Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1896-06-16

party Of convictions: and it has written its
convictions in the history of the republic
with the pen and the sword; with 1t the
supreme question always has been not
what is merely political, but what Is ever
laStingly right.
THE great men we have given to the
nation and to history. the mighty dead and
the iliustrious living, are our inspiration
and tower of strength. If We are but true
to their exalted example. we cannot be
false to our countrymen.
For a third of a century prior to the
advent of the present democratic admins
the republican. party. All great measures
concerning the tariff and the currency
originated with 1t. Tariff laws were form
ed upon lines which protected our laborers
and producers from unequal and unjust
foreign competition, and upon the theory
that the best market in the world Is the
home market. and that 1t should be enjoy
ed by our own Countrymen.
Under the currency laws our currency
was made national The wildcat state
bank money of the democratic party was
demands growing out of the war were
met by paper currency which ultimately
became as good as gold. Since the re-
sumption of specie payments in 1879 ev
cry dollar of our money. paper. silver and
gold. has been of equal purchasing power
the world over. The policy Of the party
has been to make and keep our currency
equal to the best in the world.
%
tariff and honest money republican laws the
country grew in wealth and power beyond
precedent. We easily outstripped all other
powers in the commercial race. On No
yember 8, 1892, there was work for every
hand. and bread for every mouth. We had
reached high-water mark. Labor received
higher wages than ever, and capital was
profitably and securely employed. The ma
obligations and leave surplus in the treas
ury. Foreign and domestic trade were
greater in volume and value than they had
ever been Foreign balances were largely
in our favor. European gold was flowing
toward US
Cause of the Change.
"But all of this is changed. The cause Is
not hard to seek. A reaction began when
1t was known that the legislative and ex-
ecutive branches Of the government were
to be democratic. The democratic party
had at Chicago condemned the republican
tariff principle as unconstitutional, and
solemnly pledged itself to the overthrow
and destruction of the Mckinley law and
to the adoption Of free trade as the policy
Of the United States. This bold aggres-
sive attack upon the long-settled policy of
the republican party bore it's natural fruit
in shaken confidence. unsettled business,
and We were soon drifting against the rock
lition had actually begun run was
started upon the treasury reserve, which
the republican party had wisely accumu-
lated for the protection of the government
credit. The drain upon the reserve for the
redemption of greenbacks and treasury
notes greatly surpassed all prior expe-
rience, and emphasized the discredit into
which the democratic administration had
fallen. An utter want of confidence in the
administration possessed the people,
The democratic party was harmonious
upon one subject, and that was the de-
struction of the Mckinley law But when
they came to the exercise of the creative
faculty, the enactment of a great revenue
measure in its stead. there was discord
The imperiled interests of the country
watched and waited through the long and
anxious months for some settlement of the
important question. They wanted an end
of uncertainty. At length the Wilson bill
was adopted. and it was characterized by
a democratic President as the child of per
tidy and dishonor.' 1t was so bad that he
would not ccntaminate his hand by signing
1t. A bill that was too base for Mr.. Cleye-
land to approve is too rotten for the ap-
proval Of the American people.
Defects of the Wilson Law,
This important law was wanting In the
primary purpose of a revenue measure:
for it failed to provide adequate revenue
to meet the requirements of the govern
ment- The deficiency thus far amounts to
some one hundred and fifty millions of dol
lars. The end Is not yet, for the deficit
grows day by day. This leaves the treas