Speech

SPEECj OF CIT.A=S S, HAULIN LaraTTCE VII1LrEAY _=-Lt? II TG NOITI-Thaii2 2, 190 4 • I have read 4n.e speech of General Guild at Lowell last evening replyinp: to mine at Pittsfield Monday evning. I regret that he feels obliged to take exception to any of my remarks. quotes again cc:rtain passages fram his Pittsfield speech criticising me for having, as he"voted gold out of the platform and fails to find anything in his Pittsfield remarks justifying such a vigS rous attack upon him. I can only say to hiM thEi.t I fully re- cognize the right of Inyone to criticise another for his votes or imblic acts, but I feel that tku:re is a certainI of criticiam w:-Lich is univcxsally recognized as uniLir and unjust. A better illustration of such uiwg.9,44* criLicium could noL be afforded than Gen. Guild's criticis of my interview Lc Lhe effect that I was bound by the Comy.ittoe report whIch I had sich,ed and that I should have to supi=ort that rei;ort in the Convention. Will Gen. Guild claim that a mC mber of a Committee *IA kas 6igned a report could in honor IS other, wise than vote to sustain that report on the floor of the Convention? I do uot think t:lat will make slidh a claim, and I believovon re- flection,he will sec) —at his cri-Liciam is unfair and unjust. Such criticim, however, unfair as it is, was not tha reasan fI r my reldars at PitsficAd. Gen. .:Atild wont very much fart.Jr. al lle went so far as even to attack ny personhonor. After reciting an allegorical tale to thc, (,,ffect tTlat when honor is gonetall is gone, he applied this tale to MR, statinL in effect that I went to St. Digitized for FRASER http://fraser.stlouisfed.org/ Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis _2_ Louis pledged to vote against National repudiation and for honest payment of honest debts, but that I surrendered on "the question of the rational honor and honest payment of our honest debts", and that by my vote "repudiation of honest money was carried through this year's Democratic Convention". The aImoLt unnecessary inference from such statements is that my course in the Convention was dishonorable. I can only say that I have sufficient faith left in Gen. Guild's good sense to know that he does not really believe such statements, and I must sugc-est to him that when even by innuendo, he attacks the honor of a fellow-citizen, he must expect the latter to defend his honor with such force and vigor as he may possess. The General states that his military record is attacked. If so, it must have been by some other person. I have not attacked it. I would suggest, however, that it is hardly consonant with the military record I gladly admit Gen. Guild possessesIto impugn the honor of a fellow-citizen, without taking pains that the person at- tacked may be fully informed thereof so that he may take means to de- fend himself. appreciate fully that it is often a hardship to have to Prepare an abstract of speeches for the press; I agree gladly that one may freely criticise the acts of another without putting into his abstract every word that he says; that I believe the people of Massa- chusetts, without regard to Party allegiance, will severely condemn an attack on the personal honor of a citizen of the Commonwealth made in such a manner that only by accident could the person thus attacked know that his character had been assailed. Digitized for FRASER http://fraser.stlouisfed.org/ Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis .3. Ville people may differ as to the advisability of not en- dorsinv the gold standard in the pl:ctform us adopted by the Democrat- ic r!olarention, yet surely no ri,asonable person can say that a member of the Committee, after having fought hours in favor of such an en- dorseent, has lost his honor because he failed to file a minority report. In the proceedincs of the Committee, a motion was made to ruaffirm the Kansas City platform. This was overwhelmingly voted down in both the sub-Committee and the full Committee; the question of having another plank directly nndorsing the gold standard having later arisen, fie 7,7assachuL:etts Ilember fought and voted in f$1vor of such a plunk but was out voted by those who. almost unanimously re- jeoted the free silver preposition contained in the motion to reaffirIF the Yana er; City plank. That the Massachusetts member accepted the ground situation without filinr a minority report, is VARIER for debate per- haps as to the wisdom of his course, but it affords no rround for at- tacking his personal honor. The telegram of Judge Parker and the subsequent proceedings in the Convention are a matter of history, and I need not refer to them. Gen. Guild pays no attention whatsoever to the monetary re- cord discussed by ma of the Republican Ptrty. Tre contents himself by trying to show that the record of Democrats in Congress was about as bad as that of the Rvipublicans. This may wall be true, but he musA vdAit that under the 1Rbt two Danocratio Administrations no sil- vr 115ri81ation beoame ley, and one silver law ins vetoed, while under a Republican Administration the Sherrivn law was passed, brinej- inr a terrible financial crisis upon the country. This latter seam"' Digitized for FRASER http://fraser.stlouisfed.org/ Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis > was passed at a tine when the Republican Party controllad the 'Muse, te and the Presidency. Gen. Cuild, in defense of thi,, act, says tiu.t President Cleveland described the Sherman Act as a truca between the free silverites and the conservatives. This may ba true, but why was such a truo:: necossary'? Was it because Republicans faar- d that Presi&mt zron :,ct veto a free coinaLe bill? couragebusly. Gen. Guild praises Prasic,ont Cleviand for vetoeing the sil- A ver inflation bjli known as the Bland SeigniorttL;a In j.ving thi.; praise, however, he inC.icts tcie Repuidican Party. The Lill veoted by Prent Cleveland provided for th,3 cuige bullion in the Treas'.zry including th.; seigniorage, for the issue of silver certificates against the dollars coined, including the seign- ioraL,c, for L!le cancellati,:n of the Sherna:(1 notes. This veto, was hail:d victory icr sound fin-nee. Dos Cen. Cuilii, 4ivr, niib (- lEAE, the Re- publican Prty in :::actiun tairt:7-four of the War Revenue Act orared t,'!e, Treasury to coin t11,3 silver bullion in the riresury vu1ts, seign7 iorar,e End all? 1:0s he know t.t by section five of th ct of 7.-arci, 14, 1900, rirry 1:&s directed to issue silver cartifi- cates against t....ase dollars, incluCtinr, the seignioraLe? If Prasidant C1ev.-1,nd' veto as kviSe, ,itIA does the General think of this rr:v.3rsal o his veto by the Republican Party? Guild's answer to the iirst qu.:stion put to him at Pittsfield is an atoillpt. to caange the question put. He says he is askci72-10t.lur i2J believes "the Republican Party aid well six years ag-o in corresponding with other Nations to see if int- rnational bi- metalism would be possible". Digitized for FRASER http://fraser.stlouisfed.org/ Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis 1.1.5.610 No such quaotion v‘ae, asked and hiss answer that *it was for t'-la world that such an axamination proved it to be impossible**4" is not responsive. The question asked tnd now asked again ia,;"Do you approve of t'-e act of Vac 7epub1ierm ,Adrinistration in 1P98 in proposing to cdopt free and unlimited coinage of silver for the Thlit !tatee, providing Franco would do thL.t.ne, and that ngland, retninin-: :he gold stpndard, should Umply open hr India vlints9 ri11n. guild answar this question or he clany Llat suc71 r.,n offer .;/..43 ma.d4 by the Toloott Commixsion with the full ap- proval of the R.eputlican Adninistratim, and that only the refusal of 1 1-,trt 7ritain saved us from incalculable disaster? If he denies t',,s will he read the speech of Senator Wolcott, of the dmatitisio, r!;1-irmknK dclivrc.1:1t United States !:.enKte early in the when he year lt98 lacoc wad,- "Our V1WW3 were known to ts-li President before our appoint- ment: there was no one of us who aid not and does not believe that the finanriinl question overshadows all others, &nd that continued adhesion to the gold stnndfxd means only disaster to our agricultural and commercial interests"*" aere i3 another quota'Aon from th spqechs- "Whatever noaeur of 11=00E41 or failure hal, been meted out to Us, We have been hampered by no lack of authority or sanction or adrlinistrative support". And ain this quotation:- "ny virtue of our appointm!mt we wire authorized to neo- tiate an international agree-lent.* Thhn follows the offer made to aruat Britain described in the question put to General Guild. row will the !',.eneral answer the question fairly and direct- ly? Digitized for FRASER http://fraser.stlouisfed.org/ Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis 9 - And mow I will answor the question put me by Gonorl The. firt is 'hhet:aer I believe that there i aemner that sone ::iver 211401.1fC 2ay be inLroduced in Lie next Conaress by the 7›.;r:ocre..ts. I presume by si1v3r !riure 11.-; fr cc)in:2L bill. Of course cLnnot t311 aluA billc may 1.)e intfocillc/143d, itr by Ilc:publicns or Lelaocrats, Jut 1 venture to :x,iress the Oj1iQfl tit hould a fre coina!t;e meare be introduced, it willt receive t"Yla votes of the laajority of trit ..tiocrE,ts or a Aatrial fraction-A part LAereof. 6ocond q.,:=JLtion is, "tr:,:c:r. (to quotehi words) "is -,.),a,ti" L1cr:':r. 1.,ryuT1 eorg1i.2ez tie .11;,Accratic Party, starid IT:yan-or bolt-as I. j1. in 1896? - the fact of Judge Parker's defeat on A question contc.inL L prentsc,— .oh"hax.L. 7na-y A ciemonbtraL,Id L,o U ntrt:.e. 1i the :lain pre:riise ii.1;:itrue, ,,.•le be icae to aaa other hypothesss based upori ti false Dremise. I All, holv.:r, say Luis, thaL I ;awecys ALvo and always shall curve tia th,) Licates cif :4 consoinco when, if evr, my Party t:3 a position, on a vita]. is6ue, WiLC I belive to 1),:i fraught with dis— aster to the lac..sLos of our lieople. Hcs; ycssu. cc,ciJnce, General Guild, driven you to bolt your Party? I Lola i s. vill'di/c/o tell NO .then and %Ihre? Digitized for FRASER http://fraser.stlouisfed.org/ Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

Charles S. Hamlin (1904, November 1). Speech. Speeches, Federal Reserve. https://whenthefedspeaks.com/doc/speech_19041102_hamlin

@misc{wtfs_speech_19041102_hamlin,
  author = {Charles S. Hamlin},
  title = {Speech},
  year = {1904},
  month = {Nov},
  howpublished = {Speeches, Federal Reserve},
  url = {https://whenthefedspeaks.com/doc/speech_19041102_hamlin},
  note = {Retrieved via When the Fed Speaks corpus}
}