OCR Text |
Show ALAS! KENTUCKY. And has the proud, the mighty com-ionwealth com-ionwealth of Kentucky really and truly surrendered to the gold buuB? It really seems that it haB. The Cleveland Cleve-land and Carlisle forces out-voted the Blackburn free silver forces in the convention. If this is taken to be the indication of the real condition of the democracy in Kentucky, we believe an iujustice will be done, because we are perfectly assured that upon a direct test there, unconnected with personal and administration considerations the majority of Kentucky democrats will be found in favor of the free coinage of eilver. As little as we may be inclined in-clined to concede it, John G. Carlisle is a strong man in Kentucky, and this, joined to the preat strength of the administration ad-ministration among the democrats of that state, was sufficient to place the democratic convention in the hands of It is a severe draught to the western democrats and indicates plainer than anything which has yet happened that the cause of silver is in a bad box. The fight for remonetization is not won yet. A hard and close conflict must yet be waged for many years to come, we fear. However, poverty and business distress dis-tress from this oh, and these with the natural predilections of the democracy demo-cracy for silver will ultimately win the victory unless revolution sooner steps in to intervene, in which case free coinage will come m a night and the country will return to its allegiance to the national authority. au-thority. It is this immediate and pressing danger of revolution now which sickens patriots every where, bound money is a good thing but this is not the question. It is money of any kind, or abject beggary. If one has money at all it is always well to have sound money. The fault of the golditeB is they affect to believe and actually teach that there" is no sound money save gold, or a gold note. We of the west and south believe with equal earnestness that gold and silver is hard to beat as money. Kentucky by her democratic convention only Bays that for the present.Bhe throws her vote for Carlisle and Cleveland.and reserves the settlement of the money question for some future day. This is of course unfortunate in the light of any possible early settlement of the great question. As it is, one-half one-half of our already meagre 3toie of money is blotted out and there is not in sight, at least in the west, the trade and commerce which is necessary in order that we may keep our wheels moving until remonetization comes. This will give us pinching times for many long years, or revolution speedy and sure. However it may be Baid ft that the result in Kentucky does not actually precipitate upon us this truly doleful situation. Many other states must act as Kentucky has before we stand in the immediate presence of all of these dire evils, "One swallow does not make a summer," and one state does not fix democratic policy by any means. It is the influence which the result in Kentucky may have on other neighboring democratic states which we fear. If every man, woman and child in the dark and bloody ground goes to the side ol the gold bugs, the principle is not changed in the slightest and it is our duty to stand and light all the more determinedly for the right. It waB a colossal wrong to demonetize silver sil-ver in the first place, it will be a supreme su-preme right to restore it. This right is not affected by Kentucky's action, but somehow we would feel safer to . know that the serried legions of old Kentucky were fighting by our side rather than on the other side and against us. The nomination of General llardin for governor is a bit of comfort to us in our deep distress. While this gentleman gen-tleman received great strength trorn his personal standing and popularity, yet that was not alone equal to the task of his nomination. Tart of the. result was induced by his well known position in favor of free coinage. In other words, he received the full support sup-port of the free silver men in the cen-vention cen-vention and this, with his personal popularity, was sufficient. ''A half loaf is better than no bread" in politics as in business. |