The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1896-08-25
HOKE SMITHS RESIGNATION-A
RETROSPECT.


Hoke Smith is the first man in the
history of the country who has felt
it necessary to resign a seat in the
cabinet because of loyalty to his
party-to the party to which the Prcsi-
dent and oil the members of the cahi-
net have heretofore claimed allegiance.
| This is but another way of stating
that Mr.. Smith is the only cabinet
| officer. so far heard from who is not
ready to turn traitor to his party at.
the bidding of the President; the only
| one who has the courage of his con-
victions; the only one who puts his
pledge to the people above subseryience
| who prefers the independence of pri-
| vate life to the approval of one man,
himself now recreant to every Instinct
of party fealty and patriotism, because
| his word is not esteemed Weightier
than the wisdom of six million people.
The acceptance at this time of Mr..
Smiths resignation, rendered three
days after Bryan's nomination, is the
Presidents method of declaring To the
| country that he is no longer a Demo
| crat, but purposes to use every infiu-
| ence he can command to defeat the
party that elevated him from obscurity
| and made him its leader. 1t is notice
| to all Federal officials and others that
the President desires Bryan's defeas,
and will work hand in hand with j.
| Pierpont Morgan and Mark Hanna to
secure it. If anything were wanting
| TO prove that the President was run
ming the administration as the agent of
the bond syndicate, his boiling the
| party shows that he prefers to be
| true to the gold spectators rather
than to the people who elected him
| to office.
For eight years Mr.. Cleveland main
| tanned that the reduction of the tariff
| was the paramount question in Amer
lean politics. He was elected in 1892
because of his hostility to Mckinley
ism. In that campaign, William j.
Bryan was the most prominent young
apostle of tariff reform in the West.
UNFOLDING Mr.. Cleveland's tariff views,
Mr.. Bryan made a successful race for
reelection TO Congress and went TO
Washington prepared to hold up the
Presidents hands in action looking to
a speedy repeal of the Mckinley act.
The whole country looked for an extra
session of Congress to effect this re-
peal, and to pass tariff act that would
relieve the people. Instead of respond
ing to this demand of forty million
supporters, Mr.. Cleveland let the
months slip by without taking any
step to repeal the law that he had
said was Systematically robbing the
people. He was deaf to the call of the
masses, but when the money syndicate,
in the summer of 1893 manufactured
a panic in order to secure repeal of
the Sherman act and open the door
for the withdrawal of the Treasury
notes, the occupant Of the White
House quickly responded by calling
an extra SESSION Oh SODSTGSS. MI.
BRYAN, with the bulk of the Democ-
racy, protested against putting the re
lief of the money syndicate above the
relief promised the people, and there
waged a terrible conflict in Congress
over the repeal of the Sherman act. 1t !,
never was repealed until the close
friends Of the administration promised
that, at the December session Of Con-
orress favorable legislation would be I!
enacted. This promise was not only
broken, but the bill to coin the
seignorage in the Treasury was vetoed |
over the protest of three members OF |
the cabinet, and the almost united |
protest Of the party of ell shades of !
opinion. The only people who wanted !
the bill vetoed were the gold specula- !
tors and the syndicate that was plan
ming for big bond issues. The Presi-
dent heard them and turned "a deaf
ear to the people. The Democrats of the
South, seeing that the President had
determined to repudiate the plank in
the Chicago platform in favor of the
free coinage of silver, plead with him
to prevent contraction by throwing the
whole weight of his administration to
secure the repeal OF the prOhibitory
tax on the circulation of State banks.
A haf-hearted suggestion that some
legislation might be enacted, permit
ting such issue under strict Federal
regulations, was buried in his mes
sage, but NO serious attempt was made
to pass even the mixture OF bill that
Secretary Carlisle drew.
Finding that all hope Of financial
legislation, except such as Wall street