The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1900-07-13
WILLIAM JENNINGS BRYAN
and
ADLAI EWING STEVENSON.


can't be elected. Why not, was asked.
away more tears-Bryan
would not stand on a German platform,
which meant anything or everything, but
mostly nothing. And the German
mourners really believe that the Amer
lean people are in humor TO be longer
deceived by lodging platforms or dodger
candidates
The sovereign remedy prescribed by
the dodgers was to reaffirm the Chicago
platform money plank but not write it in
the platform. Here is what the Chicago
platform says:
eve demand the free and unlimited
coinage of both silver and gold at the
present legal ratio of I6 to I without
waiting for the aid or consent of any
other nation.
OF course everybody would have hunted
up the old platform to see what the bug
aboo was that Bryan and the whole party
were trying TO dodge. Every Republican
and goldbug paper would have published
the wonderful Chicago platform plank of
"I6 to 1" and rung the changes on it,
that Bryan had weakened, had gone back
on silver, that he was dodger and
thought to fool the gold Democrats by
such shallow trick There would have
been no end to this kind of comment and
caffing to confuse and mislead.
But Bryan said no, with big N. If
you make lodging platform you will
have TO get lodging candidate. Bryan
proposed to let the people know exactly
what he stood for, so there could be no
chance to mislead. He was in favor of
the demonstration of silver and its free
coinage, the same as gold i'll every respect,
aud insisted that the platform should de-
clare the fact beyond all doubt or equivo-
cation, and the following plank was in
serted in the platform
"We reiterate the demand of the plat
form of 1896 for an American financial
system made by the American people for
themselves which shall restore and MAIN
tain bimetallic price level; and as part
of such system the immediate restoration
of free and unlimited coinage of silver
and gold at the present legal ratio of rs
I without waiting for the aid or consent
of any other nation.'
Bryan was determined that the people
should not be fooled by any possible mis-
representation, that they should have a
square vote on the subject of restoring
silver to the money of the world as a
primary money, and if they rejected it
they must do it with their eyes open.
For two years every Republican paper
and every gold Democrat paper, which is
only Republican echo on the money
question, have kept up din, advising
Bryan and the party to drop silver If they
expected to win. Day after day they
have harped on this one theme. You
can never, no never, win if yon do not
drop IS TO 1. This clamor of the Repub-
lican daily press had soaring influence
on great many people who were inclined
to accept this Republican advice, backed
up as it was, by that corporation banking
class whose occupation is to loan money
and increase the value of the obligations
they hold against their neighbors' prop.
erty, and who call themselves .gold
Democrats.
These innocent souls, who were the
dupes of this hypocritical advice of the
gold and bank paper trust, were persuad-
ed to believe that the little deceit of
merely reaffirming the Chicago platform
would catch great "slews" of Eastern
goldites. A more silly conclusion was
never reached. Such a shallow attempt
to deceive would have disguised tens of
thousands, where not tens could have
been won.
Would Republican papers and gold
Democrats be likely to advise any policy
that they believed would increase Bryan's
vote? OF course not, and how simple
souls could be deceived by such advice is
difficult to understand.
1.-THE Democratic party abandon silver
as one of the main factors in its financial
policy, what will or would its financial
policy be? Those tiniid or ignorant
people who seem TO think I6 to is old
fashioned and would like some new
style of money, like new style in dress,
have never suggested any style" they
would like in place ofsilver, or any other
ratio.thanithe present legal ratio of I6 10
I, which simply is that the value of Is
ounces, or pounds, or tons, if you please,
of silver when converted into coined
money shall be of the same value of one
of gold. That is the ratio of all the silver
dollars and silver certificates in the United
States, while the silver coins of European
nations are I5H to 7, which makes their
silver coins measured by gold coin worth
about three cents on the dollar more than
BUR silver dollars.
1t is estimated by, money statis;iciaus
hat there are about four bilious of silver
,oin in the world and it is measured or
with the gold coin at these
altos. Suppose the United States should
open its mints and commence coming
silver at some other ratio. What would
De the result? If the ratio was increased,
hat is less amount of silver put into the |
iollar, the present coins-I6 to would |
20 10 premium. If more silver was put
nto the new coins, our present dollars
md every silver certificate would fall 10 |