The Montgomery advertiser., 1904-09-15
REPUBLICAN AsHIFTINEss AND IN-
 srNCrnFTY.s

The President in his letter of accept ance, forgetful of the history of his own party's action upon financial aues- tions, charges the Democratic Party with being unable to agree among themselves as to whether the gold standard Is a curse or a blessing, and as to whether we ought or ought not to have free and unlimited coinage of silver" He claims at the same time. that his party believe in the gold standard as fixed by the usage and verdict of the business world. and In a sound monetary system as matters of principle; as matters not of momen- tary political expediency. but of or ganic policy" He then states that in 1ss6 and again in 1900 r-sighted men without regard to party fealty in the past, joined in the work against what they regarded as a debased mon- etary system, and that the policies which they championed have been steadfastly adhered to by the admin istration. It Is difficult to under stand how the President, the greater portion of whose past life has been devoted to the study and the writing of the history of our country. can make such statements in view of the actual facts, which have so recently occurred. the evidence of which is so accessible to every one and especially to the President. Let us endeavor to ascertain the facts which bear upon the attitude of the Republican party towards this question. confning our selves to those of recent date.
 It Is we'll known that MT. Cleveland was an ardent advocate of the gold standard. He was not an enemy of silver.' He favored the use of full le- gal-tender silver dollars to the full extent that they could be maintained on a parity with gold.
 The Republican party. composed as 1t was, largely of free silver advocates. pandered to that element of the party. This is shown by its platforms and its legislation. Its platform of 1888 was reported from the Committee to the Convention by Mir. Mckinley. It QeclareQ as 1oIlOWss
 We. the Republican Party. believe in the use of both gold and silver as money, and we denounce the present Democratic administration for it's hos tility to silver.
 A Democratic administration which had been sturdily maintaining the gold standard Is thus denounced by the Ma tional Convention of the Republican Party for it's hostility to silver, Mir. Mckinley being at the time its spokes- man, yet the President tells the coun- try his party cannot be accused of shiftiness or insincerity."
 Again. Senator Lodge was the Chair man of the Committee on Resolutions of the recent Republican Convention at Chicago. Where did he stand ten years ago? It will be remembered that there was an international bime- tallic conference at the Mansion House in London in 1894. MT. Lodge was one of the signers of a telegram ad- dressed to the Lord Mayor of London dated May 2. 1894. containing the fol- lowing declaration:
 We desire to express our cordial sympathy with the movement to pro- mote the restoration of silver by i'm ternational agreement in aid of which we understand a meeting Is to be held tomorrow under your Lordship's prrsi- dency. We believe that the free cSin- age of both gold and silver by inter national agreement, at a fixed ratio. would secure to mankind the blessings of sufficient volume of metallic money, and what Is hardly less import | ant, would secure to the world of trade immunity from violent exchange fiuc- | tuations.
 It must be remembered that this telegram was sent just six months af- ter the purchasing clause of the Sher- man silver act had been repealed by a Democratic Congress upon the persis- tent demand of a Democratic Presi- dent. which virtually established the
 gold standard.
 The purpose of the signers of the
 telegram was the restoration of silver
 through the free" coinage of both
 gold and silver at "a fixed ratio. They
 were pursuing the phantom of an in-
 ternationa1 agreement upon this vis-
 ionary and impossible scheme. And
 who were the signers of this telegram:
 The leading Republicans of the coun-
 try, namely, Messrs. John Sherman
 William B. Allison, H. c. Lodge. c. F. Hoar, N., W. A1drfch o. H. Platt w. P. Frye, c. K. Davis and S. NJ.
 Cullom, all at the time United States
 Senator's, There were also five Dem
 ocratic Senators who signed 1t. Ger.
 tainly these leading lights of the Re.
 publican Party did not at that time
 believe in the gold standard as fixed
 by the usage and verdict of the bust.
 ness world"
 No doubt Tom Watson thought ht
 was playing smart when he propound