The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1891-01-24
An emphatic Veto" Promised.

The Washington Post is authority
for the following statement:
"Should the [Silverl bill pass the
House the Post feels justified in say
ing that twill meet with an emphatic
veto by the President, giving his
reasons why such financial legisla-
ton dos not meet his approval.
While the President is strongly IN
favor of the passage of the Election
bill and may have received a direct
promise from the advocates OF the
Free Coinage bill that they will pass
the former il the latter can become
a law, he cannot by that method, be
brought to sign Free Coinage bill.
President Harrison has at no time
given any official intimation of will
ingness to sign a Free Coinage bill.
Neither has he expressed an inven-
ton to veto it. His position on the
subject has been a matter of doubt,
although the general tendency OF
opinion at Washington has been to
believe that if he should be called
upon to take action, he would refuse
to sanction the bill. The ground
which he took. in his annual mes
sage in discussing the question was
in substance that the country should
give the recent legislation on silver
fair trial and let we'll enough alone.
If the statement in the Washing
ton Post has been made "by auth
ority," that is to say with the assent
of the President, it will have a
wholesome effect on the Repub
licans in the House, now that
the silver men are about to make
a desperate effect to pass the bill in
that body. There has been alto
gether too much of a disposition on
the part of some Republicans i'll both
the Senate and the House to rely
on the assumption that the bill will
become law; that it is useless for
them to contend against it and that
they had better float with the tide
and make the best of the situation.
The recent utterances OF the most IN =
fluential and respectable portion of
the Republican press and of business
men who have become awakened to
the danger since the action of the
Senate; have already stiffened the
Republican opposition to free coin
age, and resolute declaration from
President Harrison OF his readiness
to apply an "emphatic veto" to the
bill, as the Washington Post credits
him, will still futher strengthen the
position of the anti silver men OF his
party in the House.
1t is reported that Speaker Reed.
who has been from the start an out
spoken opponent of free coinage Of
silver, will exercise his influence
against the consideration of the bill,
and it is a matter of some doubt
whether majority of the Committee
on Coinage, to which it has been
referred, will give it a favorable re-
port. But as the Democrats in the
House, with the exception probably
OF fifteen or twenty members, will
exhaust every parliamentary resource
for forcing a consideration of the bill
and as it is certain that they will be
joined by small contingent of Re-
publicans from the silver States, it
is possible that it may be finally
passed by the same kind of combin-
alton that was formed in the Sem
ate. In this event, the assurance
that the President will veto it will
be Welcomed by conservative bust
ness men generally and by the great
majority of his party through
out the country. Aside from the
support which it receives from the
silver State Republicans, the Free
Coinage bill is Democratic measure.
The people have never had an op,
portunity to pass judgement upon it
at the polls, and President Harrison
by vetoing it would make it an issue
which would be decided at the ballot
box in 1892.