The Caucasian. (Clinton, N.C.) 188?-1913, 1904-09-22

About $4,000 Of them. - '.Goid
Democrats" bravely vo,esi sg.in-'
Bryan. But millions more. ol
whom Judge Parker uas one, just
voted with the party. although tney
did not lake Bryan and did no, be
lieve In free silver.
In 1900 the little squirting band
of Gold Democrats did not protest
at oil, but swung into line behind
Bryan and free silver. Like Hill,
the raid "I am . Domocrsi." and
that Was enough. They said In
answer to the earnest gold srgu
me ITS wh.e they accepted in 'heiI
n.aTts: "Never mind the issue. We
are Democrats and we stick by ouI
party"
That answer would strike an un-
prejudiced observer AZ against com
m0n-sense and as very unpstriotic
Suppose Bryan and q silver Con
gress had been elected; then We
would have had awful years OF
fina ncial calamity-a blow TO pros
perity such as we never had before.
Judge Parker and perhaps q million
more Democrats knew all this; they
now admit it; Parker's gold telegram
proves it. Yet they voted against
their convictions, and for that awful
danger, just because it has always
been Ell. ugh for Democrat to
say, 81 am a Democrat. never mind
the isst es."
That you see, has been the habit
Of the Democratic party for forty
years.
Are they any different now? The
Bryan faction Is apparently in mi
nority, but it is there. and can elect
many congressman.
Not only On the silver question,
but on the questions OF tariff, fruits,
foreign policy and all other issues
there is the widest disagreement in
the Democratic party.
On the other hand, in the Repub-
lican ranks there is q univereal
agree ment as to issues. You heard
no discord over the platform at the
Republican National convention,
did you?
What did that united voice
mean? 1t meant that seven or
eight millions Of voters, probably q
majority Of all the voters in the
United States, are practically Of one
view in regard to the gold standard,
the tariff, our foreign policy, and
all other important issues; and that
Theodore Roosevelt safely repre-
sents that view WHICH 80 many
voters hold.
Therefore, if you vote for Roo Sc
welt and his party you know what
you are voting for. But if you
vote for Parker and his party, you
don't know which Of the many con-
Trajectory views in the party is
going to prevail. or what hodge
podge of absurd compromise they
will patch up.
Take the tariff for the first ex-
ample:
You can be sure that Roosevelt
and his party will treat the tariff
wisely.
How Parker and his party will
treat the tariff, nobody knows but
we all fear.l
Turn to the Sound Monay Question:
With Roosevelt and his party we
are sure Of sound money.
But with Parker and his party
we can only hope for its permanence.
OF course it was fine thing for
Judge Parker to send that gold tele-
gram. 1t showed where he stood,
at least. It showed either that he |
had grown wiser since he voted for |
Bryan and free silver in 1895 and |
and 1900, or else he had grown
more courageous since then. Better
late than never. Better throw
down the gun that has twice been
fred at sound money than keep it,
ike Bryan, to fire a third time i'll
The chance comes. Better know
when you are licked and applaud
the ones who licked you, than prowl
around longer in the cemetery Of
lead issues.
So it was we'll to send that tele-
granite the convention.
But the pity that it was necessary
% send it all.
That convention was so full of
rec silverites that the sound money
men couldn't get even the faintest
word into the platform. ALI that
hat the sound money men asked
or was little admission that newI
discoveries of gold had made it so
plentiful that there was at present
10 more need of q call for free sill
7er. That would not have been a |
of the old Sixteen-to-
)ne platform, only q recognition Il
hat metallic conditions had charged
ince 1900. But Bryan followers
we're still so rampant that even this I
ould not~be said, and so, after an
ll-night fight, the convention left I
'ut all reference to sound money:
hey ignored it because they were &
bout equally divided on it.
That is still the position of the &
Democratic party on the gold stand