Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1896-08-08
IF BRYAN WINS
-sS=eo
Many Months Before a Silver Bill
Could PISS. -.
bow CONGRESS, WOULD PROCEED
u
Obstructive Power of the Minority
in the Senate.
b l. A N D A S SPE A Z E r
B L AND AS SPEAKER


terest and excitement of doubt and uncer-
tainty. Many people are asking themselves
what would happen, supposing, etc. One
thing which Is quite apparent is that 1t
would be difficult for him to follow what
our eastern people would call a conserva-
tive course. If. President, he were less
IN sympathy with that branch of public
sentiment OF which he has been chosen as
the exponent he would be stranded at the
start 1t may be counted on with certainty,
therefore, that whatever he promises to his
loiiowers at the start he will endeavor to
!u-nii. granting the possibility of his cleo
ton, the declarations made in his speech
at the notification demonstration next week
and subsequently in his formal letter of
acceptance will be worthy Of very careful
ana familiar with the surroundings which
must Influence his action can doubt that, to
the limit of his ability, he will go in prac-
tice to the extreme Of what he breaches.
Inc question Is how far he could go, II
elected
The possibility of Congress being carried
for gold If Bryan were elected President is
very slender reliance. 1t may be easily
figured out that such a revolution as would
land him In the White House would sweep
the Congress along with the rest The Sen
ate Is already in the hands Of the silver
ties, and Is apt to remain so for awhile.
But with both branches of Congress and
the presidency, unless the majorities in
Congress were overwhelming. 1t would not
be perfectly smooth sailing to all the re-
forms which Bryan's candidacy stands for.
Unless revolution In parliamentary pro-
oedure followed the revolution at the polls,
there would be long and desperate fight
before the democratic platform could be
enacted into law.
The process of passing a free silver bill
would be slow and laboricus. That would
necessarily be the first thing attempted.
But long before such legislation could be
accomplished the policy of redeeming treas
ury notes with silver would be put in oper-
alton and ono dream of the silver advocates
would become reality. Surprising the Sill
yer men swept everything before them
this Is all supposing-and got the House by
small majority. The progressive moves
toward free silver would be thus:
A Special Session.
The day Bryan took his oath call for
special session of Congress would be is
sued; not a call for session Of the Sem
ate alone, as usual, but for both houses to
meet. Bland would nc in that House prob
ably; for 1T is hardly likely that such a
other silver things being here supposed
would fail to result III BANDS election.
Then he would surely be the Speaker of
the new House. Crisp will not be in the
House after the 4th of March. If he is in
Congress at all he will be in the Senate
Nor will there be any other old democratic
leader who would be at all likely to sue
cessfuliy compete with Silver Dick Bland
would likely be there, but the slverites
would not be apt to 5lick him up in pref
erence to Bland. The organization of the
House would. therefore, probably start off
with Bland for Speaker Then there would
be the selection of committees, with gold
democrats to be ignored and silver repub-
Hcans to be provided for. "A republican,
Hartman of Montana, or Towne of Mime
sofa. might be placed at the head of the
CON mttee On coinage weights and meas
ures. Some man determinedly opposed to
national banks would be placed at the head
Of the banking and currency committee
a committee which would likely go out of
existence as soon as some repeal bills
could be got through. ways and means
committee would be formed with view
to raising revenue far possible through
Internal sources for If free silver means
curtailment Of foreign exchange it will
mean falling off of foreign imports and
a loss Of revenue from that source, making
the income still smaller than 1t now is
Then the committee on appropriations
would be constructed on the alpaca coat
hasis-short and close 10 the skin. s--
TIE usual fate Of free silver bills in the
House has been to get b!ockaded in the
coinage committee. This would be guarded
against, of course, in committee of
BANDS appoint ment. brief bill would be
speedily reported. Making allowance for
the best sort of fight the gold men could
make. 1t would not take long for the bill
to be passed through the house if they
had a fair majority, and there was not
present too strong an element insisting
that all paper money issued in the form Of
silver certificates or in any form, should
be irredeemable. The rules of the House
no longer admit of great delay. and Mr..
Bland would not be restrained by any feel
ing Of delicacy in putting down an un-
ruly minority composed of gold bugs"
In the Senate.
In the Senate the present silver strong
hold, the situation would be somewhat diff
olactfnn fhis Fol hot
happens, cannot greatly change that body
There would of course, be a silver majority
But there would also be very strong gold
minority. There would, at all events, be
thirty-five gold men In the body. Every
man of them would be armed for a fight to
the death. Unless the rules of the Senate
were changed radically. their power of re-
sistance would be tremendous, and at the
very outset their resistance of a change of
the rules would be difficult to overcome
without recourse to revolutionary methods
Heretofore the main effort to modernize the
practice of the Senate has come from the
gold side. Hill has been the prime mover
The men who have been strongest in oppo-
sition are among the silver leaders They
have stated their opposition to be on prin-
ciple. 1t Is not likely that in a situation
where the old impractical senatorial prac-
tice was the only thing blocking the wheels
of the silver chariot that Mr.. Hill and other
gold men would favor any change that
would expedite business. The few silver
Senators who participated actively in the
filbuster against the repeal Of the Sherman
coinage law were able to give a great deal of
trouble and cause great delay before that
bill could be got through. If all the silver
men in the Senate had then been united in
the effort to defeat thai measure they would
probably have SUCCEEDED. AS 1t was the re-
peal bill could not have passed if the men
who led the fight had not come to the con-
clusion that it was better, with an eye to the
future. to have that measure than to have
a compromise. 1t was demonstrated in that
fight that determined minority could un-
der the present rules 81 the Senate, defeat
most any legislation If, they stuck to it.
minority Of thirty-fve gold men, all acting
termination never to give in. could make It
very difficult to get,a free silver bill through.
the Senate. Mr.. Bryan would probably be
in the White HOUSE many months before
such bill could reach him. If. meanwhile.
the revenues of the government fell or be.
low the point Of apsoldte necessity; if the
end Of the fiscal year haa rolled around and
no appropriations had been made; If the
government were without means of subsist-
ence. and these gold Senators still blocked
all legislation. some desperate means would
have to be resorted to by the majority. or
else concessions would have to be made
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