Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1893-09-14
wHArplssEn TIE BILL.
They Had 70 swallow 1t to Save tho
Mckinley Tariff.

Boston Herhm.
We are getting nearer to the true in
wardness Of tho, passage of the sherman
silver bill. Senator Sherman himself mas
told the country he never liked y, but
Senator Sherman foible is not frankness.
He was very far from disclosing fully and
explicitly how he was induced to support
measure that he never liked. In gem
eral he gave a right conception when ne
said II was to avoid something that, in his
opinion. would have been worse than the
bill TINT was passed. More specihcally
speaking, his statement was mlsleadlng,
for it directed attention away from the
belief that the Mckinley tariff had any
thing TO do with the adoption Of the Sher-
man bill into law The public had TO wait
little longer for information on TINS
point. 1t has come now, and the full ma
terial for history is afforded. Senator
Jones Of Nevada leads all the rest in frank
ness and for being specific there is nobody
within mile of him Here is his story,
as told to n group of senators of how the
Sherman bill came to be agreed on in con-
ference committee, and there is the atmos-
phere of verify in its every line
They were all 81 ting around in the confor-
enco room," said Senator Jones, "when came
in with my ultimatuln, wnicn was 4,5OOoOJ
ounces a month. 'oh, ii that is all" said MI.
Wa ker of Massachusetts, who was one OF tue
conferees OH the part Of the House, eve might
a. we'll 90 Tint ends 1t. u is all over Mr..
Walker started toward the door, hut before he
had gone far ! said to him: Perhaps you he
publicans, and you, Mr. Walker, will DO inteI-
| ested In what am going TO say. am sure
guess ali Of you wil.r With that Mr.. Walker
| ranle back but did not take chair. con-
unned; Now, want TO tell you gentlemen,
| that tho Mckinley hill Will DO over IN the
| Senate In very short time II you reject our
| ulttmatuiI on the silver proposition the silver
men In the Senate will move tho free coinage
| bill ns an amendment to the Mckinley bill,
an 1 there are enough Democrats who Will vote
/ with us 10 carry IL. Now, after that amend
| ment Is adopted in the Senate, all the Demo-
| Gratis will vote against the Mckinley bill be-
| cause IL is a protective measure, and the east
ern protectionists In tho Senate viii vote
| against IL because 1t contains free silver. Inc
free silver Republicans IN the Senate viii De
| the only men who will vote for Il, and, being
| PROFESSIONALS they will DO the only consistent
/ men In Tho Senate, beng for protection ana
| for free coinage Of silver When got through
/ they were all listening TO me, and before the
/ conference broke up the silver purchase law,
known as the sherman act, was agreed TO. ?"
We learn from this that the baneful
effect of McKinleyism did not end with
| itself. 1t was bad enough to have that
system fastened upon the country, but it
would appear from the above statement,
| that in order to obtain il, the currency
also had to be sacrificed. Legislation that
Senator Sherman always thought to be
wrong and that has been proved since by
general agreement to be pernicious, was
fastened upon hecountry in order that the
Mckinley bill might be adopted. Here is
the most fragrant instance of injurious
log-rolling that we think our history
records for more than one generation, if,
indeed, there has ever been parallel to It.
We have been hearing for a good while
that the tariff has had to with the present
hard times. There is proof here Of the
truth of the assertion, though not in the
sense intended by those who have made it
We owe the hard times to the Mckinley
tariff from the fact now disclosed, that in
order to pass the tariff those in charge Of
it entered into bargain in legislation tC
enact,a silver law that brought these hare
times upon the country. The tinancia
safety Of the country was put at hazard
and the business prosperity of the whol'
nation sacrificed, that certain men nigh
be induced to vote for the Mckinley tarit
who refused to support il under other con
ditions. Surely this lesson will not be lost