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,
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>». 11. x. t. ->«. 44 istwx
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