New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1893-08-12
MR. GORMAN HOLDS THE AEf =
ur HAS CONTROL OF THE SITUATION IN
THE SENATE.

,.,cor.srn PROSPECT OF A CONFERENCE.-THE
PRESIDENT IS AWAY AND ADMINIsrRA'
TON DEMOCRATS ARE wAVERIN"'
fnY TELEGRAPH TO THE TRIBuSEI
u,.ah,ne,or Aug. Ex-senator Germans o'ee'
| ,r, committee spent good many aoo''o""'
hours to-day trying to patch up sone '. ~
Logs evasiye compromise" to be suoIi''e -.
Senate as a definite party policy III lieu VI -.
dent Cevelands direct and outspokeH 80, d.
| d.tiop of unconditional repeal OF the SILVER III
chose act No positive result of any KIND was VI
cou,d no expected from to-day's dehpera'ion''
for as yet the Steering Committee See'' w
simply experimenting with numpei y.
proposals Of legislation which touch o"S III.
face OF the disagreement between the t"o i"e
and which even IL adopted, would SATISFY he''"e
side The astute and cautious leader Vi TIC INC
| ,or,tv Mr. German has, 1t Is safe to say 80 iai
held the Steering Committees dehoerauo,'
| of the vital point at issue nancy a,,o
Democratic Senators are, or are not " ''p ',,
the Administrations programme Oh unco"d'''"
repeal. ... 90
Mr. German knows as well as any one ''a' "
osk tho majority of his colleagues to pledge the"l-
selves to a policy of repeal pure ana simpe' sue.
as the President and the country ueihai' 10
| put them in the humiatns attitude VI op.,,
denying every profession OF beiet wmch my no.
| made on the financial question for the ias' "'e
wears and to subject them to the scorn OF the co,'
st,,uencies 10 which they bound by all the op-
LEGATIONS ofpolitical honor and personal goou ia''"
to maintain promises of legislative action 'oiu'i
| teered In all sincerity and without ,he ''e"
reservation To devise therefore. II possipie' So''
| form, of subtcrfuge by means of which the Demo-
cratic Senators who in the last TWO eo"s'e
,,, nnor,sd the most radical free coinage and
| imitation legislation can now assist IN carryihs
through an ultra antsilver programme w""ou'
| too patent qualification of their records anu u.
| ances Is the difficult task Mr.. German mas unue
| ,,,or and u IL not to be wondered at that IL
should require both time and diplomacy " '"'''t'
some measure of compromise when may oe a."
| ,,dgod .supar-coated" enough to be swallowed py
both the hating converts to the single soiu
standard and by the Administrator IL" ios"
"sound money friends in the Denlocrauc ha'oi''''
T, h,s effort 10 secure party harmony at any
~, -, aoIav and dickering Mr.. German has al
eodv laid himself open. and justly, to the charge
| NJ sacrificing the public interest to obtain mere
partisan and political advantage. win 'he 'ai ,
| land Senator It Is plainly of much less i"poi 'a,
that Congress should give the country speedy feei
or any relief at all than that the legislation en-
| acted whatever it may be. should bear the stamp
| ~ a democratic party measure. Thus, although
| ,or,a thirty Republican Senators stand reauy W
| ioin the Democratic friends OF unconditional re
neal TO push through the Senate at once 'he 'es'
| oton asked for by the Executive Mr. Gorn'a"' .''e
! .drInistratlons supposed spokesman IN the ue-
lucrative branch" subbornly refuses to ailo" ''ie
| senate even TO continue its sessions I"oar"n
occupying time precious to the pubic III ue
with the opponents OF repeal for some sor. vi 'o''
| o,ris." which NAV secure harmony in the Demo-
cratic ranks nj the expense of displacing the Al
minisrations sensible and practical programme ioi
| something far weaker and more unsatisfactory
| either 10 the Executive or TO the country
| sucb prrely partisan method or dealing WIN
the question which the present extraordinary SEES
sion was expected to settle in refreshingiy pa'ri
L ,Ighf he
disted II the so-called Administration Senator'S hau
singlv or collectively any capacity for leadership OF
any serious influence In their partys COUNCILS "a
movement headed by Senator Mcpherson tray
Villas or Palmer for unconditional repeal on 'he
| limo NJ the Administration platform would, without
! doubt with the aid of the Republicans comihahu
n majority vote In the Senate. But the distinctive
10 CLEVELAND Senators have been so sudiously sup
,rassed on the Democratic side that not one OF
them has now the courage or the confidence 10 ieau
a movement in opposition TO the Judgment anu
| wishes OF the established managers. Ihat MT
German would punish such an attempt NJ parry
mutiny Is only too certain. and Mr.. German WORD
| 20 law abparently not only with the an;i-Admin-
| ,s,ratIon hut also with the Administration Sena-
tors. 49,
| That Mr. German does not intend to relax his
| grip on the party management IN the present
| crisis IL shown clearly enough in the compostoh
| OF the STEERING Committee" which he heads ne
other members OF this committee are Senator'S
Cockreil blackburn, Ransom. Villas Gray Walt
hall and White. Of Louisiana. Messrs Was
Gray and White represent the out-and-out Sleve ,
land element in the Senate Messrs: c1ck nsdn
blackburn Ransom and Walthall have all d been
for years consistent free-coinage men, voting
only last summer for the passage Of the stewart stewart
hill and again In February of this year aga'ilst
| Wr Hills motion to consider the repeal OF the
| sherman act. Messrs. blackburn and Hanson
are now suspected of being more or less dubious
converts to repeal. az Mr.. German himself is but
all four OF these Southern statesmen can be coune'
on to follow the Maryland Senator II ne desires it
II I'm any effort dlsplace the Administration
| programme with n weak <need compromise, and
| to fost that compromise on the majority as
party measure. ,... . A., ~ 80
Heading a steering Committee of his own ap-
| pontment the majority of whose members sym
| pathize with him In his purpose to subordinate
| the public interest to securing party harmony.
Mr. Gornfan has thus in his own hands the Key
TO the situation In the Senate. Mr.. voorhees,. the
chairman OF the Finance Committee, mas been ex-
Guided from the steering board, and can have
neither influence nor responsibility In determining
the policy to be submitted to .the next Democratic
caucus for adoption. With the President out OF
town and no aggressive Administration Influence
TO hold the wavering Democratic Senators up TO
the policy of unconditional repeal. the prospect Of
| a compromise on silver in the Senate has thus
plainly increased in the last twenty-four hours,
and with 1t the prospect of additional delays
and n Drotracted struggle In the Senate.