Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1895-12-28
SILVER MEN IN THE SADDLE.
Plan of Senate Reorganization TO Be
Dictated by Them.

Plan of Senate Reorganization TO Ba
Dictated by Them.
Many republicans at the national
capital fear that mistake has been
made by that party that will bear un-
welcome fruit in the approaching pres
idential campaign. They say that re,
organization of the senate on silver
lines by the republican party is blum
der which should have been avoided.
No doubt now exists that the senate
will be organized during the coming
week, with the republicans in control
of all the important committees.
The finance committee will have a
comfortable working majority of free
silver republicans. Probably the com.
mittee will be enlarged to 13 members
and an effort is being made to retain
the same preponderance of free silver
ism in the new committee that OBJ
tanned in the old. By this means the
republicans hope to be able to defend
themselves with the assertion that un-
der their regime the free silver ma
jority in that committee was precisely
the same as under the democratic
regime. The difference is, however,
that now the republican party must
take the responsibility for whatever is
done, u responsibility which the DEM
ocrats are glad enough to escape.
Some of the New England and east
ern republicans who are earnest advo-
Gates of sound money think tits great
mistake to assume such responsibility
at all. They say it could have been
avoided by simply letting the organiza-
| ton of the senate drift along as it is.
They point to the general belief that as
matters now stand therepublican party
| will win next years presidential cam
paign without much trouble and con-
tend that everything that tends to
change the situation is q risk of loss of
strength. They believe in policy of
letting well enough alone. They argue
that the republican party will not gain
any strength if the people understand
to what extent that organization in the
senate is dominated by free silver ele-
ments and this reorganization has eN-
posed that fact to all observers.
1t is literally true that the republican
party in the senate is completely at
|
the AZ republican senator's now occupy
ing seats 10 are classed as silver men,
or one-half of the whole, with two or
three other republicans occupying a
sort of middle ground between free sill
yer and bimetallism. When the two re-
publican senators from Utah are admit
ted and the party memberships brought
up to Al there will be among them 81
silver men, still near to one-half of the
total.
1t is true also that no reorganization
of the senate without the recognition
of silver was practical. The silver men
had the party at their mercy and were
not disposed to give up bit of Their
advantage. They have been promised
the help of the populists, if their helr
is needed. Not only do the silver re-
publicans and their populist allies con
troll the finance committee, with power
to suppress any measure looking to re-
form of the currency system, or to bring
in free-coinage bill at any time they
may conclude such agitation will serve
their political ends, but the silver fac
tion is virtually in control of the senate
itself and master of the situation as tc
the tariff or any other legislation. Fol
these reasons some of the older end mor'
conservative republican senator's thinl
the reorganization scheme bad politics
calculated to weaken public confidence
in their party.
1t is unfortunate that with Presiden
Cleveland in the white house and two
to one majority for sound money il
the house of representatives the passag
of free-silver bill through the senat'
would have no practical effect. Th
senate is n free-silver body, however
and is likely to remain one throughou
all of the administration which shal
succeed President Cleveland's presen
term-Chicago Times-Herald.