Show SHTJEB AND THE POPULAR TOTE proposition of Congressman Cooper of Texas to submit the question of the free coinage of silver to a vote of the people peo-ple is Democratic in its spirit is not very likely to be made practical nor would it in our opinion prove entirely satisfactory to the silver cause I His scheme is to the effect that on the first Monday in November an election I shall be held called by the Governors of I the several States at which each voter may cast a ballot for or against free coinage The object in having a special election when a general election is so near at hand is of course to avoid complicating this question with others or with party politics If such an election were to be held that would be a meritorious meritori-ous feature of the plan The silver question is not strictly a party question because neither party is anything like unit upon it It is more nearly a sectional question the south and west against the east But this is not exactly the position because there is quite a following of the advocates of un conditicaal repeal of the Sherman law in the west while there are alsojnany thinking think-ing people in the east who perceive the necessity of free silver coinage If the people ef this country were educated 1 up to the comprehension of the money question there would be no fear as to the result But they are not The masses of the people in the populous states of the east are naturally as far behind in that education at least as the prominent men in both parties And while the latter continue to look upon silver as a mere commodity and class it with iron copper cop-per and lead as though it had no other value to the world it can scarcely be expected that the great body of the people who look to them as guides will have c better undersatnding of the matter Most of the arguments of the anti silveritesare based on that idea as though it were unquestionable They icnore entirely the facts that silver has from the earliast ages been sought after as a money metal that it occupied that position posi-tion side by side with gold as its natural ally companion and helpmeet for many II centuries that its apparent depreciation has been brought about by law 1 and that the effects of the antisilver legislation I have been immeasurably disastrous i A popular election on this question I then would probably result in a majority major-ity against free coinage For in addition addi-tion tothe causes we have mentioned there would be the immense influence that the moneyed power would brine to bear to prevail upon voters to support what they deceptively call honest money sts againstthe depreciated currency cur-rency The campaign of education on silver which THE HERALD has advocated from the beginning of the most recent struggle Strug-gle for restoration is still in demand A great deal has been due during the past few months to forward it If the same work had been performed earlier better results might have been achieved It is a critical time for silver The chances for its un limited coinage are how very slim And the best that is immediately immedi-ately expected is some sort of a com promise pro-mise I The Cooper proposition is not likely to be adopted and if it were the outcome would be exceedingly doubtful The j country has come to see that the dur chasing law is wrong in principle and ought to be repealed and the great majority I ma-jority of the people do not sense the dan gar that lies in leaving the silver question to be shelved for an indefinite season I after the repeal is effected The silver champions have a great labor to perform and there is no telling how long it will take to bring it to completion |