Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1895-08-15
THE VETO POWER
A Pledge Wanted by the Demo-
cratic Silver Men.
THEIR ARRANGEMENT OF CLEVELAND
Probably Foreshadows a Compro-
mise on the Question.
NO OPPOSITION COMBINATION

The friends of silver within the demo-
cratic party will bring forward q new
proposition next year with regard TO the
rarty's presidential nomination. They will
insist that the candidate pledge himself
o. in some way commit himself in the
event of election not to exercise the veto
power of his office in cases where he does
not hold that the measure presented for
his signature is in violation of the Consti-
tuition.
Goes to the Root of Things.
This proposition, 1t will be seen. goes to
the very root of the silver question as en-
countered by the democratic party. The
complaint against Mr.. Cleveland Is not
that he Is geld man. That has long been
known, and is considered entirely. natural.
Coming. as he does, from a section where
the gold policy is the only policy, where
democrats and republicans unite in support
of it, where no man could hope for poiit-
cal preferment holding out against it, Mr..
Cleveland, it is conceded, is both consistent
and conscientious in his personal Views.
The complaint is that Mr.. Cleveland has
used his office to thwart the plain and
honestly ascertained sense Of the large
majority of his party on the silver qucs-
ton, and by an alliance with the repub-
HcanS made majority action by his party
when in congressional control impossible.
This is the gravamen of the silver indict-
n.ent of him.It is charged that by this action
he not only conspired against his party,
but set up the two-third rule instead of
the majority rule for the party in Con-
gress. The threat of the presidential veto,
it is asserted, has for more than ten years
alone defeated free coinage. Congress, if
left unawed by the executive, would at
any time during that time have written a
free coinage bill on the books. Even as
things were, 1t more than once by its
votes, showed that free coinage was the
financial policy desired by large majority
of the representatives CT the people But
the White House, with either Mr.. Cleve-
land or Gen. Harrison occupying it, was
always in the way and had always to be
considered.
The Silver Democrats Contention.
The silver democrats insist that this line
of action on the part of the executive Is
wholly at variance with the spirit of their
party; that it eXalts far beyond the original
intention the veto power of the President,
and that 1t has actually enabled Mr.. Cieve-
land to set up and maintain q minority rule
on the silver question. BY joining the
forces of a small minority of his own party
with the republicans then in mnority, they
hold that he knocked the last prop from
under silver by the repeal of the purchasing
clause of the Sherman act, and by the aid
of the same minority combination has since
prevented the enacting of any measure
looking to the rehabilitation of silver. The
silver democrats insist that this procedure
must stop; that the next President, il a
democrat, must content himself with exer-
cising only the legitimate influences of his
office, and must permit the will of his party
as expressed through majority of its law
making representatives to prevail on all
questions that do not involve differences of
opinion on constitutional readings.
FOreshndows n Compromise.
That this sort of talk should prevail at a
time when a democratic conference is in
session proclaiming free coinage at 16 to 1,
and purpose to put up a presidential can
didate next year to give that policy active
emphasis and expression, is thought dis
tinctly to foreshadow another compromise
ton. There cannot be strong hope of un-
conditional success, or this condition with
regard To the candidate would not be in
secret at present under discussion. 1t
would appear, too, that not all sound
money democrats are equally miStrusted
by the free coinage democrats. Not all of
them are thought to be willing to go to Mr.
CleVelands extreme in dealing with silver.
For an instance, Col. Morrison declares
that he favors sound money, but it de-
velCpS that he is very popular with many
of the most prominent of the free coinage
men. Is this because of feeling that
Col. Morrison, if called to the presidency,
would not undertake to force his own
views on his party by a combination with
the opposition through the exercise of the
veto power?