The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1896-11-19

and not at all in principle, and by the con-
t~roversy over the currency, the business in
terests Of the Union suffered terribly. The
three years OF Mr.. CLEvELAND's second
Administration will remain for n Rener-
alton in the memories OF the people
as among the most disastrous in the his
tory Of the republic. Every industry Ian
guished. Bankruptcy increased at an alarm
ing rate. Property generally experienced
diminution. Labor was thrown out ofem-
~ployment. Tho suffering was universal;
and the only hope of the people lay in their
determination to get rid Of Mr.. CLEVELAND
and his theory of personal government In
1898. Twelve years of agitation over the
tariff. conducted on the CLEVELAND ground
that protection was q scheme devised for tho
enrichment of the few and the impoverish-
ment of the many, had fomented danger
Gus discomfort with all legislation and even
with the existing social system itself. Mr..
CLEVELAND, for his part, did his utmost to
start and fan this flame by publicly justify
ing tho b~loodthirsty uprising of the Home
stead rioters on the ground that it was n
righteous protest against protection. In
ferentially he excused and defended their
savage atrocities by declaring that protec-
tion had Knocked the hopes of toll" Thus
he threw out the spark that kindled the So
cial conflagration from which we have now
happily but narrowly escaped.
Moreover, under the false pretext of
sustaining the gold standard only, he has
sold bonds the last three years from
which has been received the great sum OF
secs. 500 900; though, as the records OF
the Treasury now show, more than Sl9l,-
900, 900 Of the money has actually gone to
make good the deficiency in the revenues
of the Government. Before this Admins
tration the debt had been reduced enor-
mously and rapidly. Under it, the debt
had been increased rapidly and enormously,
with the certainty of a further and great
augmentation il Clevelandism was not
crushed out by the people. Consequently,
all hope of the success Of the Democratic
party at the election Of 1899 was abandoned
by reasonable Democrats faithful to tho
past principles of their party. The Ad-
ministration for which it was responsible,
had proved the most disastrous failure in
the history of this Government. Every in
terest was suffering bitterly, and the people
were only waiting impatientlg for the op-
p%ortunity to rid themselves of it.
In this situation the Southern and West
ern Democrats resolved to take a desperate
chance of stemming the swelling tide OF
popular opposition by diverting attention
from the dismal record Of the Administra-
ton to another and a novel question. The
combination. which had long been working
industriously in laying its plans, sprung the
16 to l issue on the people, with the hope of
dividing the Republicans of the West, and
thus more than otfsetting the Democratic
opposition it expected to arouse. In this
way it avoided all responsibility for the
CLEVELAND Administration, and instead
joined in the general assault against it. With
the new issue, made up in hostility to the
policy of the Administration, it started
out to make it's desperate fight: and now
who will deny that as a political gamble
the so-called Democratic ticket got n much
larger popular and electoral vote by unload
ing CLEVELAND and substituting the silver
issue than it could have got otherwise,
The consequence is the present disorgan-
ization Of the Democratic party. The only
aggressive element remaining in it is that
which controlled the Chicago Convention,
and which owes it's whole vitality to Cleve-
landism. 1t was created by Clevelandism.
and is a legitimate consequence of the de-
struction of the Democratic party of
history by the poisonous theory that
a man is better than a party, that he
is u platform in himself, and there
fore absolved from obedience to a party plat
form. Continued bitter and malignant
abuse :" never destroys a party. The decay
must be due to a more potent cause. 1t
must be in false aud pernicious principle.
and such a principle was Clevelandisln.
After twelve years of Clevelandism we
have got back to the very policy it was en-
gendered to overturn. MCKINLEY and pro-
lection are in control; and during all this
futile rounding of the circle how vast has
been the loss to the people in property and
in suffering! 1t has been an awful expert
ence brought upon the republic by the adop-
ton of a theory utterly hostile to the
foundation principles Of this Government.