The herald., 1895-03-26
THE OLD GUARD

time to review the situation from the point
of view of earnest and consistent Democ-
racy and get back to first principles.
The last two years have certainly been
hard ones for the Democrat, party-the
same com bination of circumstances would
have worked against any political organi-
cation that ever existed in this or any
other country. That it has not resulted
and is not destined to result in the utter
wreck and ruin of the Democratic party,
is proof of the inherent strength O. the
organization and the consistency and firm
ness of its underlying principles.
A little more than two years ago the
Democratic party came into power in the
three branches of the Government, with
President who had been tried by four
years service to the country. and whose
record for substantial business judgment
was without a flaw, and with House
overwhelmingly Democratic and free from
sctlonal dividing lines. The weak spot in
the organization, as was seen from the
very start was the Senate, where the
party had narrow majority. and where
there was evident lack of harmony on the
two great questions with which the ad.
ministraton would be called upon to
grapple-the tariff and the currency.
Four years before when the Republican
party had come into power at the conclus-
ion of Mr.. Cleveland S first administration,
it found large surplus in the treasury
the result of years of over-taxation by
excessive tariffs-and to do away with
this surplus, in order that there might
be no cause for a reduction of the tariff,
they proceeded to squander the money as
rapidly as possible They did the job
all too thoroughly, and when Mr.. Cleve-
land again took up the reins OF office he
found depleted treasury and nothing but
gold reserve OF one hundred millions be-
tween the nation and its promises to pay.
The people are sometimes slow to under
stand, but in the long run they can be de-
pended upon to put the blame where it be-
longs. Certain it is that history will not
hold the Republican party guiltless for
the catastrophes that ensued.
The Democratic party was put into
power by the people of the United States
to reduce its tariff taxes. The campaign
of 1892 was fought out on no other basis,
and the Republicans themselves, when
their defeat was evident, admitted that
Vic 4uCAlul0y dCV WdS viz Sou0S "a oAASAA
overthrow. With the certain knowledge
that the tariff was to be reduced-for the
whole people had so decreed-the import
ers naturally cut their business to min
mum and the income of the government
flom the custom houses fell to figure
considerably below it's actual needs.
All this was inevitable in the nature OF
things, but it was complicated to high
degree by the bank panic of 1898, which
arose from an entirely separate set OF
causes. With the reckless extravaganza
of the Republicans during 1SS9-9l had
come an era of speculation and imitation OF
values all over the country to be sue
ceeded as inevitably as night after day by
an era of contraction and hard times. The
collapse of Australian securities and of
the Argentine bubble had frightened the
purse strings of John Bull against all for
eign borrowers, and the Mckinley bill had
Infatuated him against the United States
in particular. Our railroads are largely
built by English capital of late, and the
year after the Mckinley act went into force
the smallest amount of new railways was
built in proportion to existing roads that
this country ever witnessed. A thousand
other evidences show from what direction
the blow came that struck us in the
spring of 1898. The attempt to lay it on
the shoulders of the Democratic party was
good enough Morgan" for election
time, but when history is written the
blame will go where it belongs.
1t goes without saying that no political
party can withstand the deluge of a
money panic whether it is responsible or
not. The election of Mr.. Tilden to the
Presidency of the United States in 1876
with a Democratic Congress followed hard
upon the Republican home made panic of
1878. The defeat OF the Democratic party
last fall was foregone conclusion from
the day the banks began to fail.
And how has the Democratic party car
ried out it's stewardship and fulfilled its
pledges to the people? Verify, no worse
than its immediate prede cessor in Off ce,
the Republican party, and to our regret be
it spoken. not much better. AS against
the Mckinley act which increased the
cost of living and upset business all over
the country SO that scarcely Republican
Congressman could be found after the
succeeding election, we have the Wilson
bill, which is on the whole good meas.
ure. though not without some serious
faults, and which possesses the special
merit of taxing the exceedingly large in
comes OF the rich. The general legisla-
ton of the Fifty third Congress has been
no worse than that of its predecessors.
Its appropriations, in spite of legacies of
continuous contracts, have been about
one hundred millions less than those of
the Fifty-trst. Its failure to pass the
Nicaragua Canal bill will be regretted on
this coast, but that measure has made
many friends in this Congress which it
will carry over to the next.
The most conspicuous failure of the
Democracy during its brief period of
power has been in the matter of reform
ing the currency. The urgent question
before the people at the time this Con-
gress was elected was. or seemed to be,
the reformation of the tariff. The cur
rency matter was a secondary issue. How
,, ever, as the Republican party precipitat-
ed us into the beautiful mudde here we
are now fioundering. it will doubtless be
easy for them to extrcate US. 1t will be
entertaining to watch the perfect har-
mony which will prevail in the other
camp when they tackle that ticklish
question, and the facility with which
tbav will arrive at Sati copolu