The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1900-08-08

- I'd
! by a gold standard President IN the face
or a Congress opposed to It. and It can.
be forced on the country by a silver
President. even though Congress be op-
posed 10 him" 7'i} b n
THAT this Is true" remarks 1 our
South Dakota contemporary.....th can
be DO doubt. Sound monsyf men who
voted against Mr.. Bryan in 1896 in order
to avert the national disaster OF dis
honest money. which would have meant
financial ruin and rational dishonor,
cannot soothe themselves In voting for
Bryan now that Ii GONE way the. coun-
try would escape the plunge TO silver II
the Democrats would win. The victory
which puts Bryan In the white house
would put a cheap-money Democratic
Congress behind him. and would mar
row down the sound-money majority
In the senate to perhaps two. Thus 1t
might happen that the lives OF, but two
men stood between the business in.
,terests OF the country and the repeal OF
the existing gold standard law. Two
years later, with Organism triumphant.
the political complexion OF the senate
could be changed.
Meanwhile a secretary of the treas-j
ury In sympathy with a silver standard
could do much toward accomplishing it
without legislation. So careful a stu.
dent as Lawrence Laughlin, OF Chicago,
says q Bryan secretary OF the treasury
could bring this country to silver
basis without repeal Of the present law.
He seems further also to make out a
clear case. By evading the law, ana
bringing the whole pressure of the ad-
,m!nistration TO his aid, It Is rot doubt
cd for one moment that within sixty
days from the date Of his Inauguration.
Mr.. Bryan would have brought abou.
such conditions OF distrust and lack OF
confidence as to have produced fright
full and lasting panic. II. indeed, he mad
not succeeded in reducing the country
to silver basis. A good law amounts
to very little In the hands Of men who
do not want to enforce It"
Mr.. Bryan. In his speech to the. Colo
RADIO delegation the day before the Kan;
sas City convention. impressed upon.
them the fact that even II the time,
should arrive when the people OF Colo.
RADIO would foresake free silver he.
would be found fighting for Ii alone.
Such was the emphasis he put upon his
position, and no one doubts now but
what he would exert his power to bring
the country to a silver basis. 81.
On August u. 1886 when Mr.. Bryan
accepted the Chicago nomination. the
money question was paramount. "Un-
I'll that question is settled all other
questions are Insignificant" After the
election he said: "The friends OF bImet-
allism have not been vanquished; they
have simply been overcome" Scores of
times since he has iterated and rei;er-
ated his purpose to press for silver
moHometallism until 1t was an accom-
plished fact. Had there not developed
such unprecedented prosperity during
Mckinley's administration, the cam
paign would have been fought directly
on the silver Issue. The good times
make this an impossible course for the
Democrats. Hence they are trying to
Keep silver in the background until az
ter the election. and then. victory won
on false issues, the country would be
led such wild dance as men now Nv
Ing have never seen. and would no.
want to see again.