The Dalles times-mountaineer. [volume] (The Dalles, Or.) 1882-1904, 1893-11-18
DENooRAT1o RESPONSIBILITY
1t is evident from the Washington

1t is evident from the Washington
dispatches that the administration is
in quandary what to do next, says
the Chicago Inter Ocean. For over
thirty years the party now In power
has been relieved from the necessity of
doing anything except to object and
criticise. Of all the Democrats now
prominent from Cleveland down not
one was so much as little bi. pollt-
ical factor during the old Democratic
period. To change from objector and
critic to devisor and executor is no
easy matter. But there is no escape
from this responsibility. No doubt it
il somewhat difficult for the Republi-
cans to realize that they are no longer
responsible for the conduct of public
affairs. congressional or administrative,
but they could not really assert power
if they tried, and the less they try the
better it will be for the party.
Just now the administration is
struggling with the problem of a de-
felt. All through Mr.. Cleveland's
first term tho Republican senate stood
in the way Of any practical carrying
out of free-trade doctrines, and what
ever the house did or the president
said the revenues of the government
were unaffected. Everybody knew
that nothing would be disturbed, and
buying and selling, importing and ex :
porting, producing and manufacturing,
kept on the even tenor of their several
ways. But now all is changed. The
dog is no longer chained, and he can
bite as well as bark. Prices for raw
materials are away down in apprehen-
sion of free listing, the manufactures
are largely stopped in apprehension of
reduced duties on manufactured srti-
cles, importers are going lightly in
hope of lower duties in the near fu-
ture, and from the falling off in i'm
ports the government is suffering
about the same as the producers and
the manufacturers are.
The people, producers. manufactur-
ers, and ell, have been told that the
repeal of the purchase clause of the
Sherman act would restore prosperity
all along the line. Already the fallacy
of this idea is beginning to be dis
tinctly recognized and conceded. The
what next Of the situation is pressing
forward and bound to occupy front
seat in the regular congress.
How to provide against the inevita-
BILE deficit is knotting the brow of
Secretary Carlisle. One proposition
being considered is the increased taxa
ton of beer Another is the coinage
af the seigniorage which. accumulate d
ander the Sherman act. If all that
sullion were coined into silver dollars
hey would exceed the volume of
treasury notes to the extent of some,
hing over Gfty millions of dollars.
That difference between the actual cost
Il the bullion and its value as coin is
which Mr.. Carlisle is try
ng to get hold of and use to bridge
,ver the deficit. He is now drawing
IN the gold reserve, which was accu-
aulated and held to meet the redemp-
lon demand under the resumption act.
He knows very we'll that this is a clear
,ase of robbing Peter to pay Paul, and
,annot 20 much farther with safety to
'ur monetary system. Judging, how
,ver, from the last six months the
president is quite liable to step in and
top whatever his secretary of the
may try to do.