The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1904-07-24

bers of either. No practical man
would have pressed it's passage. A
practical man would have said what
the convention by it's silence virtually
said: "In view of all these live, vital,
pressing. urgent questions, the inter-
est of freedom and equality in the
interest Of racial peace, and in the in
tereSt of the country and humanity,
press forward, all of you, and leave
this question which some of you say
is a sleeping issue, and some Of you
say is dead one, but none of you
say is a present issue, to finish its nap
or bury itself If it be dead, don't
keep the corpse on exhibition, how
ever much you may have loved the
soul which formerly inhabited it. #
it be in trance it will not awake
until the causes which have thrown
it into trance have ceased to oper-
ate and If that ever happens it Will
awake anyhow, whether you wiii or
whether j will. Indeed. tho trance is
so deep. owing to the strnegth of the
gold-increase-potion administered
that we all know that it can not awake
in four years, nor eight, nor many
many more"
Judge Parlker's Sentiments Were
known.
The conservative majority waf the
committee on resolutions concluded.
in view of the objections of the two
extremes, to act in accord with neith-
er, and to permit neither. on the eve
of a battle. to deprive the army of
the Democracy of the aid of the other.
Now if the nominee had been a man
who had favored the free and unlimi-
ted coinage of silver, it would have
been necessary that the platform
speak for him a change of policy.
lest, the platform being silent, his
own opinion, conscience, and Judg-
ment might have guided him to an
agitation not now desired or useful.
But we all knew (that is those of us
who refused to let either extreme
frame the platform) that we were
going to nominate Judge Parker, who
had. never favored free silver as q
policy even when it was an issue, ana
when others of us were battling
earnestly for it. There was no fear
that in his letter of acceptance, or
in his conduct as president, he would
fail to recognize "the accomplished
fact" He could. in his letter OF ac-
ceptance or otherwise, IT he chose,
indicate his views, on a question pure
ly academic, in our opinion, so Iar as
as present politics are concerned.
He might, indeed, say IL few words
on the rights of slavery in the terri
tory, or the old greenback conteption,
if he chose. They could do no harm,
and might quiet the apprehension of
any foolish enough to entertain the
apprehension from either slavery, or
free silver Silence speaks often fully
as loudly as words. The proverb
! says it speaks louder. Our silence
on the silver question was not acci-
dental. 1t was a silence kept of a
set purpose. 1t was contended FOR
in the committee and finally in the
convention, when Mr.. Parker's tele-
gram came to be read and our an
swer was under consideration, almost
in the words | am using inthis article,
Taken together with the candidate,
and the knowledge of the candidate S
position in the country and in the
convention, the platform was unmls-
taxable 1t was. wiser and better in
every way than unnecessary RUBBING
salt on sores not yet clcatrlzed. An
issue which we had been urging with
all our hearts and souls in two sue
cessive campaigns we refused to urge
again. 1t could not have been more
| distinctly dropped; yet, strange to say
| eastern papers, feelingly and fren-
| ziedIy. dwelt upon our refusal to ac-
| cept Mr.. Hill's gold basis resolution,
! and forgot, or pretended to have for
gotten, that the motion made and
voted down in the committee room
| was an amendment offered by Mr.
| Bryan to the first line of the first
| clause to the platform being cousid-
/ ered-a motion to declare Tor the
| free and unlimited coinage of silver
at the ratio of 16 to 1 by reindorsing
/ the Kansas City platform.
Free Silver no Longer an Issue.
! In a word, we said. by the silence
! of our platform, to our nominee: I'VE
refuse to declare any further al
/! legiance to free silver. 1t is in oul
/ opinion not an issue, nor to be made
] one. We are not including in oul
| platform things not issues. We Know
/ what you think about it and don
care. You can attach what import
| ance you. please to it, and entertain
and EXPRESS what opinions yol
choose" Mr.. Parker did attach SOM
| Importance to it, or rather som,
eastern and one or two Chicago paper
did, and this perhaps--or it may b,
the assertions in the committee room