The comet. (Johnson City, Tenn.) 1884-1916, 1900-03-29
A Ring in the Nose.

Mr.. Republican Voter did your party
Jay anything to you in the election of
1896 about the financial bill recently
made by congress and Mckinley? Your
party needn't been afraid to, for you
were going to vote the ticket even if it
rooted you out of house and home.
Your party must therefore have deceiv-
cd you from mate cussedness, or as a
matter of habit, and not because it was
necessary to have your vote,
Your platform in '96 declared for BIZ
and only for the existing"
gold standard or legislation till bimet-
allism by international agreement could |
be had. Nothing was said about any
farther legislation in the direction of
the gold standard, The thing was to
stand MS it then was until we could
have bimetallism or free coinage of sill
yer by international agreement. Ev-
erything was to be done to secure BIZ
metallism, and certainly no obsticle
was to be reared in the way of securing
it. Now your party gives You bill of
which Mr.. Overstreet, who steered it
through the house, says; 81 say frank
ly that this bill will make it absolutely
impossible ever to have international
bimetallism at the ratio of 1G to t."
Not only that, but this bill by convert
ing coin bonds into gold bonds and by
taking from the secretary of the treas
ury the option of redeeming ereenback
with silver, make it practically impos-
sible ever to have either independent
bimetallism or bimetallism by interna-
tional agreement at any ratio whatso-
ever. At any rate, after we did have it
we would still have to pay the bonded
indebtedness in gold alone, aud per-
haps pay good round premium for the
gold.
The fact that the republican party
did not consult the voter in '96 about
this bill shows plainly that the party
distrusts its own voters, and serves the
money power by deceiving the voter.
Indeed the whole move toward the gold
standard has been surreptitious move;
the people have known nothing about
what was to be done until it was done.
1t is said President Grant and ma
iority of congress knew nothing about
the decentralization of silver when they
did it in '73, and great majority of the
people knew nothing about it for years
after. The party has been most faith
ful to the money power, and have hest
tated at no amount of deception of the
people to serve that power. Indeed,
deception was the only way to pull the
people into 1t. And now the party
claims that in this bill, which converts
coin bonds into gold bonds and takes
from the secretary the option of re-
deeming greenback in silver, so "fxes''
the gold standard as that the people
can't undo the things which is addition
al proof that the party is solely intent
on serving the money power, and that
it distrusts It's own voters.
Now, if your party deceives you one
time, it will deceive you another time
if it deceived you in '96 it will deceive
you in 1900; if it deceived you you as tc
its intention to "fx" the gold standard
it will deceive you as to Its intention Of
establishing an imperial government
on the ruins of your republican govern.
ment. If it has such great distrust o.
the people as voters, it will conclude
the shortestest cut is to take your vote
from you.
OF course the party has all the while
had great contempt for the intelligence
of majority of its voters, believing
they would vote the ticket regardless
of consequences to themselves ant
families. The party has served thu
money power because necessary to Sc
cure that vote and campaign fund, ant
because it made not any difference Il
the ordinary voter what the party did
he voted the ticket any how. And thu
voter has given the party good grount
for its contemptious opinion of him
Three-faurths of the republican voters
favored silver in '96 until the St. Louis
platform came out, then voted for thu
men who just fixed" the gold stand
ard; and in 1900 will doubtless vote fol
men who will "fix" the gold STANDARD
some more. Three-fourths of the re
publican voters are opposed to trust
and expansion, but will vote for then
at the command Of the party. But il
voting against his better Judgment, il
he doing justice to his family and coun
try? Perhaps not, but it is necessar,
to party success ond the rally, and with
out these life is not worth the living.
am not a party man; care not on
hoster durn for republican or demo
cratic success, except in it's bearing OF
the interests of the great common PEG
pie of the country. But if I belonged
to party which showed by it's decep
tions that it had the utmost contemp
for my intelligence, which never con
suited me about thing till it did it
which puts in bill which confessed,
"fxes" the gold standard to all eternit,
a lot of confessed rubbish about bimet
allism by international agreement t.
catch my vote, which thinks it has
ring in my nose to lead me around an,