Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1908-03-18
TERMS:
Entered at the postoffice at Marshall
'wn as second class mail matter.
A BIT or HISTORY.

A BIZ Ut HISTORY.
In the Washington correspondence
Of a st. Louis newspaper the follow
ing is related of the late senator from
Vermont:
THE late Senator Redfield Proctor
of Vermont took prominent part in
the preparation of the gold standard
plank adopted by the republican ma
tional convention of St Louis in 1896
He and half dozen other friends of
William Mckinley worked together for
nearly a week previous to the day the
convention assembled and agreed upon
draft of the gold plank practically
as it was adopted by the convention.
Senator Proctor was always very proud
of his part in this work, and always
received the assumption of other men
that they were responsible for the gold
plank with resentment. Because it
was twelve years ago q great many
people have lost interest in that gold
plank, but the story of how it was for
mulated is still very interesting and
many of the facts have never yet been
told Some say it is worth telling
simply to give the country the correct
story Of the most important political
event since the reconstruction period
after the civil war Altho Senator
Proctor had long public career, he
never took part i'll a more important
matter than making the gold plank of
1896"
The story IS very good, and it IL
illustrates very well how easily history
is forgotten. The story should have
been completed. The value Of the SER
vice performed by the men whom Ma
jor Mckinley called into counsel can
not be known until it is also known
what tremendous pressure was brought
to defeat their purposes.
The other side of the story relates
to a. plank which was presented to the
RESOLUTIONS COlllIIllLSG dl slllS ~ IAOulS
convention by the Iowa delegation and
urged as better than that of the Nc
Kinley plank on the subject of the
gold standard. There was not much
difference: just this, that the McKin-
ley plank contained the word gold"
writ in big letters, and SO that all the
world might know that it meant gold
and nothing but gold, while the Iowa
plank was conspicuous for not having
any reference to- gold. 1t was for that
mysterious thing, .'bimetalGsnl," by
agreement.
When the Iowa member Of the COM
rnittee presented this plank it was with
the hope, if not the expectation, that
Iowa would also furnish the candidate
for president, and not Ohio. The Iowa
however, was not unani-
nous for the famous straddle bimet-
allism plank Five Iowa delegates
made fight in the Iowa caucus
dSdlIlSI lae plain III 1SsFOA VI q
straight out gold plank.
But on the surface Iowa, as a lead
sr of the states of the Mississippi val
ey, presented demand for 9. cur
'ency plank which avoided the word
gold" and which was for .bilnetal-
ism" Other states of the middle
and the west Joined in the de-
nand. These were republican states.
they had right to speak Their voice
vas usually potent in republican
But Redfield Proctor, Major
Mckinley, H. H. kohlsaat and their
friends including Albert B. Cummins.
# Iowa, made the successful fight for
he gold standard plank on which Ma
or Mckinley was triumphantly elect
ID.
What would have been the history
If currency legislation in the United |
States if they had lost?
Redfield Proctor had reason to take !;
)r1Qe IN the HUE part he prayed III |
Helping to frame the first gold stand
I'D plank that ever went into u ma
ional platform.
The Iowa plank, the "bimeta lisln"
proposal, the straddle which cowardly |
gnored the gold standard, was writ
en- by Senator Allison. And after the
ohio gold plank had been adopted |
Without a scratch, after Major Nc
linley had been nominated and had
commenced his great campaign in sup
,ort of that plank, after that time Sen
tor Allison went on record deliberate
y and solemnly as being still for ''bi-
netallism."
The national committee called A. B.
'ummins from Iowa to headquarters
O plan for victory under the gold
tandard and for the gold standard,
nd he led the party to victory in Iowa
nd in the west