The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1901-07-19
rowNE TALKS AGAINST SILVER.

Less IMAM year ago e8-oendIOf
Charles A. Towne Of Minnesota was
one of the most enthusiastic silverites
IL the country. 1t is doubtful If bet
ter free silver speeches were ever made
in Congress than those made by him
when he was a membr of the House.
1t was his position in respect to silver
that made him the leader of the Silver
Republicans and gave him the nominal
ton for Vice President on the Populist
ticket in 1900. He resigned the latter
position, however. to increase the
chances of Mr.. Bryan of being elected
President.
But Mr. Towne is no longer an adj
vocate of free silver. He has become
rich man in the oil section of Texas,
and he is discussing the political sit
uation pretty freely. In the course OF
an interview in New York on Tuesday
he is quoted as having said that he did
not believe that silver would be men,
toned in the Democratic platform in
1904. In his opinion the silver issue
is dead one.
Further along in his interview he Is
quoted as saying that he expected to
see David b. Hill nominated by the
Democrats for President in 1904, and
that he would not be surprised to see
Mr.. Bryan leading faction which up
holds the principles of the Chicago and
Kansas City platforms. He declared
that there was a strong feeling in the
West in favor of the nomination Of
David B. Hill for President, and 1t is
safe to say that a similar feeling ex-
lists in the East Assuming that such
is the case, it would seem as If Mr..
Hill had the battle for the presidential
nomination more than half won.
1t is Mr.. TONNES belief that the
West does not want free silver now.
1t has lost interest in it, and besides,
silver is looked upon in that section as
a dead issue. What the Western Dem
ocrats want is a platform full of live
issues. They believe that the Democ-
racy will be able to carry the next ma
tional election if the right kind of a
platform is made by the Democratic
national convention.
Mr.. Towne's change of front on the
silver question is so remarkable that
it will attract wide attention. In fact,
it has already done so. 1t was con-
tended by his friends when he was
making campaign speeches for Mr..
Bryan, that he would never give up the
fight for silver until he had won it,
or at least until sickness prevented him
or death INTERVIEWED and closed his po-
litical career.
We think he makes a mistake. how
ever, when he says that Mr.. Bryan
may be the leader of a faction in 1904.
There is no doubt that he is very true
to his political platforms and to his
friends, but he must recognize the fact
that times change and that parties, If
they expect to win victories, must
change with them.
AS matter of fact the Democratic
party is very DESTROYS of winning the
presidency in the election of 1904. and
it realizes that it will not be able to
do so unless it drops dead issues. We
predict that Mr.. Bryan will remain a
leader in the Democratic party. 1t is
true he has strong leanings towards
the Populist, but they are not strong
enough to prevent him from standing
by his party. For Mr.. Bryan's polti-
cal future it would be ever so much
better for him if he did not have a
newspaper. Having a paper his politi-
cal friends and foes expect something
from him whenever the occasion for
an expression of opinion, arises, and he
is so ready with pen and tongue that
ii would be a great deprivation for him
to keep quiet while the future of his
party was under consideration.
1t is folly, however, for him to think
he can prevent the Democratic party
from dropping the Kansas City plat
form, If it thinks it advisable to do so.
The unanimity with which that plat
form was pushed aside by the Ohio
Democrats in their state convention
leads to the conclusion that Mr.. Bry-
an is having an uphill fight in trying
to hold his party to the support of the
issues of that platform-a fight that
will be losing one finally Democrats
everywhere in the country seem to ap-
prove, by their silence, the course taken
by the Ohio Democrats.