The Washington times., 1894-04-05
PRESIDENT AND MONEY POWER.
The Remarkable Declaration of a Demo.
cratic Newspaper of the South.

The Remarkable Declaration of a Demo.
cratic Newspaper of the South.
[From the Atlanta (Ga.) Constitutional
Col. Oates RepresentatIve in Congress from
Alabama) had dramatic interview with Mr..
Cleveland this week concerning the veto OF
the silver bill.
"My God Oates!" said Mr.. Cleveland to the
colonel, 1.-The banks have got the country by the
leg They can drain the Treasury In forty-eight
hours"
The situation seems to be terrible one in
deed The organized money power of Wall
street is SO powerful that Mr.. Cleveland feels
bound 10 turn his back on the platform and on
the demands of the people in order TO keep the
money power from showing Its claws and DRAIN
ing the Treasury
The plain'inference to be drawn from this sit
uation is that government by the people is at an
end with Mr.. Cleveland: the party can only
cary out such legislation as the money power
will approve The situation is almost an exact
parallel to one that existed more than half
century ago, and if it Is any more dangerous il
is because the President, who has pledged HIM
self TO guard the interests OF the people, has
surrendered them.
There was a time in the history Of the party
when the United States bank and its branches
invaded Congress and dictated legislation. 1t
had its mnions everywhere. 1t was arrogant
and aggressive 1t had its lobby. 1t was in
trenched in both the Senate and the House In
every sense of the word IL was far more powerful
than the money power is at the present moment.
But the people then had for their President
one who was thoroughly in sympathy with their
views His name was Andrew jackson, and he
was man The United States bank and Its
branches, its agents and Its subsidized Senators
and Representatives challenged the President
and defied the people In brief, the United
States bank .'had the country by the leg" But
Andrew jackson did not go around whispering
lost if we do not surrender" He said: ''By the
eternall you have the country by the leg, and Pn
take you by the throat"
The bank had not mistaken the nature nor the
extent of its power, but it had wofully mistaken
the character of the man 1t had to deal with.
The bank was powerful enough TO manipulate
the finances as TO create distress throughout the
country, and 1t employed the power in the most
vigorous way. But in the long and bitter strug-
gle that enSued, although petitions flowed in
upon Congress from every quarter and the Sem
ate passed resolutions censuring him, Andrew
Jackson never weakened He persisted in the
fight, and finally destroyed the bank and gave
the people relief.
fore them. The crisis is even more serious than
il was in 1892. for the country has no Andrew
jackson TO interpose his grim courage between
the money power and its victims. The money
power-which is the bondholdng interests-are
more firmly intrenched than they were in Jack
sons day. They have won a position from which
they can not be disiodged in one campaign A
Democratic Congress, deceived and misled by its
confidence in the Executive, has wiped silver out
of our currency as the money OF final payment
and established the single gold standard And
now the people are told that there can be no
more additions to their currency unless there is
also issue of bonds.
The emergency calls for the courage and pa
troitism of an Andrew jackson, but the man
who stands in andrew Jackson shoes has prac-
tically turned the peoples Treasury and the peo-
pies finances over TO the organized money power
of Wall street
This is the emergency that the people are con-
fronted with. This is the crisis that the Demo-
Gratis in Congress are compelled to face. At such
a time it is the duty o. every Democrat who
stands on the platform and has any regard for
the interests of the people TO be his own Andrew
jackson. II is the duty of every true Democrat
in Congress to forward the work Of relief and re-
form by placing the spirit and intention of the
platform pledges in bills TO be presented TO the
Executive. II these bills are vetoed, the people
viii not hold the party responsible.