The Ohio Democrat. (Logan, O. [Ohio]) 1886-1906, 1895-01-30
A Damning Record.

astrous reIapses. Here is an In
stance of the latter:
at Is u well-known fact that the
present unfortunate situation Is due
mainly to radical departure from
the Republican policy under which
such situation wasunknown. The
Democratic tariff law has reduced
the revenue to point which causes
a monthly deficit, and Democratic
schemes ofcurrency reform have Sc.
riously impaired the public credit
This is not well known, and 1t Is
not the fact
We Will not say that the trouble
about the gold reserve and the cur.
rency generally began under the
Harrison Administration, for such
trouble really begins when the first
false step is taken, and that was
years before. But it is a fact that
the trouble began to manifest itself
distinctly and Enthusiastically under
the Harrison Administration, and
that it progressed so far that even
in the last month of that Admins.
tration Secretary Foster had pre-
pared to issue bonds. This was
charged last fall, and when Foster
was asked to deny it, he wrote to
Washington to inquire whether
there was any record evidence
there that he had done this. Being
Informed that none had been found
he wrote letter saying there was
no foundation for the statement.
Then a letter Of his own was
printed giving directions for the
plates, and then the plates them
selves are still in existence.
a few indisputable facts are worth
libraries full of theories. Specie
payments were resumed Januar,
l, 1870 For the fiscal years from
1879 to 1881; inclusive, the redemp-
tion Uf United States notes aver
aged $2,635,000 per annum. All un-
derstood that they could get gold
for greenbacks when they wanted
it, and consequently, few wanted
it. The banks furnished the gold
needed for export. For the fiscal
year 1892 the redemption amounted
to $9,125,000. This was under the
Harrison Administration, and be-
fore the election. The distrust
caused by the Sherman act and the
Mckinley Bill had already begun.
For the twenty seven months sue
ceeding the close of the fiscal year
ls92,and the redemptions amounted
to $206, 100000. All of this period,
except thirtyfour days, was under
the Mckinley Bill.
Prior to the period of distrust
which heg.uln under Harrison the
normal amount of gold received for
customs at New York was about
Is per cent. From July l, 1892, to
September so, lS94-all of which
period, except thirty-four days. was
under the Mckinley Bill-it was
only about II per cent, and during
the last seventeen months only 81
per cent. The movement upon the
gold reserve, therefore, and the vir-
lual suspension OF specie payment
by the banks, began under the Har-
rison Administration, and has gone
on at an accelerating ratio. Ac-
count for it as you may, that is the
simple fact. Impartial financiers
contribute it to the Sherman and
the Mckinley acts.
III may be asked, what had the
Mckinley Bill to do with it? 1t
certainly had as much TO do with it
as the new tariff act, and Republi-
can papers say that the latter is the
cause of the present trouble be-
cause it does not yield revenue
enough. Now the Mckinley Bill
is subject to the same objection
The Republicans deny this, because
they say there was no deficit till
the Mckinley Bill was repealed.
They try to establish this by show
ing that there was no deficit "at the !
end of fiscal year." while the Nc
Kinley law was in force. But ev-
cry y.iltelligent person knows that
this is bubble and mere attempt
to palter with us on double sense.
1t is easily demonstratable that
the Mckinley Bill did not yield
revenue enough to meet the en-.
larged scale of expenditure to which
the Republicans committed the
country.
The Harrison Admins ration be-
gan dissipating the surplus even
before the Nc Kinley bill was passed.
The habit of estimating this surplus
at Sl00,000,000 is misleading. Mr.
Cleveland left in 1889 an accumula-
ted surplus Of about 800. 100000,
and besides, the revenues were
sonna 9f00 mn nm 1, won. Z, .x.ose