Portland State University PDXScholar Dissertations and Theses Dissertations and Theses 7-1977 The Union Bimetallic Party of Oregon, 1896-1898 Ludger Mogge Portland State University Follow this and additional works at: https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/open_access_etds Part of the Labor History Commons, Social History Commons, and the United States History Commons Let us know how access to this document benefits ou.y Recommended Citation Mogge, Ludger, "The Union Bimetallic Party of Oregon, 1896-1898" (1977). Dissertations and Theses. Paper 2549. https://doi.org/10.15760/etd.2547 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations and Theses by an authorized administrator of PDXScholar. Please contact us if we can make this document more accessible: [email protected]. THE UNION BIMETALLIC PARTY OF OREGON 1896 - 1898 by LUDGER MOGGE A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF ARTS in HISTORY Portland State University 1977 AN ABSTRACT OF THE THES:IB OF Ludger Mogge for the Master of Arts in History presented July 28, 1977. Titles The Union Bimetallic Party of Oregon, 1896 - 1898. AP.fROVED BY THE MEMBF.3S OF THE THESIS COMMll'TEE: Victor c. Dahl On March 23 - 26, 1898, Populists, Democrats, and Silver Repub- licans of Oregon held their state conventions in Portland and agre~d upon a common pla.tform and a common state ticket for the elections of June 6, 1898. None of the available works on Oregon history expla.inS that this fusion was the culmination of a two-year effort to unite the reform forces o:r the sta.tee Thµ; thesis tries to fill the gap. Because of the lack of secondary works on the subject, the thesis is based ma.inly on two sources: newspapers on mi~rofilm, especially The Oregonian; and the unpublished correspondence of. party chairman 2 . Cooper (January, 1897 - February, 1898, in the Oregon Historical Society). It will be seen that the party was at first a local party, dealing especially with economic problems,. and then.broadened its scope to embrace Populist principles. · The first chapter deals with the national background. It briefly reviews the currency legislation since 1834 and the economic situation, especially of farmers, in the wake of the panic of 1893. The National Silver Party is discussed, because the Union Bimetallic Party of Oregon may have been intended as a state branch of this natio- na.1 organization. The terms "free coinage of silver" and "bimetallism-' are explained, and _the demand for direct legislation, arising in the early 1890's, is alluded to with special reference to Oregon. In the second chapter the origin of the Union Bimetallic Party is traced to splits over the money question within the Republican Party of Yamhill County. After the new party had scored a complete victory in the county elections, it was expanded into other counties; the first state convention was held on July 9, 1896. The presidential election of November, 1896, and the ''hold-up''-legislature of 1897 are dealt with as far as members of the Union Bimetallic Party were involved. After months of inactivity the party was revitalized-in the spring of 1897 and further expanded in the following months. Emphasis is laid upon the internal debate over union or fusion, e.g., whether I the old pa.rty organizations should .be dissolved or maintained. This I L question was decided in January, 1898, in favor of the latter solution 3 and the Union Bimetallic Party was thus reduced to a coordinating body and practically became~superfluous. The fifth chapter deals with several forces which were detri­ mental to the Union cause: the return of prosperity since the spring of 1897; the chronic lack of funds; the rumors about alleged secret deals with Mitchell Republicans and Pennoyer Democrats; and the re.sistance of Mid-road Populists. The proceedings of the state conventions of 1898 are described. As far as the campaign is concerned, only the impact of the war with Spain is alluded to. On June 6, 1898, the Union forces suffered a severe defeat; some reasons for this defeat are given. TO THE OFFICE OF GRADUATE STUDIES AND RESEARCH: The members of the Committee approve the thesis of Ludger Mogge presented July 28, 1977. r n Victor C. Dahl APPROVED: Graduate Studies and Research TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE LIST OF TABLES • vi LIST OF FIGURES . • vii CHAPTER I THE MONEY QUESTION AND THE~DEMAND FOR DIRECT LEGISLATION • • . • • • • . • • • • ~ • • . 1 Currency Legislation Since 1834 and the Panic of 1893 . • . • • • • . 1 The National Silver Party . ~ . 10 The Meaning of "Free Coinage of Silver" and "Bimetallism" ~ . • • • • • . • 18 The Demand for Direct Legislation . 24 II ORIGIN AND FORMATION OF THE UNION BIMETALLIC PARTY OF OREGON (FEBRUARY - JULY, 1896) 29 The Split in the Republican Party 29 The Formation of the Union Bimetallic Party · 31 The Union Bimetallic Convention of April 18,. 1896 . 36 The Elections of June 1, 1896 • • • • I • 38 Expansion of the Party. Biographical Sketch of J. C. Cooper . 42 The First State Convention (July 9~ 1896) • • • • tt • • 45 iv CHAPTER PAGE III THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION OF 1896 AND THE-HOLD UP LEGISLATURE OF 1897 . • • • . • .. • • • • • • • • 51 The Campaign and Presidential Election (August - November, 1896) ..... 51 The Hold-Up Legislature of 1897 -- and Aftermath tt • • • 54 IV EXPANSION OF THE PARTY, THE DEBATE OVER UNION OR FUSION~ AND SOME PRELIMINARIES OF THE 1898 CAMPAIGN (APRIL, 1897 - MARCH, 1898) . • . 60 The Albany Conference of June 2, 1897 . 60 Union or Fusion? . • . 68 Further Expansion of the Party and Bryan's Visit to O~egon (June ~ August, 1897) . 75 Developments in Some Counties (December, 1897 - March, 1898) . " . 78 Preliminaries of the 1898 Campaign (December, 1897 - March, 1898) .•.. 85 v FORCES DETRIMENTAL TO THE UNION CAUSE 90 The Return of Prosperity . 90 Chronic Lack of Money 96 The Pennoyer "Push" and Rumors About Other Schemes . • . • " . 98 Resistance by Mid-road Populists • . 103 VI THE CAMPAIGN AND ELECTIONS OF 1898 (MARCH - JUNE, 1898) •.•••.• • • • • ~ t • . ' ' . 111 The State Conventions of March 23~26, 1898 • . 111 The Campaign and the War with Spain 121 The Elections of June 6, 1898 .. • • t' • .. • • • 124 v PAGE SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY • • • • t • 130 APPENDIX A: LIST OF DELEGATES . ' . 136 APPENDIX B: . THE UNION STATE CENTRAL COMMITTEE . ' . 140 LIST OF TABLES TABLE PAGE I Production of Gold and Silver, Worldwide and United States, 1871 - 1885 •••.•• 3 II Wages or Earnings, all Industry, Unskilled Labor, and Farm Labor, 1890 ~ 1896 •••• . 8 III Prices for Selected Farm Products, 1881, 1885,.1890 - 1896 . 9 IV Oregon State Elections of June 1, 1896. Votes for Supreme Judge and U. S~ Congressman • • • tt • • • 39 v Presidential Election of November 3, 1896. Votes for Republican and Fusion Electors . 53 VI Production of Gold and Silver, Worldwide and u. s., 1890 - 1897 . 93 LIST OF FIGURES FIGURE PAGE 1 Oregon State Elections, June 1, 1896 Counties with Majorities for Republican or Reform Legislators • . • . • • 40 2 Oregon State Elections of June +, 1896. Counties Represented by Republican or Reform Legislators . • . • 41 3 Presidential Election of November 3, 1896. Counties with Majorities for-Bryan or McKinley Electors 53 4 Oregon State Elections, June 6, 1898. Counties with Republican or Union Majorities, State-Wide and Congressional Races • . • . • • . • • 126 5 Oregon State Elections, June 6, 1898. Counties Represented by Republican or Union State Legislators .• •..•..•..•..•..•..•• 127 CHAPTER I THE MONEY QUESTION AND THE DEMAND FOR DIRECT LEGISLATION CURRENCY LEGISLATION SINCE 1834 AND THE PANIC OF 1893 A short review of the monetary legislation of the United States must go back at least until 1834. On June 28 of that year, a coinage act was passed1 which provided for a silver dollar of 412~ grains. The coinage ratio by weight of silver in comparison to gold was about 16 to 1. But this was not an exact expression of the true value of the two metals towards each other; the ratio put too much silver in the silver dollar and too little gold in the gold dollar. The result was that silver, as the dearer of the two metals, went gradually out of production. The small quantities which still existed were swept ou~ of circulation during the Civil War by the so-called greenback notes of 1862 and 1863.2 On February 12, 1873, Congress passed a new coinage act as a matter of routine and in a rather perfunctory fashion. In the belief that the silver dollar was no longer needed, a provision was included that the coinage of any new silver dollars in the coming years was L,An Act concerning the gold coins of the United States, and for other purposes"; U. S., Statutes at Large, IV, 699. 2see J. Laurence Laughlin, The History of Bimetallism in the United States (4th ed.; New York: D. Appleton and Company, 1898), pp •.60-73, 86-9. 2 to be discontinued.3 However, the output of silver in the United States began to increase just a few years later. Since the early 1860's, new mines had been opened up in several states, and after " the completion of the first transcontinental railroad in 1869 the silver was channelled into the nation's trade. Besides, modern tech- niques allowed the usage of low-grade and refractory ores, which had previously been wasted. The world production of silver also increased, if on a much lower scale; but in these same years almost all European countries went over to a gold-standard basis. On the other hand, the production of gold, both worldwide and in the United States, began to decline after having reached a peak in 1877-78.