The Louisiana populist., 1896-10-16

making our standard of payment ac-
ceptable TO those with whom we deal.
How he can make this argument con-
sistent with the other in which he de-
clares that protection is of supreme
Importance" is for gold-standard pro-
tectionist to explain. To an outsider 1t
would seem that il protective tariffs
are Of supreme" importance because
of their tendency to discourage free
trade, the free coinage of silver, since
1t opposes the standard OF payment
adopted by all of the great CONNER
cial nations of the world with which We
trade" ought, at least, to be Of some
Importance in bringing about the de-
sired object.
He declares that protection has lost
none of its virtue and Importance. The
first duty of the republican party, II re-
stored to power in the country, will be
the enactment of a tariff law which
will raise all the money necessary to
conduct the government, economically
and honestly administered. and so ad-
justed as to give preference to home
manufacturers and adequate protection
to home labor and the home market.
Economically and honestly admin
istered" somehow sounds democratic,
and was perhaps injected to catch the
ear Of the gold democrats, who were
shortly to be assembled in national con-
vention at Indianapolis. But did Mr..
Mckinley really mean to say all the
money? II so. then the internal rev.
enue tax on whisky, tobacco, etc., VIII
have to be repealed. If he did not
mean "all," then why did he say It!
Was it because of the mental strain
already suggested as accounting lor
some of his peculiar assumptions!
Mr.. Mckinley deliberately says all
that about "the first duty Of the repub-
lican party" in face Of the fact that
even IL his party is fully and wholly as
successful as its most sanguine mem
Der believes it possible to be IN this
campaign it will nevertheless be utter
" impotent to enact tariff law diner
ent from that now on the statute DOCKS
because the silver senators from the
west have fatty laid down the ulti-
matum mo silver, no tariff, and the
time of none of them expires under two
years.
In view of the help which he desires
from the goldbug democrats, was 1t not
a little uudiplomatic, not to say cruel,
to resurrect and quote Mr.. Clevelands
message written for the express pur-
pose of influencing the extra session OF
congress to repeal the Sherman silver
law? A part of Cleveland's message
quoted by Mckinley is as follows:
with plenteous crops, with abundant
promise of remunerative production
and manufacture, with unusual invita-
ton to safe investment, and with sat
isfactory assurances to business enter
prises. suddenly financial distrust and
fear have sprung up on every side.'
Now since Mr.. Cleveland's object in
writing thus was to prompt congress to
destroy the last vestige Of silver as
money and thus bring about the gold
standard in all its purity, which the
republican party says must be main
tanned" and since Mr.. Cleveland, by the
helm of John Sherman, Tom Reed, and
the republican party generally, accom-
plished his purpose, it does seem
little unkind in Mckinley to quote that
very message to show how terribly the
threat of democratic free trade" was
already beginning to affect the country.
But he does quote it, and with that
very object in view, and then further
on in his letter he himself declares:
'Tt is not an increase in the volume OF
money which is the need Of the time,
but an increase in the volume Of busi-
ness. Not an increase Of coin, but an
increase of confidence"
Thus it will be seen that these two
great statesmen, Cleveland and McKin-
ley. agree upon what is lacking. 1t was
a want of confidence" shown by
financial distrust and fear" which kept
the people from enjoying the rich har-
vests of investments, ETC., in Cleve-
lands time, and 1t is only lack OF the
same iagrsdisut y AeKialsy's setinar