The sun., 1908-06-30
RsMBMBEa FEE sfLVER WAR.

honor, In the silver battle which went on
for twenty years has been freshly told
within the last few days- Cleveland's
honor and Bryan's dishonor have been
again recalled.
That battle began In 1873. Eve years after
Congress- when codifying the mint laws
had put an end to the free coinage OF silver.
the double standard and unit Of value. and
had made the gold dollar the only standard
and unit. There was no politics In the
change. The ratio between the two metals
was In 1873 less than 10 to I, and nobody
could then pay debts In silver dollars more
cheaply than In gold dollars but In 1878 the
relative value OF silver had begun to fall
In that year neither free coinage OF tho
silver dollar nor the double standard was
restored. but Congress did by the Bland
law authorize the Treasury to buy silver
bullion In o limited quantity and begin to
coin the discarded full legal tender silver
dollar. Hayes vetoed the bill. but Congress
enacted IL over his veto. Then the silver
question began In mild sort Of way and
went on till after Cleveland's election In
1884. when the ratio was about 10 oil. Gold
was quietly departing from the country.
The Treasury Department under McCulloch
was alarmed. So he said to Tilden in the
beginning Of 1885. even predicting d silver
basis In few months unless the new silver
dollar coinage was arrested. The peril was
even then 90 imminent that only q few days
before his Inauguration Cleveland wrote to
Warner, silver Democrat in the House Of
Representatives. q letter dated February
2s. 1885. inviting his attention to the danger
OF silver and silver certificates displacing
gold in the Treasury available for the re-
demption Of the gold obligations Of the
United States and declaring that "it Is OF
momentous Importance to prevent the two
metals from parting company: to prevent
the ultimate expulsion of gold by silver"
The antecedents OF that warning have
recently been set forth by Mr.. Bigelow on
pages 87l-72 Of his second volume of 1Til-
den's Letters" &c. Its significance is in
the fact that 1t expressed the opinion OF the
Democratic President-eleot, of Mr.. Tilden,
who had organized the recent Democratic
victory. and Of Mr.. Randall. the Democratic
Speaker Of the House. II Bryan were to
be chosen next November to be President
he would very naturally exhibit resentment
against Democrats who condemned party
policy announced by him only four days
before his Inauguration. The House of
Representatives refused in February by a
vote OF i52 to 1ls to suspend compulsory
silver purchases and silver dollar collage.
Mr. Manning. at the head OF the Treasury,
successfully averted. nevertheless, the sill
YER basis predicted by his immediate prede-
cessor In Office.
In his first annual message Cleveland
treated the silver question with great full
ness. He informed Congress that 4the
boarding Of gold had already begun. that
the gold value Of the silver dollar was only
80 cents; that his efforts for international
bimetallism had failed; that the income of
the helpless was in process Of great reduc-
ton; that prosperity hestates upon our
threshold" and labor lacks employment;
that the debtor Glasses were suspected OF a
desire to jeopardize the financial safety
Of the country in order to pay their private
debts In depreoiated silver dollars. That
was written in December. 1885.
In the summer Of 1889 Manning, who at
the head Of the Treasury had pressed the
repeal OF the silver dollar coinage law of
1873. was constrained by failing health to
retire from office. Absent from Washing
ton at the time, he wrote to the President
that his perception Of industrial and flnan-
cial conditions in the country convinced
him that 1t was plunging along a mry
road to foreseen disaster"
Nevertheless there was not distinct
silver issue in the Presidential election Of
1888. but Harrison did as President egg on
by his silence, as Sherman affirmed, the
increasing peril of silver basis. An out
come Of that silence was the Sherman silver
law OF 1890.
Cleveland did not, however. keep silence
when a private citizen. He denounced in
his Anderson letter Of February 10. 1891
the unlimited. independent and free COIN
age Of silver as dangerous. reckless
experiment
The Democratic national convention
which renominated him in 1892 described
the Sherman silver law as "a cowardly
makeshift." Thus the Democracy was most
solemnly pledged to it's repeal.
In the next June QS93) Cleveland sum-
uoned Congress 10 meet during the next
August to execute the Democratic pledge,
and it was done The pledge was kept.
The House voted the repeal by 2s9 to 100.
and the Senate by 4s to 81. That was in
1893, and three years later the Republican
national convention entered into the fruition
Of Cleveland's labors. The gold standard.
erected in 1873. was preserved.
Every good party man will discern that
the pith and pivot of tho foregoing narra-
ton are that the Democratic organization
having In very binding way committed
itself and Its loyal members to repeal Of
the silver laws, both Bland and Sherman.
enacted in 1918 and 1890, Bryan not only
bolted away therefrom in the House in
1893. but by an alliance with Populists, the
Farmers Alliance. Socialists and the rag.
tag and bobtail Of party factions in the
West and South. captured the unsuspecting
Democratic national convention OF 1905
and even refused to Cleveland's Admins
tration an honorable mention.
What would Bryan say or his friends say
IL he were elected to be President and an
unscrupulous party bolter were to do like
things to himp
New York will watch with curiosity, not