The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1894-10-05
wilson on Campalgn Issues.

0POh +,
40 October NORTH American ReVie"
upon the issues of the coming campaish.
The article was grouped in the 'heVie"
with one by Chairman William L. WILSON
of the Finance Committee OF the pres
emf Congress, upon the same topic we
propose today to take a cursory glance at
Mr. Wilson'S treatment of the questions
now up for public adjudication
And first of all, the unprecedented read
rcannot but be impressed with the diner
ence of tone between the articles oil MI
wilson and Mr.. Reed. While MI. heeu
is fippant, cynical, sectionsi' reckless
u5,so, is grave. earnest, filled with
conviction. inspired with the desire VI
good for the whole country, ana COLI
trolled in every utterance by an anxious
..,;an+,ousness The article OF MI.
Reed is a sort of irresponsible caIhpaisH
whom: that of Mr.. Wilson is the earn
n,.o of q statesman addressing HIM
81. not alone to a constituency of the
nrasent day but to the generations OF the
future.
AR Wilson opens by portraying the
a,fficulties that beset the Democralc
m IT'S access to power in 1893.
Under these difficulties it came into pow
or with the duty of ~inaugurating a ne"
nol;cv. The chief reforms to ~hlch 1t
NOS nladeed were:-Repeal of the Shef-
man act; repeal of the Federal Eie'-
lion law: reform of the pension systehh'
greater economy in the government eA-
tension of civil service reform; ana
chastity but pre-eminently" the repeal %
the Mckinley bill. In view OF the III
mensity of this programme, Mr.. wilson
supeests that any party which couio
carry it out, even under the most l"'o
able circumstances, would deserve inc
gratitude and support of the people.
Rut the circumstances of the Democracy
were most unfavorable on two grounos'
First. the control of the Senate WIN
a bare majority of one and with party
fealty sitting light on many members
nos moro nominal than real; second,
WAS 1HOIC
the party came into power when Imam
cial storm had already gathered ana
was on the point of breaking upo the
country.
That the Democracy was not respoh-
sibla for the financial depression, MI
Wilson amply shows For months pe1ore
the Harrison administration ended, the
Treasury was in desperate pecuniary
straits. Only the Sherman act Juggling
with the National bank deposits and a
bookkeeping device prevented a resort 10
naw taxes inst to meet current expenses.
The free gold in the Treasury had peguh
to diminish from the date of the passage
of the Sherman law in 1890. The Demo
crscv7 was in no sense responsible fol
these conditions nor for the general com
mercial crisis which accompanied them
..no- yet for the vicious laws. which, II
they did not beget the panic and the
crisis, certainly euickened their coming
and added to their fury"
Mr.. Wilson goes on to show how the
sherman Act was repealed; then came
the Federal Election law, which was
wiped from the statute books. These
laws were a part of fhe Republican policy
of intermeddling with State affairs, anc
pass into history along with the aiier
and sedition laws of the old F~ederalists
and the far more monstrous Force bill
from which we SO narrowly escaped il
the Fifty-frst Congress" Third in order
came the pension reform. The pension
roll has been purged of many fraudulent
claimants in the face of ciamor and mis-
representation from interested parties
and partisans. The pension reform has
Melted a saving to the people OF $l5,0oO,oH
annually without injustice TO any meri
torious claimant.
AS for the matter of economy th'
party has the record of having reduced
the appropriations for the current fisca
wear s29, eoo, 600, as compared with the las
session of the last Congress This it hal
done. Notwithstanding the allowance o
ST., 0U9, 900 for rivers ana harDorS ahe
81 600. 600 more than before for the Navy
There was no Rive and Harbor bill IN
the second session of the Fifty-secon'
Congress, and SO the Democracy cal
claim a real reduction of about s45, 900, 90
in the ordinary expenses of government
This is not to be wondered at when tn
single fact is stated that over GOO Office
have been abolished.
Civil service reform has been DEVELOPS
by the establishment of the four years
term fer Fourth Glass postmasters. Last
ly, there is the repeal of the McKinle.
bill and the substitution of a tarif
which, If not ideal. is a movement Il
the right direction. This is what MI
Wilson says of it,
The bin which passed, however. with ali o
its defects and censnrnble features, contains
even by fhe Admissiou 81 It's severest critics
q most solid dnstaiment Of tariff reform. an
wiz % much towards Tightening taxation an
securing freer play and larger Haafkets TO
American Industries. But its chief value an