Evening star., 1895-06-10
Republicans Will Try to Shift From
Silver to That.
PROTECTION TEE issue NEXT YEAR
A Hope That This May Hold the
SiIverites.
PARTY UNITY AND VICTORY

Republicans are daily drifting more and
more to the idea that the voters of the
country should be shifted off the ideas
about free coinage of silver at any ratio
and should get back to that important sub
ject which raped the country during the
last session of Congress. They feel that
their safest ground is in talking about the
tariff
1t is generally recognized that if the pub
lie mind is permitted 20 dwell on the silver
problem not only the democratic party, but
the republican party as well, will be in
great danger of split. Senators Carter
of Montana and Dubois of Idaho have
sounded in positive way the keynote of
the western silverites. These leaders of
western s.lverites are recognized as men of
Influence in the republican ranks, and their
declarations that their followers will de-
mand republican recognition of silver are
received with much concern. AS chairman
Of the republican national executive COM
mittee Mr. Carter will exert a considerable
influence. and Mr.. Dubois can be good
second to the Montana Senator if it should
be determined to carry the war for silver
to an extreme by bringing about split in
the party.
No Marked Concession to Silver.
There is no intention on the part of the
any marked concession to the silverites.
The party is more apt to split than the
convention is to declare for free coinage of
silver. The republican leaders VIII not even
permit the nomination of any man who is
not firmly grounded on the rock of sound
money Sound money is simply what Sen
ator Sherman defined at the Ohio republi-
can state convention at GAINESVILLE
In this dilemma republicans are daily
turning to the idea that some other issue
should supplant that of silver. There is
one issue that republicans believe will be
their stronghold. There is a feeling that
the sentiment of the country today is far
from being friendly to any further revenue
reform ideas. and that the sugges ton of
further movement toward free trade will
be hooted wherever it is brought forward.
For these reasons many republican leaders
think that the tariff should be made the
issue of the campaign of 1896
These republicans are now securing and
tTeasuring data which show the effect of
democratic tariff legislation. These figures
show that previous to the beginning of the
campaign for lowering the tariff during
tnirty-four months there was a surplus of
$2i,OOO.OO0 They will then claim that
tariff tfnkering resulted in a deficit of
$123.OOO,OOO. Further than that. il will be
contended that the importation of Injuries
increased three or four-fold under the Will
son-Gorman tariff bill over the importa-
tions under the Mckinley bill Contrasted
with this result will be showing that i'm
masses of the people decreased.
More Revenue VIII be Needed.
While democrats are declaring that when
the present tariff law gets into full opera
ton it will produce an abundance of rev.
enue, this idea is not credited by very
many republicans. They think that the re-
suits from the tariff law in 1896 will not
prove that 1t was wise, and they believe
W n he
OF course the Supreme Courts action in
declaring the income tax law unconstitu-
tional will be largely responsible for the
failure of the law to produce the revenue
that was predicted. But this fact, it is
thought, will, to some extent, be lost sight
Of and the necessity for raising further
revenue will be a declaration of demo-
cratic blunder.
Republicans will not enter into any cam
paign for a revision of the tariff, but they
declare themselves as friends of a pro-
tective tariff, and claim that If more rev.
enue is to be raised the government should
be placed in their hands in every branch.
This proposition, which is meeting with
very considerable approval, will be in the
line of Mr.. McKinley's candidacy. 1t is
thought that other candidates would pre-
fer not to press the tariff to the front too
forcibly, but 1t is not the special friends
of Mckinley who want the tariff issue
brought to the front. 1t is those who be-
lieve that some issue should counteract the
tendency of the public mind to dwell too
constantly on silver. They want the cam
paign worked in such a manner that pro-
tectionists who might also favor silver will
not under any circumstances leave their
party in order to vote for the white metal
should the danger of a split be realized.
To COunteract Free Silver Arguments.
In the meantime the great body of the
republican party in the east and north are
trying to counteract the influence of free
silver arguments, and the rise in the price
Of commodities such as wheat, corn, cot
ton, live stock and SO forth, which has
begun, is looked upon as the most favor
able way for breaking the backbone of
the free silver movement, as this rise in
prices, although not very marked, is TAX
Ing place under the present condition of
the currency and can in no way, they say,
be claimed by advocates of more silver cur
rency If the country becomes more and
more prosperous, and this rise in prices
continues, many republicans think that the
free silver men will have uphill work with
in their party and that by bringing the
tariff to the front they will have excellent
chances for party unity and a victory at
ha lie