Omaha daily bee., 1899-12-22
HISTORY OF FINANCIAL PLANK
Drafted by President MoKinley's Friends
Before National Convention Met,
FORAKER HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH IT
statements by Hanna. Payne, Merriam
and Proctor Furnish important
Contribution to History of
Financial Liquidation.

WASHINGTON, Dec. Ex-senator For
aker published some time ago a long article
concerning the origin and adoption OF the
gold plank at tho republican national C n
vention OF 1896 in which he maintained that
the plank was prepared by the committee
on resolutions, of which he was chairman,
after much discussion and out of diverse ma
~torials.
II. II. Kohlsaat, editor of the Chicago
Timos-Herald, published an article in reply,
in which he claimed the gold plank was
framed by friends of Governor Mckinley at
a conference held in Mr.. Hanna's room
at the Southern hotel, four days before the
meeting OF the convention, and therefore
long before MIR. Foraker was elected either
a member or chairman of the committee on
resolutions.
Mr.. Kohlsaat claimed, furthermore, that
there were present at this conference
Messrs. Hanna. Henry c. Payne, Senator
Proctor, Myron T. Herrick, former Governor
Merriam, NJ. Il. Stone and himself, and that
the gold plank prepared by them was sub
mitted to various republican leaders and
also to the committee on resolutions by
which it was adopted with minor changes
Of phraseology and presented to the con
%vention.
ale lOllOWlnB statements DN NtSsIH'
Hanna, Payne, Merriam and Proctor furnish
an important contribution to the history Of
the gold plank:
The original draft of the so-called gold
plank was taken to st. Louis by Mr.. Hanna.
1t WIS the subject of earnest consideration
at the hands of Mr.. Hanna, Myron II. Her
rick and myself, who were in St. Louis
some ten days before the meeting, and
closely assisted in guarding the interests
of Governor Mckinley. After many infor-
NAL diGCnSGtnnG the n1nnk was entrusted
to me for the purpose of drafting a sub
stitute for the original and several substi-
Governor Merriam of Minnesota and Proc
tor of Vermont Joined this informal COM
mittee of Governor McKinley's friends who
were endeayoring to phrase this particular
feature of the coming platform.
Many changes were made in phraSeology
and probably a dozen different forms were
discussed at the various meetings, until at
the meeting of Friday morning | submitted
the text of the gold plank which was sub
convention. At that meeting Mr.. Kohlsaat,
who had arrived at st. Louis that morning,
was present and was strenuously insistent
of a plain unequivocal declaration for the
gold standard, and his insistenCe did much
to. end any division of sentiment which
might have previously obtained among the
friends Of Governor Mckinley as to the
wisdom of the course.
A. copy of the resolution as thus agreed
upon was shown on Friday to Joseph ii.
Manley of Maine and Governor w. Murray
Crane of Massachusetts, who We're at the
convention III the interest OIL speaker Itt6U,
and it was also submitted to Lodge of Mas
sachusetts and Plat of New York, who all
gave to it their unqualified approval.
The resolution as agreed upon was given
to Myron T. Herrick of Cleveland, who
t~elegraphed 1t in full to Canton for the
approval of Governor Mckinley, which was
soon obtained, and then a copy was given
to Governor Merriam, who had been Sc
lected a member of the committee on reso-
lutions, and he was authorized to say to
that committee that the resolution as pre-
scented by him had been drawn by imme-
diate and responsible friends of Governor
Mckinley and approved by him and to ask
that ii be adopted by the committee.
HENRY c. PAYNE.
I have carefully read the foregoing ac-
adopted by the republican national conven-
ton at st. Louis in 1896 and | find it cor
in it / wish to add that other republicans
were earnest and influential III their advo-
cacy of a gold PLATFORM, among them Rob-
crt w. Patterson, the Illinois member of
NJ. 4. HANNA.
The foregoing statement accords with my
recollection of the facts.The copy of the
resolution referred to was given to me and
| submitted it to the committee on resO-
lutions. Previously thereto | showed a copy
of the plank to senator Foraker, Senator
P!att of New York and Senator Lodge. and
". r. MERRIAM.
was consulted about the financial plank
of the st. Louis platform by Mr.. Payne
and others, five or SIX days previous to the
meeting OF the COnVention.l remember the
conference which took place Friday morn
ing in one of MI. Hanna's rooms at the
Southern hotel. There were present Messrs.
Payne, Merriam, Herrick, Kohlsaat, Stone
and myself. Mr.. Hanna was In and out oc-
casionally, but gave the matter little atten-
ton, as he was more interested in making
a president than the platform for him to
stand on. He, however, expressed himself
as ready to agree to anything We formu-
lated and did agree to it at the close of
our work.
Mr.. Kohlsaat had just arrived in town and
was very active and earnest for the gold
standard and his fOrCeful insistenCe came
at an opportune moment for settling the
matter in the right way. | was surprised
to find some of the western men so strong
for gold, OF course, substantially, all east
ern republicans would favor it, but the
credit Of leading in the matter belongs to
the western men | have named.
1t was known that Senator Foraker was
to be chairman of the committee on resolu-
lions and the plank was shown to him and
met his full approval. 1t was submitted to
President Mckinley by wire and received
his approval. 1t was also shown 10 the
different delegates, but especially TO those
delegates who were to be appointed on the
committee on resolutions, and it was known
soon that it was to meet with the approval
( of a good majority of the committee.
REDFIELD PROCTOR,