The Denison review. [volume] (Denison, Iowa) 1867-current, 1908-08-26
WILL HE MAINTAIN
GOLD STANDARD?
GERMAN MANUFACTURER PROPOuNDS
SERIOUS QUESTION.
WHAT WOULD Mr.. BRYAN DO!
He Might Easily Throw Country to Silver
Basis. Will He Pledge Not
To Do IT,.
BY WALTER WELLMAN.

i
Especial to the Record Herald.)
New York, Aug. 21-Will Mr.. Bly,
an answer one plain and important
question? 1t is a question which
raises vital issue in this campaign.
There are other issues of Importance
about which there may be honest diff
| ferences of opinion and upon which
some good citizens may agree with
Taft and others with Bryan. But this
is an issue which goes to the very
heart of things, which may mean dis
aster to the country and to every
man and woman in it, which may
mean such retrogression as the
country could not recover from in a
generation With such a question
as this presented to him, hope and
believe Mr.. Bryan will give a plain,
direct answer as to what his attitude
is without lodging or evasion. Upon
his answer much depends-so much
that silence will not serve 1t is in
no spirit of antagonism to Mr.. Bryan
to bring this question to his atten-
ton; that the only desire is to find
out where the candidate stands upon
a really vital issue, for the informa-
ton of the people. The question is:
IF elected president, will Mr.. Bry-
an, in case of need, protect the gold
reserve and maintain the gold stand
ard?
So far as l know this is a new ques-
ton in the campaign. 1t is proper to
explain why it is raised in these dis
patches 1t is not l that raise it. 1t
is not wall street or any New York
financier or banker. 1t is raised by
an Ohio business man, manufac-
turer German American, whose pol
itics do not know A week or two
ago, in one of these dispatches, it was
pointed out that Mr.. Bryan was
stronger than ever before in the east
because few, if any people now looked
upon him as menace to the coun-
try in the way they did in his former
campaigns for the presidency. Upon
this the manufacturer at ST. Mary's,
Ohio wrote me a letter, recognizing
my impartfality and fairness as an in
dependent observer, but adding that
there is one question business men
want Mr.. Bryan to answer before they
are willing to accept the statement
that he is no menace and that his
election could work 10 great harm to
the country
The salient part of that letter fol
lows:
Assuming that Mr.. Bryan will be
elected, assuming that a certain pei
centage of the people will become
nervous over this fact and that in
consequence the gold reserve goes
down, as it did in Mr.. Cleveland
q second term; assuming, further, thai
+ the revenues fall off; as they did il
h Mr.. Cleveland's second term; ques
4 ton:
II 'Inasmuch as there are outstanding
e q have my information from the sec
NJ rotary of the treasury United State
bonds as follows: Loan of 19O8-1s
: s19S,792,66 issued June 10, 1898
n loan of 1928, s162,315.44O, issued Jar
10 IA, 1876, and these bonds and tn
l. interest on them are by law mad
t. payable simply in coin; the questio
le which arises in the minds of man
3. people is this:
le Will Mr.. Bryan be equal to M
Cleveland and maintain the gold r,
u serve, or will he order his secretar
is of the treasury to pay the interest
er silver, as he would legally have tn
1T option of doing?
OF you no doubt know just what wi
D. happen should Mr.. Bryan pay any pa
nd