Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1890-12-02
THE PRESIDENTS MESSAGE.

characteristics that personally attach to the
head Of the administration or the fore
shadowings of his policy given in special
kilograms. Briefly, it car be summarized as
recommending the continuance, in every
particular, of the policy on which the Re-
publican party went to the country in No
vember. With regard to the results at the
next national election, such a course is more
phenomenal for the frmness that is gener-
ally described by a less complimentary term,
than for an intelligent estimate of the polit-
ical future.
The message contains more of the features
of live information than usual to such docu-
ments, making two pieces of information
public that have not been generally known,
namely that the reciprocity provisions of the
Mckinley bill involve a possible hullifca-
tion of the Hawaiian treaty, and that the
investigation of the Barruindia affair has
resulted in the recall of Miner. But IN
recognizing the lesson of still later political
events, the message is more than ordinarily
behind the times. The President is quite
right in claiming that the tariff act has not
had fair test This is the position which
THE DISPATCH has taken and the Presi-
dents arguments in its favor are sound. To
assert that a measure can be judged by ex-
perience before all its provisions have gone
into operation is the height of absurdity.
But when the President goes on to insist on
other leading features of the policy adopted
at the last session of Congress, he displays
a much less solid basis of Judgment.
The arguments in favor of the passage of
the federal elections and apportionment
bills contained in the message, are familiar
and need not be reviewed except as to their
general political meaning. That is, that
the exact policy on which the Republican
party sustained one of the most, overwhelm-
ing defeats of its history is to be adhered TO
without the slightest change. 1t will not
do for popular Government to take the
position that popular verdict like that of
last month is unworthy of its attention.
Nor is it a satisfactory explanation to say
that it was wholly caused by Democratic
misrepresentation concerning the tariff;
for that includes the inference that the
people had absolutely no faith in the Repub-
lican representations concerning the same
subject. Intelligent politics must recognize
that the people at the late elections ex-
pressed their disapproval of measures framed
upon the basic purpose of maintaining one
party in power. This applies directly to
the elections bill, and the settlement of con-
tested elections confessedly by partisan in
terest. The same judgment follows on the
on,1ortionmant hill which iS a constitutional
duty when based upon a census that is re-
liable; but which, if passed hastily on dis
credited census, is only an attempt to gain
partisan advantage. To force these means
upon the short session means the renewal of
the partisan struggles the last session, with
probability of the same result.
In the recommendation for the passage of
a national bankrup: law, and the investiga-
tion of the subject of a water supply for arid
regions, the President indicates the class of
measures to which Congress should devote
whatever time it has to spare from the ap-
preparation bills at this session. By wise
action on such matters the party can relieve
itself from the charge of legislating solely
for its own advantage, and can accomplish
much more in the way of actual business
than if it seeks to plunge again into the
heated struggles that consumed SO much of
the first session of this Congress.
In some other parts the message is open
to criticism. Its statement of the receipts
and expenditures of the Government show
ing large surplus for two years to come, is
open to the suspicion that this result is OBJ
tained by leaving out some very important
items which have always figured in previous
statements. To claim exceptional prosper
ity for the agricultural interests on account
of a rise Of prices based entirely on par
tial failure in the crops. is hardly likely to
prove the best method OF conciliating the
farmers. Finally to attempt to analyze the
causes of the late Wall street troubles with
out recognizing that they were exaggerated
by great speculators for their own enrich
ment is to give partial view which can
hardly be considered as conceived in the
popular interest.
The most decided effect of such docu-
ment is to increase the prominence of Secre-
tary Blaine as the one leader of the Repub-
licans who has the foresight to dissent from
the policy on which it insists.