Durango semi-weekly herald., 1904-09-15
LETTER OF ACCEPTANCE.
CONTINUED from Second Page,

Peace and good will have followed In
its footsteps. The Government has
shown itself no less anxious to re-
spect the rights of others than in
sistent that the rights OF Americans
be respected in return. As for the
navy, 1t has been and is now the most
potent guarantee of peace; and II is
such chiefly because 1t Is formidable.
and ready for use.
The policy of the Government as
to pensioning old soldiers is dealt
with at some length and stoutly de-
Tended.
In addition to those acts OF the
administration which they venture to
assail only after misrepresentation
them. there are others which they
dare not overtly or officially attack.
and yet which they covertly bring for
ward as reasons for the overthrow OF
the party. In certain great centers
and with certain great interests our
opponents make every effort to show
that the settlement of the Anthra-
cite Coal Strike by the individual act
of the President. and the successful
Company-the Merger suit-under-
taken by the Department of Justice
were acts because of which the pres
ent Administration should be thrown
from power. Yet they dare not open
ly condemn either act They dare not
in any authoritative or formal man.
ner say that in either case wrong was
done or error committed for putting
that action into effect But what they
dare not manfully assert in open day
they seek to uses furtively and
through special agents. 1t is perhaps
natural that an attack so conducted
should be made sometimes on the
ground that too much sometimes on
the ground that too little, has been
done. Some of our opponents com
plain because under the antitrust
and interstate commerce laws suits
were undertaken which have been
successful; others. because suits
were not undertaken which would
have been unsuccessful. The Demo
cratic state convention in New York
dealt with the Anthracite Coal Strike
by demanding in deliberate and for
NAL fashion that the National Govern
ment should take possession of the
coal fields; yet champions of that con
vention's cause now condemn the fact
that there was any action by the Pres
ident at although they must know
that it was only this action by the
President which prevented the move
ment of national owership OF the coal
fields from gaining what might well
have been an irresistible impetus
Such mutually destructive criticisms
furnish an adequate measure of the
chance for coherent action or con
structive legislation if our opponents
should be given power.
FBeing unable to agree among
themselves as to whether the gold
standard is curse or a blessing. and
as to whether we ought or ought not
to have free and unlimited coinage Oh
silver. they have apparently thought
1t eXpedient to avoid any committal
on these subjects. and Individually
each to follow his particular bent.
Their nearest approach to a majority
Judgment seems to be that 1t Is now
inexpedient to assert their convic-
tions one way or the other and that
the establishment of the gold stand
ard by the Republican party should
not be disturbed unless there is an
alteration in the relative quantity OF
production of silver and gold Men
who hold sincere convictions on vital
questions can respect equally sincere
men with whose views they radically
differ; and men may confess a change
of faith without compromising their
honor or their self-respect. But It is
~difficult to respect an attitude of mind
such as has been fairly described
above; and where there Is no respect
there can be no trust. A policy with
so slender a basis of principle would
not stand the strain of single year
of business adversity.
we, on the contrary. believe in
the gold standard as fixed by the us
age and verdict OF the business world
and in sound monetary system as
matters of principle; as matters not
of momentary political expediency
but of permanent organic policy In
1896 and again in 1900 far-sighted
men, without regard to their party
fealty in the past, Joined to work
against what they regarded as a de-
based monetary system The policies
which they championed have been
steadfastly adhered to by the Admin
istration; and by the act of March II
1900. Congress established the sin.
gle gold standard as the measure o.
our monetary value. This act received
the support of every Republican in the
House, and Of every Republican ex-
cept one in the Senate. OF our oppo-
nents, eleven supported it in the
House and two in the Senate: and
one hundred and fifty opposed 1t in
the House and twenty-eight in the
Senate. The record of the last seven
years proves that the party now in
power can be trusted to take the ad-
ditional action necessary to improve
and strengthen our monetary system
and that our opponents canot be so
trusted. The fundamental fact is that
in popular government such as ours
no policy is irrevocably settled by law
unless the napnle kaan In coptroI of