The Montgomery advertiser., 1904-08-11
ROOSEVELT THEN AND NOW.
What He Thought of Gold Monometal-
 ism in 1S0O.

Letter to New York Evening Post.
 Sir-In the address of President
 Roosevelt accepting the nomination, it
 Is stated among other things:
 We have placed the finances of the
 nation upon solid gold basis We know what We mean when we speak of an honest and stable currency. We mean the same thing from year
 to year. We do not have to avoid a definite and conclusive committal on the most important issue which has recently been before our people So long as the Republican party Is in power the gold standard is settled. not as a matter of temporary political eX- pediency, not because of shifting con
 ditions in the production of gold in
 certain mining centres. but in accord ance with what We regard as the fundamental principles of national mo- rality and wisdom"
 It certainly Is refreshing to be told that the Republican party has never changed In its financial position, that
 1t does not have to avoid straight out declaration of it's beliefs. and that
 1t stands for the present single gold standard. not, as Elihu Root implied, because of shifting conditions in pro- duction. but from fudamental princi- pies of national morality.
 These however were not always the views of President Roosevelt. In an
 article in the Century in 1896. entitled The Issues of 1S96." he did not con
 slider it likely that the coming Repub- lican National Convention would age of silver al 16 to 1. While eX-
 pressing preference for open condem-
 nation, he yet declared that refusal to be for it was to be reSolutely against 1t. He further proclaimed himself a himetallist, and vigorously attacked the gold monometalists who opposed an in- | ternational agreement. To do him | full justice I quote his words: Refusal to be for free silver means | of course, that the party is resolutely
 against 1t; and the majority may rest | content with this state of affairs and | spare the minority humiliation by re- | Training from dnnouncing in so many words the free coinage of silver | should prefer that they did denounce | it; but the denunciation is really a
 matter of small consequence when the
 attitude of the party is so clear" Again. speaking of international | bimetalsm. he said:
 There is grave doubt as to whether | the agreement can be reached: but the | end is of such importance as to justify | an effort to attain it. The people who | oppose the move are. as rule. men
 whom the insarA folly of the ultra free silver men has worked into a panic of | folly only less acute.
 In 1896. therefore. Mir. Roosevelt re- garded the policy of gold monometal- ism as only little less insane than tAlf'i pi Aut IT tt ttIlltBf or silver. Ill 1895 he accepted a policy of silence
 on what he called the insane policy of free coinage. If in 1S9G. he believed as he now procllims, that conditions
 of production of gold had nothing to
 do with the standard of value. why was he a himetallist?
 Is President Roosevelt so sure that he and the party mean the same thipg | from year to year on the financial l question? Does he remember the Re | publican National platform of 1SS$?
 Or the Conger free silver bill of 1890 | which passed the Republican House only to be met by pure free silver coinage measure at the hands of the Senate? Or the sherman purchasing | law?
 One should be charitable. but it is | difficult to read the Presidents address | and refrain from the susnicion that | he Is talking buncombe in what he has | to say on the financial question Independent. Boston. August g.