Tazewell Republican. [volume] (Tazewell, Va.) 1892-1919, 1900-03-08
THURSDAY, MARCH s, 1900.
"A PROBLEM"

The Richmond Times of the LIST inst,
under the above head, a Problem,
makes an earnest appeal to the Democratic
party to abandon the Objectionable planks
of the Chicago platform and eliminate the
Populistic doctrines upon which the party
will go before the people in tue coming
Presidential campaign. With great ear
nestness the Times says:
"Let the Democratic party pull itself
together, adopt an old.fashiOned platform,
founded on the Declaration of lndepen-
dence and the Ten Commandments. Let
all those who love Democracy present Il
united front of earnest men i'll love with
their cause that will command the conf
hence of the people, and run over every
obstacle that interested and selfish men
can put in their way. The Legislature of
Virginia has at its present session gwen
the cue TO what the platform should be.
1t has passed an act making banking per-
fectly free and allowing the banks the
State charters to issue as many notes as
their directors think their assets will main-
tain. Let the Democratic party frankly
declare that it recognizes that free silver Is
impracticaDle.
The free silver lunacy of the Democratic
party is bad enough, but the paper money
lunacy of the Richmond Times and the
Virginia Legislature is truly APPALLING
With platform founded on the Declare
ton of Independence, the Ten Command
ments, and Wild Cat Banks the National
Democracy would be entitled to premi-
um for presenting the most wonderful
crazy.quilt declarations of party principles
ever placed before the American people
recitation of the most wholesome, self-eyi
dent truths that should be applied to hu'
man government. The Ten Command
ments are perfect declaration of moral
truths, given 10y God to man. How would
a declaration in favor of State banks, or
"wild cat banks, look, when coupled with
the profoundest declaration Of human
rights that has come from the pen Of man
and the greatest code Of moral law which
came direct from God
The proposition Of the Times is to mingle
the Sublime with the ridiculous, the true
with the false, the honest with the dishon-
ct. Tie Declaration Of Independence is
plea for truth, an irredeemable, unse
cured paper dollar is a lie. The Ten Com
mandments say "Thou shalt not steal, "
the State bank note would be a thief on
lis face.
There ere many people still living who
remember the kind Of paper money We
had in this country prior to 1861. They
recall the fact that the value Of the State
bank notes was an uncertainty that was
both painful and ridiculous. A man would |
90 to bed at night with what he supposed |
was thousand good dollars in his pocket
book, and wake up the next morning to find
that the dollars were not worth the paper
upon which they were printed. AS between
a free coinage silver dollar and a State
bank note there should be but one choice.
The free silver dollar would always possess
bullion value, the note Of busted State
bank would be worth nothing.
State banks are practically dead issue,
"too dead to skim" but there is no telling
what Democracy may do. 1t has always
shown disposition to travel backwards,
and in the future it may yield to the APP
peals of the Richmond Times and the
craftsmanship CT the Virginia Legislature.
By adopting their views on the money
question.