Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1894-10-06


| nal-admnistration and bad policies. the de-
NAL that there is any substantial revival Of
| business due to the passage Of the tariff
bill. and the assertion that there cannot be
| revival as long as the democratic party is
| in power to enforce policies to the unsettle-
| n-ent Of the business interests of the coun-
| try attributing the disasters through which
the country has been passing to the lack of
| confidence. They maintain that this lack of
| confidence on the part of business men
| must continue Us long as the democrats are
| in power. not only because the democrats
| threaten still further tariff tinkering but
because victory of democracy means. they
| say, the triumph of radtcalisn in all its
| forms-free trade, free silver and all the
| vagaries of populism. The strength which
| the populistic faction of the party is dis
playing increases the force of the claim that
| democracy is being rapidly taken possession
| OF by that faction, and that the views of
prevent their going to the third party.
A Further Reason for Lack of Conf
dcnce.
AS further reason for lack Of confidence
| in the party now in control it has been ad-
| ded that that party is not compact organi-
| zation with certain defined principles, but
| is an aggregation of disagreeing factions
| ranging from the most fanatic visionary to
| the calculating politician who is trying to
| use the whole aggregation as an instrument
of power, trusting to his skill to keep the
| dangerous elements under control. The
whole campaign of the republicans is based
| upon the idea of destroying confidence of
the business classes in the democracy
The contest in this campaign is much
| more widely spread, more general, than
| usual 1t extends into the solid south as
| well as into the east anG west. Apparently
| too much Importance Is attached to the dis
agreement within the democratic party on
account of the tariff. The hard fight which
| they have had over that question puts it
most into their minds and the consciousness
or radical difference of opinion, coupled
with bitter disappointment on the part of a
| large faction of the party, renders the man.
ayers extremely uneasy. 1t Is not apparent,
however how they can suffer greatly from
this dissatisfaction within their own party.
II is apparently not their source of danger.
| The democrats who are the most seriously
offended at the failure of the party to pass
| the more radical tariff bill are the free
Traders or those who are practically free
traders. Let these be as much dissatisfied
| as they may, they cannot be driven to aid
| the republicans in the campaign. Those
moderate protectionists in the democratic
party, VINO might be induced to vote with
the republicans. are the ones who are the
| best pleased with the German bill. There
| fore 1t is not probable that the internal dis
| agreements on account Of the tariff will
count for much.
Danger to the DeIAocrats.
The danger OF the democrats in so far
as the tariff figures in this campaign, must
| lie In the alleged dissatisfaction of the in
| dependent business men and manufacture
ers, and an apprehension on their part that
| this bill is but the first step toward a COM
plete destruction of protection. Some eff
fort Is being made by the democrats to
make capital out of the proposition tint if
the republicans are successful there will be
an attempt to return to the Mckinley law,
ana consequently that great agitation over
the tariff question will again disturb the
unsettled business. There is implied In this
ha darn
ful the present law will stand, and there
VIII be rest from tariff legislation. II
this were believed it lei probable that a very
large number of business men, who are not
pleased with the present law would be will
ing to stand the ills now put upon them
rather than have further agitation and I'M
rest The trouble about this argument is,
however, that 1t is known that the demo-
Gratis do not intend to stop at what they
have done The pop-gun bills which have
passed the House. are evidence of this, and
the radicals, who are vastly in the ma
1ority or the party are clamorous for re-
auctions all along the tariff schedule The
republican campaign committee is making
strong card of this evidence that the re-
tentlon or the democratic party in power
means the indefinite continuation of tariff
tinkerinG to keep business unsettled and
make capital timid" until the last vestiee
Of protection has been destroyed. 1t is
therefore not the discomfort and anger of
the free traders that threaten the demo-
cratic party in the campaign, but still the
power or the protected interests. The in
dications from the character of the ljter,-
| ture and the information received are that
| the tariff question is not as seriously
thought or In ali sections of the country
as 1t is in the east and In the big manu-
featuring centers generally.
The Money Question.
The money question is evidently playing
very important part in the campaign, and
| its effect is hard to foreshadow A struggle
| Is going on within the democratic party
which threatens very serious cor sequences
| TO the organization. The election in Georgia
| on Wednesday is reelection of this
| curious spectacle was presented in that
campaign by Mr.. Clevelands Secretary of
the interior and his followers preaching
| sound money from the same platform with
| Speaker Crisp and his followers, who adyo-
Gated free silver and the expansion of eur
rency. me result of the election shows
great reduction of democratic majorites
| as to amount to almost a disaster The
| large white vote cast for the republicans
ana populists against the democratic nom
| 1nee may foreshadow a breaking away from
| that prejudice which has held the white
vote almost solidly together in the south.
The same situation exists in considerable
NUMBER or southern states. A close study
| of this situation seems to indicate that the
democrats are likely to lose heavily to the
poPulists in the south on account of the DO
stion of the democratic administration on
the money question, while in the north and
4
country they are in danger of losing the
votes of the conservative business men,
| Thus the contention in the party seems to
be cutting both ways, with consequences
| that can only be guessed at. Apparently
| the only offset to these threatened losses in
the south and east is the dissa tisfaction of
republicans in western silver states. There
| the dem rats may make some gains, but
| they must necessarily be too few In num-
| Der to bear very heavily upon the question
| of the control of the House. The situation
| there is one largely of future development,
| with a possible bearing uIcn the presden-
| tial campaign in '96.
A General Mix Up Promised.
Apparently the election promises a gen.
eral mix up and confusion in those sections
of the country where the advocacy Of free
silver and populistic notions prevail, while
| in the conservative districts In the country
| the republicans will make gains, even
| though in some cases these districts are Or
dinarily democratic. The defeat Of O'Neil
| of Massachusetts, for denomination, while
| brought about by simply an ordinary
rivalry within his own party, has some
significance in this, that he is a great adj
vocate of the policy which contemplates the
maintenance of conservative principles
| through the adherence to and domination
of the democratic party by eastern men.
| The repeal of the Sherman law was an ex-