The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1895-12-30
now NOT TO DO TT.

The tiresome farce of pretending to do
something to relieve the treasury embar-
rassment-so- called-is about played out
and the president will now proceed to do
what he has intended doing all the while
and what everybody expected he would
do, and make another issue of bonds.
When Mr.. Cleveland sent his message
to congress asking help for the treasury,
he knew perfectly we'll that the congress
as at present constituted would not pass
any measure which would be approved
either by himself or by the country. In
enacting the two bills for the relief of
the treasury, which have just passed the
house, that body was careful to so shape
them that it would be impossible for
either to become a law.
While the tariff bill might pass the
senate, it is we'll understood that it would
never be approved by the president; and
the bond bill, while it might and prob
ably would receive executive sanction,
cannot by any possibility pass the senate
in its present form.
Mr.. Cleveland asked for bread aud
they gave him a stone. He did not ask
for tariff legislation, but for financial leg
islation and bill is passed which does
not confer any powers which he has not
already assumed.
For all the good that has been accom-
plished or will be accomplished by the
make believe legislation of the past
week, congress might as well have gone
home for the holidays. The time has
been just as effectually wasted as far as
being benefit to the country is con-
cerned as if there had been no session.
From partisan political standpoint
however, something may have been
done; it is impossible to tell how much
at this early date, That politics, rather
than a desire to help the president or
the country, has been the incentive to
the whole performance docs not admit of
doubt.
There is no reason, whatever, for the
president to find fault with congress for
not doing anything, because in reality no
legislation is necessary. The laws on
the statute books now are adequate to
any emergency which has arisen or is
likely to arise. The president has the
remedy for all the difficulties he recites,
ready to his hand, and if he does not ap-
ply it he is the one at fault and the peo-
pie must suffer for it. He has but to
make tender of silver in the redemp-
ton of greenbacks and treasury notes,
and both the gold reserve and the reve-
nue. problems are solved at once.
Congress is open to criticism, however,
for making a pretense OF doing some
thing which the members knew so we'll
could not succeed and which many of the
supporters of the two measures would
probably have opposed if they had be-
lieved there was any possibility of their
becoming laws
Speaker Reed has proven that he has
! the house we'll in hand and his do nothing
policy which he advocated in his in
augual address will doubtless be carried
out to the fullest extent True there
were Al Republicans who refused to obey
the party whip Probably many of them
were like some membe of the Kansas
delegation and had constituencies which
they were sensible enough to know could
not be trifed with
What Mr.. Cleveland wanted was gold
bond bill. The house might as we'll have
voted for that, it would have stood no
more chance of becoming a law. Or if it
preferred to ignore the president, it
might have won the approval of the peo-
pie by passing bill depriving the presi-
dent of the power to issue bonds under
any circumstances.
But as it is, the popular branch of the
national legislature has pleased no one,
neither the president, the money chang
ers nor the people and has failed to win
the approval of more than a bare MAORI
ty of its own members.