Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1901-05-23
The Preservation ofthe Country's Currenc,
Due Co Him.


The Preservation ofthe oountry's Currency
1--WE all want good money" said Mr.,
Mckinley in one Of his Southern
speeches, and he could say is without
particle of fear that any sentiment
for free silver would stand In the way
of the applause which his auditors give
him. He Is having an extremely good
time on his tour, and reaping the
benefit of all the good feeling and good
humor which go with q time Of general
prosperity, and 60 to the man who, as
head OF the government, is popularity
identified with that prosperity. Az to
opposition to the gold standaid-the
| firm establishment and preservation OF
which was the exclusive issue in Mr..
McKinley's first successful campaign
and leading issue in his second-the
opposition has now melted into thin
| air. 1t is becoming somewhat difficult
| to realize that it ever was formidable,
so rapidly do events move nowadays.
But people who have memories will
recall, when they read OF Mr.. MoKin-
| ley's smooth words and his smiling
| audiences, that there is another man.
sitting in retirement at Princeton. and
| forgotten by too many of the gaping
thousands who are greeting the Presi-
| dent-who wanted good money" and
insisted that the country should have
| 1t, at time when we did not "all3
| want good money" That was tiulef
/ when Mr.. Mckinley himself not only1
did not want good money" but VENT
4 out Of his way In "a public speech to}
had "dishonored" one Of our Americana
i metals. When Grover Cleveland wasy
fighting the battle of sound money!
against tremendous odds, and saved theI
| monetary standard OF the nation, andl
incurred the odium OF increasing tho
public debt for the purpose, and stood
like q stone wall against every attempt
to undermine the integrity of our cur
rency, Mr.. Mckinley was waiting tdI
see which way the wind would finally
blow strongest. lie kept ON waiting I'd
the very last moment, and only when
it was perfectly clear that the battle
was bound to be on the line of an un-
compromising attack on the gold stand-i
ard by the Democrats and an uncom-
promising defence of 1T by the Republic
cans did he let 1t be known where he|
stood IN the great contest of 1896.
Grover Cleveland is the man I'd
whom the preservation of the country 81
currency system is due. He was the,
man who held the fort in the days ofl
darkness and difficulty and distress. ID
Is to him, more than to any other oneI
man, or any other 80 men, that we owu,
the conditions, which have made the
present revival of prosperity p, ssible.|
The financial crash of 1888. coming al
4 the very beginning of his Administered
tion, was too tremendous a blow ton
even his extraordinary hold on the
American people to stand against. He
lost the support OF his party, whion,
until the hard times came, had sto d
by him in spite of his unfalterng opl
position to the bulk of it on the mon y
issue; but he had held on long enough
to save the country from the abyss Of
Reputation. In due COURSE of tims--
Just as was the case of the panic of 1873
the country recovered from the effects
of the 1898 panic; and now comes this
fair weather friend of sound money!
this man who didn't know his Owl
mind about il until public sentiment
had spoken out in laundering tones.
and smilingly accepts the applause
which the minimizing give him, but
which those who know reserve for the
sturdy old-time Democrat at Princeton.