The clarion. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1883-1888, 1886-06-09
The Tariff and the Currency.

The Secretary of the Treasury has
rendered his resignation, and instead of
accepting it the President has granted
him leave of absence till the first of
October next. The correspondence, con-
sisting of the letter of resignation, dated
May 20, and the Presidents reply, dated
June ], was made public on the 4th.
Both letters are creditable to both gen.
tlemen.
The policy of the administration in
relation to the tariff and currency laws
is thus stated by Secretary Manning:
Our present tariff laws are a needless
oppression instead of an easy burden
Our currency is chaos, into which we
pour from forced purchases of the pre-
cious metals & mechanical increment
under coinage law, which hinders the
opening of our minis to the Datural and
unlimited coinage of both metals and
the free expansion of our gold and sill
yer along with the growing needs of
mighty people.
All our needful customs revenue might
be collected by strictly revenue duties
on few store articles except by extrav
agant or prohibitory duties upon more
than 1000 articles. The mere mechan-
les of administration by its own mass
and completely breaks down and brushes
out the enterprise it assumes to protect.
A better currency than elsewhere
might be had by few laws of repeating
and empowering legislation, followed by
two or three years Of capable admins
tration of the Treasury and joined with
the present sagacious conduct of our
foreign policy under the State Depart
ment.
Under the operation of the currency
law and tariff laws now in effect, which
you and the Forty Congress were
elected by the people to repeal and re-
| form, the burdened industries of our
country are pluDging heavily along a
miry road toward foreseen danger.
We talk of arbitrating our respective
share of disaster instead of knocking off
our self-imposed letters and releasing a
general prosperity
and thus endorsed by the President;
/ have hoped that the day was at hand
when the party to which we belong, in
fiuenced largely by faith and confidenc e
in you and in the wisdom of your views,
would be quickened in the sense of re-
sponsibility and led to more harmonious
action upon the important question with
which you have had to deal.
There can be no doubt that the views
of the Secretary concerning the tariff
are in strict sympathy with the platform
he hi &c
bers. There can be as little doubt that
his views concerning currency legisla-
ton are shared by but small minority
of the party.
If he could demonstrate that by a
few or many laws "of repeating or over
towering legislation" a natural and
unlimited coinage of both metals" re-
sulting in 'the free expansion of our
gold and silver along with the growing
needs of mighty people," would fol-
10, no one would say him nay.
If our currency is "chaos'', the en-
forced coinage of silver does not make it
so, and the "miry road to foreseen dan
ger" along which the country is "plung-
ing heavily" is condition apparent, if
apparent at all, only to the prophetic
vision.
We sincerely trust that the Secretary's
vacation will restore him to health, and
that he will, in due time, return to his
post, with determination to execute, in
spirit of fairness, such laws appertain-
ing to his Department as he maylfind on
the statute books, including that provid-
ing for the compulsory coinage of silver.