The Washington times., 1901-07-08
Party Principles and Policies.


During the last. few months a great
deal has been said by men of more or
less prominence in public affairs con-
cerning the necessity of political par
ties adhering firmly and consistently to
their principles. Not infrequently this
is coupled with an earnest appeal to
the Democratic party to stand by the
principles of the Chicago and Kansas
City platforms. What particular
planks Of those platforms are meant is
not so clear. as the appeals are alto
gether general in character. 1t is sim
ply assumed that in order to be true
to itself the Democratic party must
continue to press the issues that were
paramount in 1886 and 1900.
That a party should be true to its
principles may be accepted as a gen
eral truism- That party must con-
tinUe indefinitely to press the same spe-
cific issues is a complete non sequitur.
Some issues involve questions of such
character that the principles of right
and wrong are constantly pitted
against each other. In such cases the
party advocating the right should not
permit itself to be swerved therefrom,
although, as conditions change, there
may be some modification of the party's
attitude respecting details. remedies,
and the like. But many issues relate
purely to the Governments economic
policy, and what this should be must
in the nature of things depend abso-
lutely upon conditions as they may ex-
ist at given time
1t is, or at least it should be, the
Governments aim to pursue such
financial and commercial policy as,
without violence to the moral code, will
be for the best interests of the people
as body. The main issue of the cam
paigns of 1886 and 1900 was the
financial question. The Democratic
party did not demand the free coinage
of silver as mere abstract principle
of right. The demand was based upon
the obvious economic fact that the gen.
eral decentralization Of silver at a time
when the gold product was actually di-
minishing had created a scarcity of
of prices and an almost unexampled
period of business stagnation and dis
tress. AS long as that state of affairs
continued, the demand was just in
point of morals, and sound in its eco
nomic principles. But when nature
came forward with a remedy in the
way Of an immense increase of gold
production, swelling the money sup
ply. ard giving new life to business,
the whole situation was changed.
No one with a grain Of economic
sense can believe for a moment that
the business and financial situation is
the same now as it would be if the
output of gold were only one-haIf or
one-third as much as it is at this time.
The necessity for increasing the money
supply by a freer use of silver was
much less urgent in 1900 than it was
four years earlier, but the political car
didates were such that the Democratic
party was almost compelled to renew
the demand But it is now fully evi-
dent that the increased supply Of gold
viii continue for many years-for so
many, in fact, that there is no prob
ability of a shortage during the life of
any middle aged person living. Plain
ly. then, there is no great question of
principle which requires the Democra-
tic party to continue the battle for free
silver coinage.
Democrats may and they should,
claim increasingly that under the for
mer conditions their demand was right