AUGUST rl(k)4; "?,'' .
withdraw the amendment I offered. Our delega
tion is going to vote for New , York's Candidate for
vice president. We are not going to do any thing
that can by any possibility mar our chances for
success, and if you think a record vote on this
question would do that, I will withdraw the
amendment. (Applause.)
Electing Postmasters.
"Why should a president be permitted to turn
the postofllce department into a partisan machine
and use thousands of postmasters as paid agents
to advance his political fortunes? He should
not. Why should avmember of congress be per
mitted to build up a personal organization com
posed of the postmasters recommended by him
but paid by the government and use this organ
zation to defeat other ' congresssional aspirants
in his own party? He should not. Why should a
chief executive be permitted to fill the most rre
quented office in the community with a postmaster
objectionable to the community and reward him for
his services with the money paid in by the com
munity? He should not. Why should the "Great
Father at Washington," as the Indians call him,
bo permitted to electioneer among the colored
voters of the north by appointing black postmas
ters in the south against the protest of the pat
rons of the office? He should not. And yet ail
these things are openly and notoriously done to
day. The election of postmasters by the people
whom they are to serve will correct ail these
abuses. It is In harmony with democratic prin
ciples; it is consistent with the eoctrine or local
self-government. What objection can be raised
to it? Can a president know the aspirants more
intimately than the community and better judge
of their quantisations? Is he more interested than
the qqmmunity in prompt, honest and efficient
service By leaving the appointment, the removal
and Rejection for cause In the hands of the pres
ident but by restricting appointment to a list
furnished by the community, the rights and in
terests of both the federal government and the
various, communities ,can tie protected. Presidents
and congressmen will then run on tnelj own mer
its and not on. the machines which they hflve built
lip;' the public, service will be improved qnd com
munities will be protected from the imposition's
that are now practiced upon them.
(Weekly papers are asked to send to The
Commoner marked copies of their editorials on
this subject.)
JJJ
The President's Acceptance.
The president in his speech of acceptance,
which will bo found on another page, takes ad
vantage of the division in the democratic party on
the money question and boldlyrasserts his party's
devotion to the gold standard out he does not
discuss those phases of the question upon which
he is likely to b'e called upon to act.
On the trust question he follows the republi
can platform in classing the trusts and the labor
organizations together. This classification is made
entirely in the Interest of the trusts and his
failure to specify any legislation against the trusts
or any legislation' in favor of labor shows that
the trusts are to be unmolested and that labor
is to be unaided if he is successful this fall.
On the tariff question ho "stands pat." No
revision of the tariff need be expected while ho
is in the white house.
His reference to imperialism is neither can
did nor courageous. Ho boasts of what we; have
done for the Filipinos but he avoids, the vital
issue involved, namely, whether we are going to
adhere to the doctrine of seir-government or
adopt a colonial policy, which if adopted, will
nullify the principles set forth In the declaration
of independence. He dodges nearly every issue.
Von Plehve's Assassination.
The assassination of M. Von Plehve, the Rus
sian minister of the interior, cans attention
again to the fatal errors of those who attempt by
violence to right the abuses of government.
According to Hon. Andrew D. White, late am
bassador to Germany, he had aroused great re
sentment and made himself bitterly hated by his
cruel anddespotlc methods, but his assassination
will aggravate rather than relieve the situation.
The bloody deeds of the nihilists have retarded
reforms in the land of the-' czar; they have en
couraged the advocates of militarism ana embar
rassed the friends of constitutional government.
The Commoner.
While the punishment may sometimes seem de
served when the ruler has been merciless aud
unprincipled, yet the real punishment falls upon
the innocent and earnest reformers whoso pro
tests against misrule are confounded with the
threats of the violent and lawless. Mr. White is
quoted as saying:
"At that time M. Plehve had not arrived at
the position of full minister of the Interior, but
was the first assistant minister in that depart
ment, and in that capacity took up various' Amer
ican matters, especially the dealings of the Rus
sian government with some of tne American in
surance companies. The Russian government had
made the companies a' great deal of trouble, and
I was Instructed from Washington to dlscusa tho
matter, General Bacholler, now judge of tho in
ternational court in Egypt, very ably representing
the companies. - .,
"I think both 'General Bacheller and myself
found M. Plehve ivery agreeable and, apparently,
as far as his government allowed him; reason
able. I also met him socially at various times
and found him agreeable and interesting.
"I was, therefore, greatly surprised at leatn
ing when, ho waq .promoted to the first placo
that-his whole character seemed to cljango,
"His part In tho horrible massacre and plun-f
dor of the Jews, men, women ana children, at
Kishlneff, cause him to be regarded with abhor
ence by the whole world. Even more frightful
has. been his connection with the destruction of
the liberties, of Finland. In ray mind that is tho
most wicked thing in the history or the last two
centuries. There fs.no time to go into It herb
further than to say, that it has turned the best,
the most civilized, the most eaucated and the
most loyal provinco of the empire into a land in
which the opposite of these characteristics id more
highly developed than in any other part of the
empire. Other things' done by him wore also cal
culated to bring most bitter hatred against him.
"He attempted tb help his cause by a defense
of his conduct toward Finland which Was pub
lished in an American magazine. But It certainly
must have i failed to convince any thinking man
at all aware of the 'circumstances, i
"During two sumraors i lived mainly in Fin
land, coming frequently to St; Peteri&jurg, ana the
transition In .passing from the cultlyatlon and
civilization of- Finland to tho atmosphere, of Rus
sia was tho most depressing I have ever known.
"I -do not wonder at his assassination, ab
though I deeply lament it. Among other reasons
for this regret It will doubtless De made a pre
text fo'r new oppression and new cruelties toward
the Finlanders. Assassination arrays defeats &S
purpose, and this will be no excoptlon to thp
rule. v
"I can only account for M. Plehve's atrocious,
reactionary and despotic conduct since he camo
to the position of minister on tlie theory that he
felt that the clique in control of the Winter pal
ace, men and women, who seem to have brought
tho present emperor Into subjection to them, ob
liged M. Plehve, as a condition or his tenure of
office, to do their will.
"His ambition doubtless led him to adopt
their radical and religious hatred, as well as their
detestation of anything-like constitutional gov
ernment." Merely For History's Sake.
Some one charged that the Louisville Courier
Journal prior to 1896 "fought tor free sliver and
against the gold standard tooth and toe-nail."
Mr. Watterson replying to this 'charge says that
it is true that one of his editorial writers from
1879 to 1886 did write in favor of bimetallism,
but Mr. Watterson says that "in 1888; 1S92 and
1896 the Courier-Journal toecf the dead line oC
an honest dollar," and he adds:
As chairman of the platform committee
" in the national democratic convention of 1888,
Its editor was instrumental In excluding free
silver from that platform. He supported the
exclusion, it was excluded from the platform
by an open vote In the convention of 1892.
In 1896, the issue having become paramount,
the Courier-Journal took its lire in its hand
and opposed the free silver action of its party,
not abating Its opposition until the danger
of a degraded currency no longer menaced
either the money or the 'integrity of the na
tion. Merely for the purpose of keeping history
straight, it may be said that the platform re
ported to the national democratic convention in
1888 by Chairman Henry Watterson specifically
reaffirmed the democratic platform of 1884.
The democratic platform of 1584 said: "We
believe In honest money, the gold and silver coin
age .of the constitution and a circulating medium
convertible into such money without loss."
Tiie democratic platform reported to thc con
vention of 1888 by Chairman Ixenry Vattcrson,
said: "The democratic party of the United
States in national convention assembled, renews
the pledge of its fidelity to democratic faith and
reaffirms the platform adapted by its represen
tatives In the convention of 1884.'
The platform of 1892 declared In favor of
"the use or both gold and silver as tho standard
money of the country and to tho coinage of both
gold and silver without discriminating against
.either motal or charge for mintage."
' It is difficult to understand how Mr. Wat
terson kept sliver' out of the platform of 1S88 when
that platform, by reaffirming tho platform of 1881,
defined "honest monoy" as being "tho gold and
silver coinage of the constitution."
It Is difficult to Understand how Mr. Watter
son excluded -silver from tho platform or 1892
when ho permitted to bo written in tho 1892 plat
form the promise that silver, ntf well as gold,
would be tho standard monoy of tho country, ana
also that silver, as well as gold, would be coined
without discrimination and without charge lor
mintage
So far as the claim that Mr. Watterson never
abated his opposition to a degraded currency is
concerned, the talented editor of tho Courier-Journal
might explain how it happened that he per
mitted to be written into tho platform of 1892
a, recommendation in favor of the repeal of tho
ten per cent tax on stato bank issues.
JJJ
Abundance of Money.
In an article on the "quantitative theory,"
the Now York Commercial salcr tnat "a great
abundance of money in a country is not an un
mixed blessing," adding that it can be shown that
"at" some periods exceptionally yirge volumes of
currency especially of gold have been a direct
moving cause of financial and commercial de
pression." A reader of the Commercial writes to that
paper to say that tho statement seems "not a
little strange,'1 and asks that the Commercial glvo
an lnstanco.
Tho Commercial quotes from a statement
made -by Walter Bagehot, the British financier
essayist, as follows: i
At particular times a great many stupid
people have a great deal of stupid monoy. '
Saving persons often have only the faculty
of, saving; they accumulate all and contem
plate1 their accumulations with approbation
but what to do with them they do not know.'
At Intervals, the money of these
people the blind capital, as wo call It, of
tho country Is practically large and crav
ing; it seeks for some one to devour it, and
then there Is "plethora"; It finds some one,
and there is "speculation"; it Is devout ed,
and there Is "panic."
The Commercial also recalls the Indemnity
paid by France to Germany Just after the Franco
Prussian war. The payment of this indemnity
added largely to the volume of money In Ger
many. The Commercial explains:
That money "craved" investment and
then the wildest of wild-cat enterprises were
launched; both privately and In government
affairs an era of extravagance ensued; the
inevitable financial crisis followed, and then
came general depression and "hard times."
It was In that situation raat one of the .
"funny papers' in Germany labelled a cartoon ,
with this exclamation, half in jest, half in
earnest: "Let us have another war! Let us .
be beaten and pay a big indemnity !v Then we
shall bo prosperous again!"
According to the first illustration presentca
by the Commercial, an abundance of money is
"not an unmixed blessing," because "It seeks for
somd one to devour It and then there Is 'plethora';
it finds some one and then there is 'speculation';
It Is devoured and then there is 'panic'." But Is
It not true that when it is "devoured" there is
no longer "an abundance of money?"
The Commercial's second illustration Is on
par with the first Neither is particularly valu
able In establishing the Commercial's claim. It
is true that at all times in the world's history,
problems of one kind and another have arisen
and history repeats itself; but tho Commercial
will find It difficult to convince Its readers that
public interests are less secure at times when!
there is an abundance of money than at time
when "money Is scarce and therefore dear'
so scarce, indeed, that "money becomes the mas
. tor and everything else the servant" , .
-.