The new dominion. [volume] (Morgantown, W. Va.) 1876-1904, 1893-12-23

well TO recall the attention of the
country to the fact that the Repub-
liean party was responsible for the
Sherman law. He does better in
emphasizing the fact. which is bard
ly TO be doubted. that if Mr.. Cleve-
land and not Mr.. Harrison had
been President when the Sherman
bullion parchase bill was sent from
Congress to the Presidentit would
have met a veto and not signature
These are things which it will be
well to keep in constant public re-
membrance as long as the effort of
the Republicans to mislead the peo-
pie and avoid their own party re-
sponsibilit;es continues.
Nor is it well to allow fergetsul-
ness of the official record showing
that in Congress the Republican
vote was unit for and the Demo
cratic vote unit against the pas
sage of the Sherman law The re-
cord as TO that la. can be sum
married. in the statement that it was
adopted by the Republicans aud re-
pealed by the Democrats.
While this fact has been nncon-
trosertible it was largely obscured
or lost sight Of during the long de-
bate, under the influence of that
feeling which, as Mr.. Wilson says,
leads the mass of people to hold re-
sponsible for any present i'll the par.
ty in control of the Government.
But il has not been entirely OBJ
seured enough to reassnre the Re
pub lean leaders, is evident from the
anxiety of Messrs Reed and McKin
lev. Their effort to minimize the
Importance of the Sherman law as a
factor in financial and commercial
depression is not consistent with
their recent attitude of insisting up
on its repeal or with their present
attitude OF condemnIng Democrats
for delay in bringing that repeal
about. Such inconsistency can only
be explained in one way. Repuhli-
/
cans are realizing that the results OF
the late elections were not an ex-
preston of the intelligence of the
business interests of the country.
They fear the verdict of that intelli-
gence when fully made up and ex.
pressed.
That they have fallen upon the
tariff in their anxiety to force new
question into the foreground is not
to be wondered at. Tariff stands to
the Republicans now as the ground
hog did to the boy whose folks were
out of meat. We have accordingly
a consensus opinion between Mr..
Reed and Mr.. Mckinley that it is
the agitation of proposed tariff
changes which unsettles values and
proloDgs business prostration.
Such a contention leaves us entire
ly st loss to understand why
Messrs. Reed and Mckinley should
have entered upon period of agita
ton during the first session of the
Fifty first Congress, or why they
should have forced to passage a tar
if law making the most radical
changes, both in the enlargement of
the free list and the increase in ex-
listing duties, the country had ever
experienced
In the result of the preceding ma.
tional campaign, according to Re
publican Interpretation there had
been command from the people to
let tariff alone. In that campaign
the Mills bill had been denounced
by the Republicans as measure
threatening to unsettle values and
derange business. The election of
Harrison was accordingly claimed
by Republicans to be a distinct con-
demnation of the policy of tariff ag
itation. Yet at the first session of
| Congress under the Harrison admin
istration Messrs. Reed and McKin-
ley exercised their influence and
abused their powers to force into
the statutes a tariff law making
more and greater changes than any
which had preceded it since war tar
ifs began.
1t may be part of the Republi.
can belief that it is only such tariff
changes as reduce duties on manu-.
featured goods which threaten bust
ness. Such an idea is untenable
If changes unsettle values an in
crease will be as potent as decrease
in that direction If not, how will
Republicans account for the depres-
sion lasting from 1873 to 1878? For
some years following the war there
were large increases in the schedules
of the Morrill, war tariff for the ben
eff t of New England manufacturers
There was no tariff agitation then
because the Democratic party could
not force the issue 1t is matter
Of record, nevertheless, that the du-
ties were raised. 1t is a matter of
record, too, that values were unset
tied and business Frustrated. Was
the depression because of or in spite
of tariff sinkering?
Mckinley and Reed are the best
representative of the Inconsistencies
and insincerities of Republican.
They constitute the logical Republi-
can ticket of 1896.-The Republic
| Died.
PUGn-Timothy Pugh died at his
home near Easton on Friday evening
! Do.o,,I,ar 1Eth of noa,r,1,;, ,coJ