Birmingham state herald., 1896-12-04
NO EXCUSE FOR DELAY.

! ANO i1-1C oA3A1 II OIS LEILA Congress will assemble next Monday. Much speculation has been indulged in
 regarding the probable action of that | body during the short session. It ap- pears to be the general opinion, how ! ever, that nothing will be done of i'm A portance except the passage of the ap- i propriatlon bills. Many leading and in fluential republicans have been quoted
 since the election as expressing the opin- ion that but little, if anything, looking to the restoration of general and permanent
 prosperity would be accomplished be- fore the expiration of the present con-
 gress.
 We can see no reason why things should not move along Just as well and just as much be done in the three months beginning next Monday in the direction of redeeming the pledges of the republican party as can be accom- plished during the same length of time after MT. Mckinley is inducted into of- fee.
 In the first place the republicans have complete control of the house and the silver senators have. with one or two ex- ceptions, been quoted as saying they
 would offer no reslstence to any effort the republicans might make in the line
 of redeeming the pledges that party has made to the people and the country. Of course, MT. Cleveland will not give them
 any trouble. He and his friends have
 accepted McKfnleys election as an in-
 dorsement of his policies It has been
 proclaimed far and wide and loud and
 long that Mckinley's election was a de-
 mand fer Clevelandism and more of it. Sc we see no reason why by the time Mr. Cleveland's term of office expires the country should not be entirely rid of the present complex financial system and the deck completely cleared for con gress and MT. Mckinley. The new Pres ident and new congress should have
 nothing to do when they go into office
 but changa the caption of the Mckinley
 bill and substitute the same for the Will
 son bill
 Whether they so intend or not the re-
 turns from the last election show that the people voted for the single gold standard straight, that is a majority of them did, and we think they ought to be given what they asked for.
 MT Cleveland will readily approve a 1 bill providing for the issuance of inter- est-bearing gold bonds with which to | take up and cancel the greenbacks, treasury notes, silver certificates and l making silver dollars legal tender to the amount of S10 only. He will also readi- ly approve any measure locking to the perpetuation of the national banking system and granting more power and additional privileges to those corpora tions
 With the promise out to do these things and with the authority of the people to redeem that promise, with majority in the house and no formidable opposition in the senate, and a friend and ally in the white house it will be equivalent to criminal negligence, or an evidence of base cowardice on the part of the republicans for the 4th of next March to come and find nothing done by them along the lines as suggested above. There is no excuse on earth for delay. If that kind of legislation is to come and faith with the people to whom they owe their success in the last campaign, 1t should come without delay. If 1t is go- l ing to bring prosperity, let 1t come. It can't get here too soon, and if it Is going l to fail to bring prosperity the country should know it as soon as possible. There 1 Is absolutely nothing standing in the way of the republicans. They should l go right to work on the question which was made the paramount issue in the last campaign.