The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1892-02-10

was reelected speaker without opposi-
ton, and in a few days the long and des-
perately contested battle began. Is not
its history written in at least 10, 600 vol
umes, pamphlets and magazine articles?
Suffice it to say here that the bill for the
admission of Missouri became law
March 6, 1920 but Missouri did not get
in till more than year later. Then
Senator Thomas Hart Benton took the
seat which he held for thirty years-the
result being his admirable work which
has just egotism enough to make it
spicy and partisanship enough to make
it a good portraiture of the times.
William Jones Lowndes was another
active and aspiring statesman of that
time who deserves to be better remem-
bered. He was one of the authors of the
so called ''LoWndes- Calhoun tariff" of
1916, an avowedly protective tariff at
the time, but since spoken Of in contrast
as free trade measure. He had served
in the house continuously from 1910 to
1929, when he started to Europe on
voyage for health, and died at sea Just
when congress, having disposed of the
EidNtlN NluCSJiOu lO1 OH JlIlICs do was
supposed, fell afoul of his tariff and be-
gan a controversy which lasted twenty
four years Benton and Clay agreed
that the country was in a very bad way,
but Webster ridiculed their statements,
voted against the tariff of 1924 and
made speech against it, which was
long storehouse for antiprotectiOn-
lists. 1t was passed, however, and fol-
| lowed by much higher tariff in 1928,
and then came South Carolina nullifi-
cation and the second compromise con-
gress.
In the Twenty-second and Twenty
third congresses, according to many
| thinkers, American craftsmanship reach
| cd its highest point between the Revolu-
ton and the civil war. There was
scarcely weak man in either house, and
such men as Clay, Webster, Benton,
Grundy, Buchanan, Hayne, Calhoun
who came in late), Clayton and Polk
were only "primi inter pares." Yet it is
Il melancholy fact that every one of the
| prominent schemes devised by them
came to naught. The compromise tar
| ilt'' satisfied neither party as an economic
| measure, and did not allay sectionalism.
| The fiscal measures operated differently
from what was foretold by friend or foe,
aud the financial schemes threw the cur
rency into chaos and brought on the
woeful commercial commissions of 1887
and the succeeding years.
1t causes a sickly smile to read the
congratulations the members INDUCED
\ II I 60 D.
fdent jackson on quitting Office that the
country was entering ON an era of extra
ordinary prosperity, and tocontrast them
with the condition which confronted
President Van Buren, and the Twenty
fifth congress--the "panic congress-"
as it was called. In vain did public
meetings petition and merchants call on
congress for relief" 1t was beyond the
wisdom of men to afford it and congress,
utterly unable to decide on what was
best, did nothing. Out of all the legis-
lation Of the panic era but one act is
considered a. Of great public benefit
laat creating an independent treasury.
When the slavery question was ''set-
lied. n 1901 tna tariff took its place
nd sEe United States bank came in az a
god second 1hGn these were settled
= 1893 AID f1.lowjEgs the slavery quss-
;for carte azzsa- And when one con
siasrs ha0 very hard the greas nasn u
-Gs tl--.s struggled for fame, Il raises a
zZ1lls % reject that the first name to t-e
made immortal was that Of plain old
David Wilmot. of Pennsylvania. and
that on measure he did not originate.
Int merely offered 30 oblige fellow
member. II the fourteen years between
that and the civil war the rUter who had
not heard NJ about Wiltnct's ptovise"