New-York tribune., 1893-08-26
SENATOR HILLS SPEECH.

| Senator Hill has justified the opinions OF his
friends in one respect. He has hit the weak
points of the Presidents position with unerring
accuracy The Presidents care not to explain
what other financial action he favored, and his
language appearing to imply preference for
gold monOmetallism, Senator Hill uses most
effectively. Meanwhile he is rather more en-
phatic and unequvocal in urging repeal of the
silver purchase clauses than any other Demo
crat Moreover, he is able to cite numerous
pertinent statements by him in times past,
showing that he has always been in favor of
the repeal of this act, as indeed he has been of
every other measure of Republican legislation.
He deserves the credit of having uniformly
overturned as far as he could all things Re-
publican, even the best measures, and the laws
of his State.
But his position is greatly strengthened by
the fact that he has all the time declared the
Sherman law the worst enemy of the silver
cause" True, because it has proved beyond
dispute that absorption by the United States
Of the entire product of American mines does
not support the price of silver, as advocates of
free coinage declared it would. The Senator is
quite careful not to admit that this is the one
and sufficient reason for the hostility of free
coinage men to that measure. Instead, he
empties bushel of adjectves on the unhappy
| bill. and calls it Gun Democratic illogical,
dangerous in its tendencies and results, an i'm
| pediment to free coinage and disgrace to the
| silver cause" 1t would seem to have been
enough to show that men of all parties are
desirous of its repeal.
| But the Senator goes on to say that he does
not believe the repeal of this measure will re-
store financial health. In this he has taken
| the true position. 1t has been evident to most
observers that the President made a serious
mistake in charging all existing troubles to that
measure, because the result is liable to prove
| that other and more far-reaching causes re-
| main after this has been swept from the stat
ute-book. Senator Hill is not weak enough To
| avoid that issue, but urges that tariff reform
to which the Democratic party is pledged
"must cause some friction" which, he thinks
ais incidental to the withdrawal of public aid
from private enterprises" He will please re-
peat that phrase year hence.
The Senator's criticism of President Ceve-
| lands position is decidedly keen. He calls at
| tenti0n to the threat that the Administration
would give the country can object lesson"
and to the ghoulish glee" with which every
bank failure has been exploited as proof that
the President was right, and he is meanwhile
quite guarded in saying that possibly the Sher
man act has been most largely instrumental
| in producing existing troubles" But he natly
refuses to follow, if the President means to
favor monometallsm, and insists on free BIZ
metallic coinage" lie is plainly right in treat
| ing the question of ratio as one Of insignifi-
| cant consequence.
What the Senator says of business troubles
is not greatly to his credit. OverprOduction is
a phrase often dragged out by men who have
no more knowledge of economic questions than
| the poor fisherwOman, who burst into tears
when called parallelogram, had of geometry
| Not for twenty years has there been any other
| time when, according to the testimony of all
trade journals, stores of distributing dealers
have been more nearly bare of goods than in
the fall of 1892. The demand had in fact,
forced production beyond the expectation Of
holders. Nor is there sense in saying that the
present panic had lasted longer than the panic
of 1873. The Senator does not know at pres
ent how long this difficulty may last, but the
panic of 1873 lasted five years. 1t is equally
absurd to compare it with the panic of 1857.
which was incomparably less serious in many
aspects, but as to duration continued more than
| two years. The Senator is wiser man in his
! own estimation than in the judgment of any
body else if he is sure that the business of the
country within two years will be fully restored
| to the prosperity of October, 1892 But he
declares that he will vote on the right side. and
| his reasons. if not entirely satisfactory or
| sensible, are in some respects an improvement
| upon those of many who are demanding the
| repeal as a panacea for all financial and in
dustral evils