Evening star., 1895-03-11
TARIFF AND SILVER
Why Free Coinage Democrats Ad-
vocate a New Party.
THE FIGHT FOR TARIFF REFORM
Its Various Phases From the Forty
eighth Congress.
SOME PITFALLS FEARED

When those free-coinage democrats who
are advocating the forming of a new party
with silver as the sole issue are asked why
the fight for silver cannot successfully be
made within the ranks of the democracy
they reply by pointing to the fight for
tariff reform. and by recapitulating the
leading features of that struggle, from the
time of the assembling of the Forty-eighth
Congress down to the passage of the Will
son-Gorman tariff bill. They see In that
bit of history an awful warning, and they
are urging upon their friends the necessity
Of studying it in all of Its instructive
phases.
In the Forty-eighth Congress John G.
Carlisle was elected Speaker of the House
over Samuel ]. Randall by a large majority
on the issue Of tariff for revenue only.
Mr.. Randall was an avowed protectionist.
William r. Morrison, appointed chairman
of the ways and means committee, brought
In tariff bill which. though providing for
lowering Of duties, was yet very far from
being bill simply for the raising of reve-
nue.. 1t recognized the principle of protec-
tion at every point. Still. it was not sat
tsfactory In terms to Mr.. Randall and he
was able to behead it.
The national democratic convention of
that year. which nominated Mr.. Cleveland,
adopted a platform insisting that a tariff
for revenue only was the true democratic
principle, and that the party was irrevoca-
bly, committed to 1t. Mr.. Cleveland was
elected President. Mr.. Carlisle was re-elect-
ed Speaker Of the new House, and Mr.
Morrison, reappointed chairman of ways
and means again brought in tariff bill
But again the principle OF protection was
of the first, although the protectionist-
democratic vote showed falling off.
Clevcland's Famous Message.
In 1887 Mr.. Cleveland sent his famous
tariff message to the Ffftieth Congress-
The House again was democratic, Mr.. Car
Isle had been for the third time chosen
Speaker. and Mr.. Morrison having been
defeated for reelection, Mr.. Mills was
made chairman Of ways and means. A
tariff bill was In due time reported, though
stuffed with protection duties. 1t caused
good deal of criticism in free trade circles
and was pronounced by the extreme low
tariff men as most unworthy supplement
TO the Presidents message. Still it passed
the House, and in the national campaign
OF that year the democracy stood upon the
bill rather than upon the Presidents mes
sage or upon the platform of the ST. Louis
convention The battle was lost and the
democracy retired from power.
When the democracy met in national con-
yention at Chicago in 1892 the tariff was
still the paramount question. A heated
controversy was at once begun. The free
traders insisted that the time for tenporz-
ing had gone by. The time for definite
expression had arrived, The democracy
could not longer carry water on both
shoulders. II must either declare war on
protection and promise to cast protection
out. or it would stutify itself and again be
forced to the wall. Mr.. Randall was in his
, grave, but eminent followers of his sur
vived. and they strenuously opposed the
adoption of any platform conveying an ex-
treme meaning as to revenue. Mr.. Cor
man. Mr.. Brice. Mr.. Whitney and other
protection democrats were on the scene and
directed their side of the fight. They won
In committee. ard tariff compromise was
written into the resolutions. but the free
traders had this action reversed in open
convention. The compromise was rejected
and an out-and-out free trade platform
adopted by vote Of two to one. Then
followed the landslide in November. and
the requirement of full power, legislative
and executive, by the democracy.
The Last Tariff Act.
The free traders were now in the highest
feather. The country had elected a Presi-
dent and Congress on a free trade plat
form, and surely there could be no LONGER
any delay about putting customs duties
down to a revenue basis. After such a de-
cision as had just been rendered at the
polls the friends of protection, whether
democrats or republicans. could not reason
ably expect to see even a vestige Of pro-
lection retained in the tariff policy of the
government. But the free traders were
democrats had another shot In their locker.
and they fired it with telling effect. They
held the balance of power in the Senate
and by that means forced the extreme rev.
enue reformers to terms. The ways and
means committee of the House. though pre-
sided over by MIR. Wilson, and made up in
its majority of low tariff men, brought in a
Dill recognizing the principle of protection
as distinctly as the Morrison bills and the
Mills bill had done, and reducing revenue
duties IN no heroic way. This work was
revised by the democrats of the Senate. and
protection still further stamped upon the
bill. The measure in that shape became a
law, and the feeling in both of the old par
ties today is that the tariff question has
been closed for at least decade.
The Same Pitfalls for Silver.
The free coinage democrats, who put the
tariff story in this form and dscant upon it.,
see the same pitfalls for silver If the same
course is pursued. There are divisions in
the party on the one question as on the
other. The protection democrats live in
the east as the gold democrats do In the
case of the tariff the party In the south and
west stood for reduction of duties to a
revenue basis. The party in the east stood
for protection. There really was no room
In the same organization for men like Mr.
Mills, holding to the one view, and men like
MIR. German. holding to the other A de-
feat for one faction was inevitable 1t
came to the larger of the two factions. and
pledges. which had been made over and
over again. And so, it is asserted, will the
result be If this same union is longer kept
up between democrats advocating free
coinage and democrats opposing free coin
age They must part company. If they
hold together a campaign of dissimula ton
will follow, and either the party in it's en-
tirety will be defeated at the polls or else
one or other of the two factions will be
subsequently. in the effort to fashion salts
factory financial legislation. The extreme
fro nina ha1
and the silver issue so shaped that men will
seek their proper company regardless of
past affiliations on other issues.
Would Apologize to Randalrs Ghost.
''Shade of the brave and generous Ran
dall!' exclaimed free coinage democrat,
in conversation with representative of
The Star today, in comparing the two aues-
tions and their management. "To think
that he should have been driven from
power because of his protective proclivities
and the Wilson-Gorman bill, after ten years
of agitation. accepted as the party's legis-
latiye eyDreSSiOn of tariff principlaSi 7 oD-