The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1899-09-12
VARIEGATED EXCUSES.

When man or a newspaper starts
out to find or make an excuse for
change of front, it doesn't take long.
Almost any old excuse viii do. If it
doesn't look well, it can be changed,
too. What the public may think of
such changes is a matter of indiffer-
ence to newspapers like the Salt Lake
Tribune.
Two months ago our neighbor at
tempted TO justify its abandonment of
the silver fight on the ground that
there were a few Mckinley allies in the
country. like Henry watterson, who
were opposed to making the silver
question the most prominent issue of
the coming campaign. Every day for
a fortnight it repeated that fear as a
justification for its own desertion of the
cause But evidence began to accu-
mulate that removed the last vestige
of a doubt from the minds Of the peo-
pie; they were convinced that silver
had lost none Of its prestige with Dem
ocracy: they detected the falsity of our
neighbcr's position. which it was even
tually compelled to abandon No one
who has watched the course &C events
for the last six months questions the
determination Of the Democratic party
TO reaHlrm the Chicago platform next
year. No one doubts that William Jen-
nings Bryan viii be the standard
bearer Of that party again as he was
in 1896.
When these assurances and convic-
tons became too strong for the Trib-
une to dispute. what did it do? Did it
rejoice that its fears were groundless?
Was it glad that silver had lost moth
ing of its standing in the national or
ganization that stands for it? Has it
proposed to go in and make another
fight and to keep on fighting as long as
there is a party that espouses the prin-
ciples of independent bimetaIlism? No
1t has taken another tack, another reef
in its sails. It is now trying to induce
the Democratic party to do that which
it was SO fearful two short months ago
or pretended to fear, that the party
would do The following paragraph
from an editorial in the St. Louis Globe
Democrat OF recent date indicates the
nature of its new excuse:
The Salt Lake Tribune. which supported
Bryan IN 1886. is showing more Kindness
TO its late associates than they aDnrecia1e
or deserve. That paper declares that II
would lie a foolish and fatal mistake for
the Democratic party 10 lean next wear
upon silver as il did in 1885, 1t points
out the reasons. too. why such a course
would be fatal. which are that with good
prices for products and a worlds Yield
OF SD go 81 gold per aunCm ii would
be suicide Tor a party TO repeat The effort
OF 1855.
TWO months ago the Tribune was
afraid the Democratic party wouldn't
lean upon silver in 1900 as ii did in 1886.
Now it is afraid the Democratic party
viii lean upon silver next year as it
did three years ago. 1t is trying to
coax Democrats to subordinate the
silver issue. 1t is telling them how
foolish they are to make it predomi
nant II even threatens and warns
them that it viii be fatal mistake TO
go into the next campaign on the silver
issue as they did in 1896. 1t viii be
suicide for the party. it shrieks. For
heavens sake don't do itl'' is the es-
sence OF the editorial from which the
ST Louis paper makes quotations.
The Inference, as drawn by Repub-