The citizen. (Frederick City, Md.) 1895-1923, 1900-02-02
Money Question Not the Nam
Issue.

In tie memorable ntr,t of 1896
when William Mckinley was e ected
PRECEDENT of The United S'aes, defetl-a
ing William Jennings Blypn, whose
principal issue was he "f,ee coin &c of
silvei at the ia 10 of Is t l." thous ,nds
of Democrats stood etween "a We and
duty" They argued that the new
plank in the party platform carrie d
with il dangers t. our finau ces.
existing obligations AID contracts,
civil and national, that could mt be
overlooked and which to them offered
justification for supporting a Republic
can nominee. Many n ore the same
idea did not vote for NJ Kiuley but FIR
an independent gold Democratic ticket,
Palme5 a d Buckner, thus weake ing
the forces of Bryan and causing hi de-
fea'. Wee the same issues at stake
nov and the fight made IA al that lime.
the results could not fail to be the same.
But 81 ce the inauguration of 'McK,n-
ley their have been several CougIe,-
nal elections and the status of the
House and senate is overw helmingly
Republican,. No change can atiec
this party advantage 70. at | asst four
years an SO, with the known ndher-
ence of this majority to the orthodox
principles of sound money (whatev r
that may mean), there is no danger of
any chang. in our financial system
coming ftom free silver quarter,
The coming Presidential election Will
be one of the most important ones in
the history of our country, as i, will
witness contest between the forces Of
imperialism and exp nsion, trusts and
monopulies on the one side ana on the
otter, the leA ions, who Oppose this
wanton prostitution of the cor stitution
and WHO would erect upon the vi of
freedom, now existing, government of
the people, by the people and for the
people. 1t would b. criminal to
let any side issues detract f,om the
main questions the living issues that
so sadl. need he champio ship If tie
+ ople. Let wisdom pervade the party
C uncils and desire to look well TO
re forces TO be arrayed for the front
find place i'll each true Democratic
boom. 1t is almost a certainty, at
leas- from present indications, that
William Jennings Bryan Will be the
Democratic candidate for President
He is enshriutd in the hi arts of the
III ssses, a d, with all due allowances for
individual opinions of his free silver
creed (from which position he seems
unwilling 10 lecede even at the
price of the Presidency on a srlv, r or
gold platter, lie is wonderful man,
strong in bis convictions and fully alb e
to maintain his arguments OH the great
questions of the day. Those Demo
Gratis who vo'ed against him in 1896
have a d fferent state of affairs cun-
fronting them to-day. Then it was
the silver issue that drove them from
their party ranks to those of Il new and
untred nan-McKinley. Now Nc
Kinley is the tried and found-W anting
nan, aud Byran, his formt antagonist.
with his hands tied in regard to finan-
cial legislation for at lea,t four Years,
seeks the votes Of the people to elect
him in his stead. 1t should not he
| difficult matter to decide IN such case
even for the staunchest gold Democrat.
In 1896 he SDdllOWed Mckinley, Nth
,, all the odiOus Republican platform
ptdnkS, Just to defeat q repugndnt one in
his own,, non wiM no danger IN sight,
could he not as consistently ddrOcdte
Bryan and the Democratic party, and
all the good it stands for, to defeat Nc
Kintey and his policy Of expansion, i'm
peri0Lism, 6eneuOtent assimilation,
trusts and other eViLss
1t SEEMS that such a course is the
proper one to pursue, in view of the ex-
igencies of the situation IfMr. Bryan
is an evil he certainly is the lesser of
the two, and this singing rebuke to
expansion and Imperialism could not
f,il to be productive of good. The sill
yer issue will not cut much figure in
the campaign; it will be auti-mperial-
ism and anti trusts.