President Cleveland And Bimetallism

The Washington correspondent of the Herald asserts on the auttoority of a member of the cabinet that President Cleveland's views upon the money question and the proposed international nionetary conference are widely misunderstood. According to tliis informant the president is not only warmly in favor of the conference, but hopes that it may point the way to an international agreement, even with Great Britain left out. The president, it seems, is no believer in the theory that British initiative is essential to practical international bimetallism, and he proposes to appoint delegates to the conference who agree with him that Germany, France and the United States are strong enough to domínate the situaiion and to force the acquiescence of England. If the United States commissioners vvill stand firmly for such united action by other great nations as shali leave England alone in its maintenanee of gold monometallism, there seems little doubt that the other nations represented will join them. The friendliness of France and Germany to bimetallism in some form, even though the plan adopted involve minor changes in the historie ratio, affords reasonable assurance that the coming congress vvill not, like that of Brussels, end in talk and nothing else. Count Mirbach, one of the most influential men in the Germán Reichstag, and one who enjoys the favor of the emperor, says "I consider the victory of universal biraetallism on an international basis in the next monetary conference inevitable. ' ' If the Gerrnan delegates act in this spirit, and those of the United States join harmoniously with them, the success of the international agreement will be assured. Conditions, more than theories, have operated to promote the cause of international bimetallism. In England, Germany and France the distress of the agricultural classes has forced action. In the United States constantly decreasing wages and prices have compelled study of the money question, and relief by international agreement has been accepted by all the most carsful students as the only safe way out. President Cleveland will strike a popular chord if he select for his three commissioners to theproposed conference men who will make earnest and intelligent pleas for international bimetallism, even against the ODDOsition of Great Britain. - Chicago Times-Herald. Now that the election is over, the inquiry may be proper as to how much of a figure the freesilver platform of the Michigan democracy cut in that scrimmage. The members of the convention which adopted that one plank platform tumbled over each other in their efforts to get on the silver band wagon. The sweeping democratie victory to result from the adoption of the principie has not materialized, however, nor does the vote indícate that it had weight with the voters. It is true that Judge McGrath ran slightly ahead of his ticket, but the localities where this is noted, indicates that it was due rather to the personal acquaintance and standing of the judge than to the platform on which he ran. The result shows pretty conclusively that adhesión to party affiliations is stronger among the republicans generálly than any belief in the principie of free silver, and at the same time that the free silver platform with democrats served but to loosen the ties of party and cause at least as many to desert the party as were gaified from all other sources. , The net result, therefore, has indoubtedly been to loosen party discipline and demorali.e the party organization. lapan has sliown her regret and humiliation for her failur perly protect the Chinese peace envoy, Li Hiïng Chang, from assáult by doing everything in her pov rectify the disgrace. China vil prubably get better terras from liei antagonist on account of this affair than she would had it not occurred. The three weeks armistice reccntly granted is probably due to the fee] ing of chagrin in Japan over the assault and the desire.so far as possible to efface the unpleasant affair from the recollection of the world. All this goes to show that Japan has a keen sense and clear understanding of the sentiment of the civili.ed world. There seems to be considerable bad blood just at present between France and Enland growing out of their rival colonial ambitions in Africa. The announcement was made in the British House of Commons a few days since that England would consider the advance of the French from West into the Nile valley as an unfriendly act. Thus is the question which agitated these two countnes more than a century ago on the American Continent and which led to a great amount of bloodshed, to the ore once again, in the dark Continent. Will history repeat itself?