The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1900-03-22
The Gold Standard Assured.

Philadelphia Times, of March Sth
we find the editor boasting that by
the passage of the currency bill by
the Senate, almost without debate.
an1 without any expression OF
popular interest, eliminates the free
coinage question from the next
Presidential contest, not only as the
act of the Republican party but
with the tacit consent of the entire
body of the American people.
The question arises. has this
editor of a great newspaper been
asleep for some time, or does he
suppose the American people are
dependent upon him alone for in
formation?. For the edifcation of
this great newspaper man, l will
here say that there are other papers
published in this country, quite a
number of them that they have in
many instances unsparingly criti-
cized Congress for forcing the gold
standard upon Our people. without
any express demand for such action
on the part of the people.
On the other hand this action by
Congress is against the wishes of
the American people as expressed
by the vote of 1896. If any one
will examine the various platforms
adopted by the different parties,
and then look up the election re-
turns, they will find there were
thirteen million five hundred thous-
and votes cast in favor of free coin
age of silver in some way or other;
and about one hundred and thirty
two thousand against it. If l am
right i'll my figures, there was less
than one per cent. of the voters who
openly favored the gold standard,
| that is less than one out of every
hundred of our voters II it is out
| of Difference to those few voters,
that the gold standard has been ad-
opted, l regard it as the most re-
inarkable instance of the tail wagg.
ing the dog that l have ever met
with. And this, says the Times,
was done almost without debate.
Some of the readers of the Times
may not be aware, that legislative
bodies can by parliamentary ruse
SHUT off debate, when forcing the
adoption of an unpopular measure.
1t is known that this currency bill
was forced to a vote in the lower
house without the discussion that
its gravity demanded.
AS to the elimination of free coin
age question from the next Presi-
dental contest, a very short time
will decide how that will be- Ny
own opinion is that the republicans
will not leave free coinage out of
their platform, even should the
democrats be disposed to drop it for
the present. They have seemingly
taken as lively an interest in free
coinage as they have in the sup!
preston of trusts and monopolies.
Their platform for 1896 declared for
free coinage OH substantial basis.
They favored something that would
be permanent. They did not pro-
pose to do any wildcat business as
the democrats were disposed to do
by adopting free coinage without
the consent of John Bull or any
body else. But they were going to
have free coinage all the same.
They do not yet want the people to
get discouraged about free coinage,
not at least until after the election.
They even inserted a free coinage
clause in their Monetary bill forcing
the gold standard. l wonder they
did not insert something to that
effect in Porto Rican tariff bill.
They might have promised the re-
peal Of that iniqutous tariff tax as
soon as our British cousins permit
ted us to open our mints to the free
coinage Of silver. That would have
convinced the most skeptical that
they still remembered their silverite
friends.
The above named paper states
further that the passage Of this
monetary bill is "the belated full
fillment ofa campaign promise made
nearly four years ago, it is an ex;
ceptional instance Of a campaign
promise fulfilled" The question
presents itself to me who made such
promise. and to whom was it made?
Certainly the republicans made
no such promise in their platform
when they came before the people
to solicit votes. That platform states
in no ambiguous terms, that it was
the intention of the party to secure
bilnetalism by international agree
ment. Their campaign orators said
the same, when accused of favoring
the gold standard they denied it
most vehemently, pointing to their
platform and the various speeches
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