The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1900-04-10
MUST BIZ NIT
THE TRUSTS THAT NOW CONTROL
THE GOVERNMENT NEED TO
BE THROTTLED
NATIONS FUTURE AT STAKE
The Great Problem Now Is to Save
the Government From Its Re-
cent Betrayal by Repub-
Iican Leaders.

DULUTH, April Sit has been a source
| of some worry to the News Tribune re-
Gently that its evening contemporary, the
Herald, has taken the position that there
| are more important issues in the coming
| national campaign than silver. The fact
that Hon. Charles A. Towne took the
same view of things as the Herald didn't
| help the Republican paper bit In re-
| sponse to a request for an interview on
| the subject Mr.. Towne furnished a con-
else statement of his position, which ap-
| peared in the News-Tribune Of yesterday,
| Says Mr.. Towne:
| am glad to say few words, although
my physical condition does not encourage
me to undertake an extensive considera-'
| tton of the question. So far as the Herald
is concerned, while | find myself in very
| general accord with its course on national
/ political questions, it is not necessary
that / assume any responsibility for the
| editorial utterances of that paper, which,
| as 1t seems to me, has shown itself in its
controversies with opponents eminently
| able and willing to take care Of itself. /
certainly agree with it's statement of yes
terday that 1.-The leading issues in the
coming campaign will be trusts and i'm
| perialsm,' and 1 also agree with it in
| the position that to make such state
ment is in no respect to manifest dis
| loyalty to the issues of 1896 or to exhibit
any weakening in regard Ito those prin-
ciples upon which the cause of bfmetalism
was advocated in that campaign.
Mrs. Towne then freely criticises the
News-Tribune for its former lack OF
courtesy in dealing with a political op7
| ponent, and continuing says:
NURSED BY REPUBLICANS
You say this morning: I'm 1894 he %
was elected to congress on the Republic
an ticket. During the first session of his
term he developed symptoms of free coin
age epidemic and in the second he deliv-
| cred a speech in defense of that policy that
gave him positive standing among the
adherents to the 16 to l fallacy." 1 think
1t we'll to remind you that in 1894 when
was elected to congress on the Repub-
Hcan ticket the platform of the state
convention of the Republican party con-
tanned an out-and-out demand for free
coinage OF silver; that the last preceding
national platform of the Republican
party. that of 1892 demanded t'the use Of
both gold and silver as standard money"
and that the platform of the congress
stenal convention which nominated me
| contained also an explicit demand for the
treatment OF silver at our mints on a
plane Of equality with gold. wish you
to remember that at that time no Repub-
l1ean convention anywhere in the United
States had ever declared, In respect to
the coinage question for anything except
btmetallism, and that there was not on
record anywhere an official Republican
declaration in favor of the gold standard.
l wish you to remember also that The
symptoms which you say l developed
appeared very much earlier than the
In August, 1885, delivered an address on
the coinage question in the Temple Opera
house in this city in which took exactly
the position which [ afterwards adVocat-
ed in congress. You ought also to be re-
minded that at about that time there was
in existence in Duluth what was called
''Tha Duluth Gold and Silver club, the
chief, If not the only, members of which
were Republicans that Its officers were
men prominent in the Republican party,
the treasurer being, If l remember cor
rectly, the Hon. George r. Laybourn,
and think that one of the efficient sol-
1 0f4 nf r7e- - I1c
expenses of the club was the Hon. Levi
NJ Willcutts, the present collector of the
port Now. be it also remembered, there
was nothing at that time inconsistent in
the fact that these Republicans were
members of a gold and silver club. or
tive officers in its management, because
there was not line or syllable in the Re-
publican creed anywhere in conflict with
their attitude Not only are you wrong in
saying that my symptoms developed dur
ing my first session of congress- but you
are wrong in saying that they eliminated
in the second session, because my speech
on the coinage question was made on the
Sth day of February, 1886, when my first
session in congress was exactly two
months old.
Mr.. Towne then replies briefly to a fling
about cheap money, and, continuing,
NO ENEMY OF GOLD.
Now. let me say to you that l have
ly because it was gold or merely on ac-
count of its color. The objection which
bimetallists had against it as an exclu-
sive money metal was that there was not
enough of it. Suppose the increased gold
supplies shall multiply until there is q
sufficient output from the mines of the
yellow metal to keep pace with the add
ed demand of widening commerce. in
creasing population, and the efforts to ex-
tend the gold standard over the remain
ing six-sevenths of the globe which is not
yet on that standard; suppose, / say that
the output of gold becomes sufficient to
do all this and do it without sacrificing
the producers and the debtors, to do 1t
while maintaining the average level of
prices; do you suppose that any of us
bimetallists will object to it? Do you
suppose that any one of us would deny
that the coinage question had been there
by settled? But, though thereby settled,
the thing which you are to bear In mind
is this: under such circumstances the
question would be settled by an absolute
demonstration of the principles for which
viz: that expanding trade and growing
population demand corresponding in
creases in the supply of money with
which business is done and debts are
paid, and that the measure of the stable
value of money is the maintainance of
relatively permanent price level
You further say this morning: For
many months Mr.. Towne, though calling
himself a Silver Republican, has been
dumb on the subject of silver except
when delivering some prounciamento
the head of his burlesque party" l pass
party with the observation that that
party was strong enough four years ago
to overcome the desertion of nearly a
million Democrats who voted for Mc&in-
ley. and that the leaders of the ReDub-
lican party in their secret councils have
never regarded the organizati ton of which
consider myself honored in being the
titular head, as anything but a mighty
serious proposition.
DISAPPOINTMENT.
1 suppose it is something Of a disap-
pointment to you that l have found
something else to talk about recently
than the silver question. If | had con-
tinued to harp on that subject while the
public was becoming greatly concerned
with other matters so grave as to threat
en- the very destruction of our govern
ment, it would have been very con-
venient proof of the truth of the cheap
and easy observation which you adj
vocates of the gold standard have so de-
lighted to make, that 1 was man Of
one idea" etc, etc. can well under
stand that it is a serious disappointment
to you to find that we of the Republican
party in 1886 to the great speculative
banks have somehow men who rebelled