The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1894-07-23

by every Democrat, no matter wheth er
he belonged to the ultra free trade
school or was an incidental protection
ISL, was that the Mckinley bill should
be repealed if the Democratic party
! secured control OF the government.
We denounce the Mckinley tariff law
as the eliminating atrocity of class
leSlSlaGlon ana we promise 1Gs
repeal as one of the benefcent results
that will follow the action of the peo-
Pile in lntrusting power to the Demo-
cratic party, thus spoke the platform,
and every Dem ocratic orator and Dem
| ocratlc newspaper iterated and reiterat-
ed this denunciation and this promise.
That this promise would fail of execu-
ton seemed almost inconceiyable, be-
cause such failure would be a violation
of faith that could not be estimated or
excused, and would convict the party
of utter incapacity or utter shameless
ness. Therefore out of all the mang-
ling, out of all the quarreling over
schedules, we have believed all along
that some sort of measure would come
"a measure that would likely fall far
snort OF many other of the party's
pledges, but would serve the purpose of
Keeping this one to repeal the "culmi-
mating atrocity" of the Mckinley law
Our faith that some kind of tariff
law would be enacted was firm until
the appearance of Mr.. Cleveland's letter.
That letter and the temper in which it
has left the two houses have greatly
shaken it. Looking at the situation
as it presents itself today, we should say
that what seemed before last Thursday
an impossibility had become probable
ity. 1t has been evident for some
months past that there must be yielding
on the part of one or both houses of
Congress, that neither house could Sc
cure the passage of just the kind of
bill it desired. Compromise long ago be-
came condition precedent of the pas
sage of any bill. But after each house
had made show of sticking by it's own
measure, we believed that compromise
would be readily arranged. But Mr..
Cleveland's letter has put one of the par
ties which must assent to the compro.
mise, if compromise there is to be, in
such Il position that any yielding OH it's
part will involve humiliation. and it has
made any yielding on the part of the
other useless because he has practically
told them that the bill which might
result from such yielding will encounter
his veto. It will be of no use for the
House to give way now, if it is disposed
to. The Senate alone can yield with
any effect, and the debate of Friday
showed that that body was in anything
but yielding mood. Even the cuckoos
of that body were full of resentment
at the Presidents attack upon the Dem
ocratic senators, and their language was
anything but conciliatory. Gray who has
been looked upon as the administration
leader, very vigorously defended the
right of the Senate to pass any bill it
thought proper. and announced very
clearly his determination to stick to the
Senate bill. German and Brice were
not heard from, but certainly their atti-
tude will be no less uncompromising
than that of the cuckoos. The only
man who : openly suggested that the
Senate yield was Senator Hill, and of
course that suggestion from him had the
effect simply of making the other Dem
ocrats more determined than lever not
to yield. Every sign at present points
to an unbreakable deadlock in which
tariff legislation will fail altogether.