| Show SILVER NOT AH ISSUE A former was on the inside of the 1896 campaign discusses the question the next issue will be nepotism and incapacity crabster Brab ster west of the silver knight talks on his way west mr A S carruthers crabster Brab ster west who was associate editor of the silver knight watchman senator stewarts warts silver paper published in washington D C and who was through tae campaign of 1896 talked entertainingly to a standard reporter one the silver question and the political issues of the next campaign mr left the silver knight watchman because mr stewart could not endure als attacks on collas P huntington the C P magnate whose attorney mr stewart Is in looking after railroad legislation in congress but said carruthers dont say anything about that or collas P wont give me a pass mr carruthers Is traveling west on the freight route gathering material for a new book he wrote grover cleveland on a tramp in 1895 which was one ot the campaign books of the silver fraternity however he Is no longer a as the following interview shows considered as an issue upon which a political party can make a presidential fight the silver issue is dead I 1 believed in 1894 and again in 96 when I 1 was editor of the silver knight watchman that either the tion of silver or an increase of the issue of government paper money was a necessity I 1 still believe so I 1 concur with all honest students of In terna dional finance in believing that the hour is inevitable and not far distant when the of silver will in the event of a european war or another grover cleveland object lesson result in a panic tar worse than that of 1893 this panic will have the beneficial result of educating the voters who will afterwards by their action at the polls establish a financial system which will meet the requirements of our nineteenth century civilization meanwhile however I 1 think that the silver issue should not be the main feature of next years campaign even it it were the senate is by a strong majority gold and leaving that out of the question the people of the country are generally prosperous and do not understand an economic proposition except when it directly and painfully affects their stomachs the democratic party in my opinion wiil make next years campaign on the general incapability and nepotism of the administration as shown during the late spanish and the present philippine war understand me I 1 do not mean to eay the administration is and incapable but the democrats will make the fight on that line the republican party will fight trusts just as hard as the democrats will they have demonstrated this through attorney general monett of ohio mckinless McKin leys own state reverting to the campaign of mr carruthers said it was the plan of the silver people to take the democratic minority and the populists lists and form A new national party but the capture of the chicago convention by seating the nebraska delegation made that unnecessary it did become necessary however then to formulate plans to conciliate the populists lists and hold them in line this was done by sending the right kind of delegations to the st louis convention 1 I myself fixed the washington delegation ega tion and I 1 may say we controlled every delag tion from tha north with the exception of maine and illinois we could not get bewail to withdraw and so tar as tom watson withdrawing is concerned it be was in a chicken house with a policeman on each side they could not pull him out as long as there was a chance tor a chicken but silver as a national issue la dead there is no more chance to resurrect it in the campaign of 1900 than chere is to elect a populist president |
