The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1900-07-03
A PLAIN DUTY.
Tom Patterson Points Out the Path
to the Democracy.

Kansas City, July st. NJ. Patterson
of Denver editor of the Rocky Noun
tain News, and who was permanent
chairman of the Sioux Falls convention
came in with the Colorado delegation
The delegation, Numbering some zOO,
stopped at Lincoln for several hours
and with the famous Colorado Midland
band at their head, marched from the
depot to Mr.. Bryan'S residence. Speech
making and great enthusiasm occurred
Mr.. Patterson is a close personal friend
of Mr.. Bryan, and from the first has
been his answering supporter. Before
departing Mr., Bryan and Mr.. Patterson
talked about the convention and 1t Is
evident that Mr.. Bryan spoke with con-
siderable freedom to his Colorado
friend.
From what Mr.. Bryan said" an
swered Mr.. Patterson, Il am satisfied
that a failure by the convention to re-
iterate the silver plank of the chicago
platform in terms, will cause Mr. Bryan
great modification and place him in
disgusting attitude before the country.
There is little room to doubt this; and
no true friend of Mr.. Bryan will be
party to his humiliation.
why shouldn't this be the case? p
asked Mr.. Patterson. Mr.. Bryan has
made speeches all over the country dur
ing the past three years. In about ev-
ery one of them he has announced that
bimetallism would not be laid aside nor
minimiZed in the campaign OF 1900; and
that free coinage at Is to 1 would be
specifically declared for in the plat
form The masses of the Democratic
party have labored under no misappre-
hension about this, and with his state
ments ringing clearly in their ears state
after state has instructed for Mr.. Bryan
until his nomination by reclamation is
assured.
Il know" said Mr.. Patterson, that it
is proposed by those who oppose a spec
ific reiteration of the silver plank to
approve it by endorsing the Chicago
DlaffOrm generally.
This contains the silver plank, they
say, and that should satisfy all Demo-
Gratis. But it should not. 1t is under
stood that gold Democrats demand the
omission of a specific declaration from
the platform and but a general refer
ence to it, as concession to the anti
silver, or gold element of the party, that
is the reason ex-senator Hill wants 1t.
He and the rest of the gold Democrats
wish to parade their section of the
country, urging that the gold element of
the party won victory and that, under
the circumstances silver should be re-
garded as dead issue even in the Dem
ocratic party. If not that, why do these
gold men of 1896 insist upon the omis-
sion so StrenuOuSly. If to reaffirm the
platform of 1886 pledges the Democrat
ic party as firmly as ever to free coin
age why protest so immoderately
against a specific reiteration of the
plank A man is simple minded indeed
who does not comprehend the true i'm
port of this movement.
THE Democratic party would present
a pretty spectacle before the country
with Senators Hill and German, with
the gold Democratic press of the east
insisting that silver had been Telegated
to the rear by the Democratic cOnven-
ton, with Mr.. Bryan in the west and
south insisting that silver was yet a
living issue and that the Democratic
party was pledged as firmly as ever to
the restoration of bimetallism at the
ratio of 16 to / 1t would be the return
of the Democratic party to the dishon-
est and evasive policy of 1884 1888, and
1892, to such declarations as enabled
President Cleveland in 1898 to insist
that there was nothing in the Demo-
cratic platform of '92 to prevent Demo-
man law. Two-thirds of the delegates
to this convention were elected with the
plain understanding that the attitude of
the party in 1896 upon silver should be
plainly reiterated in the platform of
1900 and it is only as delegates get away
from the voice of their constituents that
they commence to evade the doing of
plain duty.
"MrBryan can only fight squarely and
in the open. He will enter the campaign
upon the platform proposed by the old
time gold Democrats if he enters it at
all and instead of a bold, grand, mag
nificent campaign that Mr.. Bryans
friends expect him to make, it must
from the very first be weak and vacil-
lating.
This is why to evade the silver ques-
ton as is proposed will cause Mr. Bry-
an modification and humiliate him be-
fore the country"