The Colfax chronicle. [volume] (Colfax, Grant Parish, La.) 1877-1981, 1896-02-15
SAVER MEN in the SADDLE.
Plan ofSsenate REORGANIZATION to b
Dictated by Them.


Many republicans at the national
capital fear that mistake has been
made by. that party that will bear I'M
welcome fruit in the approaching pres
idential campaign. They say that re-
organization of the senate on silver
lines by the republican party is a blum
der which should have been avoided.
No doubt now exists that the senate
will be organized during the coming
week. with the republicans in control
of all the important committees.
The finance committee will have a
comfortable working majority of free
silver republicans. Probably The COM
mittee will be enlarged to 10 members,
and an effort is being made to retain
the same preponderance of free silver
ism in the new committee that OBJ
tanned in the old. By this means the
republicans hope to be able to defend
themselves with the assertion that un-
der their regime the free silver ma
jority in that committee was precisely
the same as under the democratic
regime. The difference is, however,
that now the republican party must
take the responsibility for whatever is
done, responsibility which the DEM
ocrats are glad enough to escape.
Some of the New England and east
ern republicans who are earnest advo-
Gates of sound money think it is great
mistake to assume such responsibility
at all. They say it could have been
avoided by simply letting the organiza-
ton of the senate drift along as 1t Is.
They point to the general belief that as
matters now stand the republican party
will win next years presidential cam
paign without much trouble and con-
tend that everything that tends to
change the situation is a risk of loss of
strength. They believe in a policy of
letting well enough alone. They argue
that The republican party will not gain
any strength if the people understand
to what extent that organization in the
senate is dominated by free silver ele-
ments and this reorganization has ex-
posed that fact to all observers.
1t is literally true that the republican
party in the senate is completely at
the mercy of the free-silver men. Or
the AZ republican senators now occupy
ing seats 10 are classed as silver men,
or one-half of the whole, with two or
three other republicans occupying q
sort of middle ground between free sill
yer and bimetallism. When the two re-
publican senator's from Utah are admit
ted and the party membership brought
up to A there will be among them 81
silver. men, still near to one-half of the
total.
1t is true also that no reorganization
OF the senate without the recognition
of silver was practical. The silver men
had the party at their mercy and were
not disposed to give up bit of their
advantage. They have been promised
the help of the populists, if their help
is needed. Not only do the silver re-
publicans and their populist allies con.
troll the finance committee, with power
to suppress any measure looking to re-
form of the currency system, or to bring |
in free-coinage bill at any time they
may conclude such agitation:will serve |
their political ends, but the silver fac
ton is virtually in control of the senate
itself and master of the situation as to |
the tariff or any other legislation. For
these reasons some of the older and more
republican senators think
the reorganization scheme bad politics,
calculated to weaken public confidence
in their party.
1t is unfortunate that with President
Cleveland in the white house and two
to one majority for sound money in
The house of Representatives the passage
Of free-silvcr bill through the senate
would have no practical effect. The
senate is free-silver body, however,
md is likely to remain one throughout
all of the administration which shall
President Cleveland's present
Times-Herald.