People's Pilot, Volume 5, Number 2, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 4 July 1895 — WILL THEY BOLT? [ARTICLE]

WILL THEY BOLT?

WILL WEST AND SOUTH SUPPORT COLD-BUGS? Or Will the Democrats of Those Sections Have the Manhood and In- * dependence to Leave a Gold Bug Pxr.y ? To-day, as we write, the free silver men of the South and West are holding a convention at Memphis. There will be speeches and enthusiasm galore, after which will come resolutions declaring for free and unlimited coinage of silver. This battle will be waged over the West and South, perhaps, until the holding of the National Conventions in 1896. There will be a fight in both the Democratic and Republican conventions over the question of free silver. The Republicans will vote down a free-silver resolution or plana and declare for “sound money.” The Democratic convention will defeat any resolution declaring for free, independent, and unlimited coinage of silver, and announce in its platform its allegiance to "sound currency.” Then what will the free-silver Republicans and free-silver Democrats do? A majority of the Democrats in the West and South are declaring that free silver is the right side, and a gold standard the wrong side of the question. Whether a majority of the party favor free silver or not, the men who’ control the policy of both parties will see to it that no free-silver plank ts embodied in the platform, and that a gold standard candidate is nominated. Then these men who now contend that they are on the right side, will get over on;the wrong side or leave their party. Which will they do? If they do as they always have done, they will stick to their party, right or wrong. The Globe-Democrat, commenting on the position now being assumed by the Democrats on the free silver question, says: "There will be threats and boasts from the Altgelds, Bryans and Hinrichsens right onward to the meeting of the National Convention a year hence, but that element will be disregarded in the platform and in the ticket as usual, and as usual it will sneak into line and accept the one and sup port the other.” This is so true that the Globe-Demo-crat, with its incomparable capacity for lying, could not see Its way clear to controvert it. Speaking of the power which the East wields in national conventions, the same paper says: “To be sure, the Eastern end is the small end of the Democracy, but It has the wealth, the character and the brains of the party. These usually count for more than brute numbers. They have done this in all parties, in all societies and in. all movements. Outnumbered as it has been for many years by the Western and Southern sections of the party, the Eastern faction of the Democracy has always won in the National Conventions, and it has usually won in legislation. The chances are that It will win In next year’s convention. The conditions are working in its favor. The anti-silver men in the Executive Committee of the Texas State Committee developed surprising strength recently and defeated an attempt to call a State Convention immediately, and in other States the free coiners have met with a setback Their most serious repulse, however, is that which has struck them in Missouri, where the State Committee, by a vote of 10 to 5, has refused to call a convention to discuss the silver question. It is easy to see .that the rise in the silver tide has stopped, and as the stationary condition is as impossible in the social as it is in the physical world a downward movement may reasonably be looked for before the year ends.” • ♦ • ‘in mdst O f the States a majority of the Democrats are probably favorable to free silver, or any other form of inflation, but the influ-

ence of the minority is sufficiently strong to prevent an authoritative declaration of the fact. The sound money element of the party, though numerically inferior to the other, is superior in point of intelligence. It has usually been able to dictate national platforms, as well as candidates, and the appearances indicate that it will not fail in this instance. There are signs that it has already materially reduced the free silver enthusiasm which recently threatened to become irresistible. It may have to adopt the convenient expedient of paltering in a double sense with the question, and accept a platform that can be construed to suit both sides; but it will not fail, as things now look, to prevent the party from making a positive declaration for free coinage at the ratio of 16 to 1.” The secret of the whole thing is, as the two old parties are composed, money controls both the conventions and the elections. Both old parties resort more to money as a means of success, than to educating the people. The man with the checkbook secures the nomination in both old parties, and it matters not which is elected, the money power has its representative. By appeaMng to the party fealty and prejudices of the masses thousands of honest voters who condemn the machine methods of their party, are Induced to vote for the candidate produced by these methods. It is for this reason that we think, so far as practical results are f concerned, that the Memphis meeting will amount to but little, unless men make up their minds to leave their party or compel it to abandon its dishonest methods. What the Globe-Democrat says of the Democratic party and of Bland, Bryan and Hindrichsen, can be as truthfully said of the Republican party and Teller, Wolcott, Carter, and others, who are threatening dire calamity of their party if it does not espouse the cause of free silver.