that Jeffer-
son favored the double standard" but
the Chicago platform declared that the
| first coinage law OF 1892 Get up q single
| standard which was the silver dollar
| and insisted that alone was Democrat
| ic.
AS to the second. there Is no paper
money" under our constitution. Only
| specie can be money Everything In
paper IS mere currency and should not
be legal tender. Jefferson said nothing
OF banks In his inaugural. but that he
became intensely hostile to "the Bank"
Is true. The conduct OF the state banks
in'hs time was enough to excite his con-
demnat!on. Mr.. Gallatin wrote on June
II, 1871, that Jefferson lived and died
decided enemy to our banking svs-
tenn generally. and especially to a bank
of the United States" but In the Br,s-
coe Nentucky) cage 4 Democratic SUI
prcme court. led by fancy, decided that
a state could empower q bank to issue
| circulating notes and that they would
be protected by the constitution. /
leave You to wrestle with that Judgment
and with the fact that the existing ma
tional banks and their notes are Re-
publican creations.
In the darkest days OF the war of 1872
Jefferson. on September 10, 1914. did.
suggest the iasuc OF treasury notes for
large sums based on specific taxes. leav-
Ing the door opened for the entrance
Of metallic money" and urged the
states to re!nquish the right to estab-
fish banks, but he did NOT advise that
evidence OF government debt be made a
full legal tender. During seven:y-three
years after the constitution was ADOPT
ed no Democrat. or Whig. tolerated that
idea. IT
j put TO you In MY letter two or three
questions easily capable Of an atflrma-
tive, or negative. reply.
One was. do you deem the money
question as presented In the Chicago
platform as now paramount to ull 9TH
ers? You cvade.
Another was, DO you insist on the
lnfallibllty OF the coinage ratio of 16 TO
us a test OF Democracy" You again
evade.
Another was "Must all Democratic
VOTERS line up in 1900 on n federal stat
NE making
stlnulates for payment In gold?" You
evade again.
Another was. "Will law preventing
wage enrners ard Salary earners from
demanding and securing payment IN |
gold dollars. II they prefer gold dollars,
be winning issue in 1902" You again
evade. 49,
You 60 out Of your wny as n defeated
presidential candidate of three wears |
ago. and an nspirant for denomination. |
to condemn my Democratic opinions. I |
have no wish to suppress what did Mt |
chicago and have suhseQuentlr done In |
that regard. am perfectly content with |
my course. was present a. the con-
Fent!ons or 1876. 1884. 1858 and 1892 and
on July I, 1896, | wus correctly reported
In the Now York Sun ns saying that / |
had no candidate at Chicago, "because |
the platform presented by the free sill
yer ana Iopulistic elements would ruin
oay candidate" At meeting OF the
New York delegation remarked that
aitGeld cannot compel me to yield to
Populism." In the New York Herald I
replied that the contest has been over
preposterous, agrarian, ccntral!zinu,
soclalistlc Interpretation o, the consti-
tuition. 1t has been oyer an effort 10 tear
down the gold standard in the interest
OF a silver standard. The vlror OF the