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Wl Republicans Judge Bartlett Tripp Writes a Strong Letter Supporting the Republican Policies He Declares That the Chicago Platform to the Best Interests of the Country Support the Republican Ticket so Long as That Platform is Endorsed. A Strong Advocacy of the Republican Policy of Expansion. The Duty of Old Line Democrats. * The Argus-Leador today prints r. thoughtful, able, and scholarly letter from the pen of Judge Bartlett Tripp. This leter constitutes the most not able incident of the present campaign, both from the vigor and power of the language and the eminence and disinteicstednses of the writer. Tor many years Bartlett Tripp has been the acknowledged leader of the South Dakota Democracy. No man :n the state enjoys a higher prestige nmong citizens of all parties and no nun’s opinion carries more weight Bartlett Tripp is fairly regarded as *h' most distinguished citizen of tht state and ho has reflected on South Da higher honor than any other mat hr his appointment ns minister of Auitr.a, the fourth diplomatic' post in the gift of the government. Judge Tripp was not in the countt y during the campaign of IS9G and con sequently took no part in that memorable contest The letter given below therefore is Ms first public dec la ratio 1 of his determination to oppose thf Populists who have seduced so man,' of his former followers and friondt and to support the policies which lie believes to be right. Judge Tripp doe: not announce himself as a Republican, he still retains his belief in the ole Jeffersonian principles of Democracy; but he holds that in adopting the Chi cago platform the present leaders of tbe party surrendered It to socia'llsn and Populism and he will oppose Us success so long as that platform is re tained. He is also in earnest sympathy with the foreign policy of the ad ministration and especially with the policy of trade expansion which tht president has doclarcd to be the outcome of the war. Dor these reasons he will support the Republicans this year. Some time ago C. F. Zimmerman, the national bank examiner, a life long Democrat, and one of tho leaders of the party in this state, wrote Judge Tripp asking his views upon the present issues and asked especially for afc an nouncement of Judge Tripp’s idea of the duty of old lino Democrats. The letter which appears below was sent in reply and it 3 publication is author ized. Judge Tripp's Letter. Yankton, South Dakota. Oct. 7th, 1898. To Charles F. Zimmerman, National Dank Examiner, Sioux Falls, S. D. - Dear Sir: I have your esteemed la vor of the 24th ultimo in which y>u desire me to givo you a't length my views “upon the general political sit uation in this country and the best policy to be pursued by old time Dem ocrats who were warm adherents of President Cleveland and admirers of the Democratic policies prior to 18% and to give my views upon national and trade expansion as it seems to be shap ing under Republican guidance.” Your request covers such a large field of Inquiry, that It will be impossi- We. within the limits of a letter, to state moro than a few general proposi tions, and these without argument or detail, and to confine myself to the mo tives and reasons which wdll govern my owu action in the present campaign. Opposes Chicago Platform Uke yourself, I am opposed to the Chicago platform, not only to its silver blank, but the socialistic and anarchis tic doctrines therein contained. 1 am * bimetallist, not a gold or silver mono- I am not yet convinced that sold and silver ca*nnot circulate side I'y side, if a ratio be established be tween these i wo metals that represents * Parity of values in accordance with laws of trade. There Is no magic 'harm in the figures 16 to 1, and no wsKislation can establish or maintain in opposition to or in violation ** those established in the markets of the world. The increased use of silver aa °ioney would without doubt appre <tate its value, us the increased use of *°y other commodity increases its val- Ihit it Is the extent and not the Character of the use that gives such modi ties their actual value, and in '♦Hses or decreases their price. Would Injure the Poor. We arc now upon a gold standard. Values and prices have shaped and es tablished themselves after ode of the most disastrous panics tnat the busi ness world bus ever experienced, and to now exchange the gold for the sil ver dollar would not only be repudia tion and dishonesty but would precipi tate another fin tncial crisis more vio lent than that from which we have just emerged. During such lianancial «lis turbjtnces derangement of values and fluct ration of prices, the business roan of moderate nouns and the laboring ujau euiier mi>3t severely; accumulated wealth and large estates are augment ed and increased thereby, and a chango from a gold to a silver basis when ac complished would not bring the result expected and desired. The money ot ‘he country, increased in quantity, though decreased in value, would ot ill be hold by tho wealthy. The necessar ies of life and commodities of all kinds, the property of the rich, must be paid for by the poor at prices nearly double in value, while labor, the capital of th< poor, would be the last and least tc rise in the scale of prices. Make ihc gold and silver dollar of the same 4 in trinsic value, and it does not niattci whether silver or gold becomes the measuring unit; but make tho silvet dollar at its present ratio the unit ol value, and all commodities would double In price and an immediate dis turbar.ee in all values must inevitably result. Free Silver it Diehonsgt. But to me, another and more serious phase of the case presents itself, in th< moral view of such legislation. Oui national bonds were sold in the mar kets of the world when silver was on t par with gold, end it Is no answer t( the Injustice of paying such obligation: In a depreciated currency, to say, thnt by their terms they were payable iv “coin".. We have since j T, curri T, ' T sucl is Inimical and He Will obligations demonetized silver. We have .atiscd other nations to follow in out lead and as a consequence of this and other causes, silver has become grad ually depreciated in value and It would be unjust now to require our creditor:? to lx? paid in the currency we have our selves helped to depredate and debase. Had silver depreciated wholly from reuses beyond our control, there would have been more force in the argument and reason in our justification, but it we can now remono.ize a metal we have debased, at a value double that it now maintains in the markets of the world, and force our creditors to re ceive it at par, we could monetize iron or lead at a price one hundred times its value, and require our creditors to be paid therewith. For it is the fact, not the extent of repudiation, that makes it wrong. If we can ease our con *he extent of repudiation, that makes obligations we have made, it will re quire little effort upon our part to find ?qual justification for repudiating th*' other half. Whom it Would Hurt. And such dishonesty does not affect strangers and foreigners alone (if the existence of such fact could find weight In the honest mind) Such j chango of tho unit of currency would also afTect Injuriously our own citi ! zens who have trusted the honor and honpsty of their government. It would scale down by fifty per cent the value of all deposits in our savings banks, to which are entrusted a largo portion of j the earnings of the poor, and all bonds I and stocks .held in trust for widows and orphans. It would divide in twain the soldiers’ ppnsion, and eut down all prices as fixed by law as fees and sal aries for public service. It is a two edged sword that spares neither friend ! nor foe. • It w-a sthe honest men of the country irrespective of parly who voted against such a scheme of iniquity and national dishonor, and they can be depended up on to do it again in every state dur ing the present campaign, where It is presented as a party issue. Will Support the R«public%ni. I have examined the question with care, and I can never vote the Demo cratic ticket so long as this plank of the Chicago platform is affirmed as a cardinal doctrine. 1 had hoped in this -'tate our Democratic convention would have deemed it wise to pass over this obnoxious plank in silence, as has been discretely done in some of the eastern states, but instead of doing so. it has not only affirmed the platform in full, but has emphasized tho silver plank by n special recital and enlargement, ns if with a purpose of compelling a surren der of principle, or of driving out all those who differ with them in this new article of faith. 1 have hoped, and still hope, that tho gicat party of the nation will see the error of its ways, and become again, as 1! always has been in tho past, the exponent of a sound and honest money. But until that time comes, fading It the duty of every man to exercise the right of suf frage. 1 shall vote with that party which most nearly represents my views upon what I deocr> the vital question, at the coming election. I shall therefore vote upon national issues with the Re publican party. Principle* Above Party. It is, as you say difficult to break away from a party and from men with whom ho have trained for so long a time and to vote with a party an 1 fox men against which and whom we have been so long opposed. Ilut I regard principles above party, and whenever a new question arises upon W’hich par ties must and should divide, it is the duty of every citizen to vote for th«* rarty which most clearly represents the views he himself maintains, and thereby break and destroy that parti san tyranny that would iesult from blind obedience to party platforms and the dictates of party leaders. It is true that our Republican friends reassert their faith in protection, and did I deem this a vital question, it would cause me to hesitate and perhaps prevent my voting for any candidate upon such a platform, hut I am con vinced that the tariff is a question of the past. Henceforth we are to become an exporting, not an importing nation end must soon look for other methods for raising a national revenue, than f o a tariff on imports. And this issue, which at best was never able to rise in dignity above the selfish Influent of local interns awl become in fact a national oim. will now be relegated by general consent to non-partisan commissions and become removed from the pale of party politics. Should Free the Philippine*. Upon the question of expansion. For myself. I am not an expansionist, as the w’or.l bself would seem to imply. If there be one danger, In my judgment that threatens the great republic, it lies along the line of aggression and ronquesL The attempted asslmila-i •ion of ignorant and barberous people who have not the intelligence to govern themselves ncr to consent to be go/- ernod. Is contrary to the spirit of our fTee institutions. Yet I was strongly in favor of the present war. I believe l in it as a war for humaoitly. not a war of conauest, and now that peace has been declared and the results an* to be determined. I am not in favor of surrendering tin* principles for which the war was begun and brought to a victorious end. The tyranny of Spain vas a sufficient cause lor our nation's intervention in behalf of Cuba, but not more so than in behalf of the Philip pines. If Spanish rule ought to eeu:#o in the one, justice would dictate that it ought to ceaso in tie other. We have treated both the Cubans and Filipi nos as allies by joining them in their resistance against the tyiaany of Spain. We have furnished boin with arms and munitions of war. and have ny our acts if not by declared purpose promised them a fieedom from Span ish rule. It would now be cowardice to grant freedom to Cuba and deny it to the Philippines. Extend the Monroe Doctrine. I am therefore in favor of retaining so much of the Spanish territory as may ho necessary for tho demands cf our commerce and the requirements of our navy, and of extending over these people a form of government best adapted to their requirements, until such time as they are sufficiently ad vanced in civilization to establish a government of their own. It is but the plea of the pessimist to object to the expense that may be involved by such a protectorate. Expense was a proper subject of consideration when we de clared war in behalf of humanity, not when we are considering and determin ing its victorious results. As a nation we are strong enough to bo just and are rich enough to be humane. I would expand our Monroe doctrine to the ex tent that the nations of Europe should be restrained from imposing their forms of government upon any people against the will of the governed, not only upon the continent of America, but wherevcv such wrong be commit ted. Expansion of Trade. If these views make me an expan sionist, then I am one. And I am an expansionist in the development of the wealth and power of the republic. 1 believe in the expansion of our com merce, the export of the products of our soil and workshops to every mar ket of the world. I believe in adopting and maintaining a currency that is used and recognized by the nations of the world. We are at the commence ment of a new era. The Slav and An glo-Saxon are entering upon a contest for supremacy. Their lines of civili zation have paralelled the continent of Asia, and now threaten our commercial interests in the markets of China, Jap an and the Islands of the Ecast. We cannot stand idly by and see these markets closed to ourselves and the world; end until these and similar great international questions may be met and determined by a congress of nations, each nation must be prepared t<» assert and defend its own rights, a* well as to protect and defend the rights of others who are unable to protect and defend themselves. This nation will never recede from the advanced position it has already taken, and the aim of every man who loves his country should be, to aid and assist in guiding its destiny so as to give the largest amount of individual freedom and prosperity to its citizens at home and relieve oppression abroad. This is expansion along the lines of human progress, end not those of ag gression and conquest. A conservatism that adopts a policy less advanced will not meet with approval from an en lightened and progressive people. I am. very sincerely yours, —Bartlett Tripp, If you want money bad, Invaat la green goods. 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