Show CURRENT POLITICAL ISSUES THE new york mom mail and espreu says that the great political issues of the time are the tariff reciprocity the currency civil service reform and a free ballot on every one of thise theae questions tiona the two great national parties are more or less lees directly antagonistic on the protective tariff and on reciprocity the democratic party is emphatically pronounced in ito opposition but bu t as to the civil service and a free ballot it is not quite clear what is the attitude of that party so far as the observance of the civil service is concerned it is admitted on all sides aides that under cleveland the law was more adhered to than under any president since it was adopted As to the free ballot if by that is meant the force Forue bill the republican publican Ke party as a whole could not swallow that measure therefore it is scarcely correct to give all the honor of the opposition to democrats and in the matter of ballot reform generally one party seems as anxious ious to arrive at good measures as the other in the currency issue the maill mail and EX express 88 contends that the question of free coinage of silver is entirely a democratic doctrine in 1890 twenty two democratic state conventions declared for free silver during the current year the democrats of ken tucky lucky mississippi iowa and ohio have adopted in their state platforms free silver planks by next year the democratic party throughout the whole nation will bt be committed to the free coinage of silver the question must of necessity come up in the national convention where according to the goldate organ above mentioned it will prove the banquo banquot ghost of the party and strike with terror the party leaders this organ cob tends that the rank and file of the democratic party are only awaiting an opportunity of repudiating the rank fallacy underlying this fraudulent silver scheme advocated by professional politicians and demagogues the mail and express contends that haft the worst calamity which could befall this country would be the passage of a tree free silver coinage bill it says bays that india and south america are on a silver baste basis but these countries are not models for us mexico and the united states are the two principal silver coining countries at present other nations are shelvi shelving fig silver and seeking aa a gold old basis france stopped adding to her silver thirteen years ago while we aie increasing our store score monthly by the theory of this organ to in that silver would ultimately displace gold in this country here is its state ment silver owners have already put of silver upon us the worlds annual silver product is about 00 which this fraudulent democratic silver scheme would force us to take europe has about of silver on band and is only waltin waiting for the consummation of this unlimited silver coin age fraud to be unloaded upon us 10 in the silver dollar there is about 78 cents worth of silver under the present silver ilver law the government only pays 78 cents for it but under the free coinage the government would have to pay the silver speculators a dollar for every 78 cents of silver As ae to the theory that silver would be unloaded on us that is something that goodites gold ites can not very clearly demon barate and as to paying one dollar for every seventy eight cents lundgr under a free coinage law the mail and express la Is grievously wrong unless we misunderstand the aim of free silver advocates vo cates there Is no such thing RS as paying for bullion for coinage purposes every owner of bullion could take his metal to the mint and have it handled bandied on the same principle that gold is now handled but what the value of a silver dollar from an outside stardard might be under such a law is a question yet to be determined the fact is the free silver advocates do not clearly define themselves on this point but the logic of the issue suggests that it does not involve the buying of bul bullion for coinage |