The Saint Paul globe., 1897-01-03
THEIR PROGRAMME.

THEIR PROGRAMME.
The programme Of the Republicans at
Washington is now fully developed. In
a general way we felt very we'll as
sured before, from the makeup Of the
party and the scattered utterances of
the men who are now managing it,
what the bill Of fare would be. 1t is
no longer possible to mistake the main
features Of the plan that has been
agreed upon They are made clear to
US from Washington. They are to be
read in the remarks of Mr.. Hanna and
the tariff hearings before the ways and
means committee. They are frankly
and fully stated by Mr.. Loren Fletcher,
who has just come from Washington
and speaks by the book, as far as his
associates are concerned. According to
him and according to the Republican
idea of politics, congress must be called
to extra session, must pass a high tar
tff bill, and then should adjourn '-t~'
is all. There are to be mo- taxes out
nothing is to be dn'-1 TO reform the
currency. The iceue which stood at
the front Of H. great battle which the
countrs- mas just fought is to go for
nGTYing. is showed as certainly to the
rear in the party's policy as it was in
Mr.. McKinley's utterances prior to his
nomination. All the work. all the sac
rifices, all the outburst of patriotic en-
deavor Of the year just ended are to
be squandered. The Republican ma
jority in congress is in the same old
attitude Of temporizing and cOmpro-
missing with the cheap money men
Mr.. Fletcher is immensely interested
in the appointment of an International
monetary commission. of course he is.
Politicians of his style just dote on in
ternational commissions and other de-
vices that may relieve them of the un-
pleasant necessity of Iegislating for the
best interests of the country. If such
q commission, says Mr.. Fletcher makes
an earnest effort for 'bimetalIism and
fails, Il think the country will then be
able to judge what is best to DO" Is
not that the most extraordinary ut
mouth Of a man, selfish politician
though he be? We are to have this
thing all over again, then, It appears,
according to the law and gospel Of
Fletcher, which are most likely also
the law and the gospel of Mckinley
We did not settle the financial question
at all last November Most Of us were
under the impression that it was to be
decided by that campaign; but not so,
says Mr.. Fletcher. The country is not
to make up it's mind what 1t is best
to do for some years to come We are
to try to unite the European powers
with US in bimetallic agreement, and
if that does not go then the question
is, to his mind, an open one
Everything must be done over again.
We have passed through a struggle so
eXhausting,we have been confronted by
danger so great that many Of our
industries are still PROSTATE from the
shock. This, to the mere vulgar mind
Of the average man, was done in order
that we might settle for good and all
this money question. Of course,
1t is the privilege Of the de-
feated to question this. 1t is their
pTerogative to keep that issue alive if
they can and think it expedient, and to
have another try at it four years later.
But the victors have no such option.
The support of their cause by major
fty of the people Of this country binds
them to carry out the popular will.
The popular will said that the gold
standard should be maintained, and our
currency reformed accordingly. The
popular will was manifested so over
whelmingly that it twisted party plat
forms like ropes of straw and threw
them aside and made an issue of it's
own. 1t howled a man down whenever
he spoke of the tariff, and said we
have dawdled and suffered long enough.
let us take up the financial question:
make straight fight on it and settle
1T, so far as this election can, for good.
Now that the election is over the Re-
publican managers plump the party
back to precisely where it was last,
April, and propose to ignore all that
has happened since, save only the is
sue of new certificates of election. They
are going to keep business disturbed
while the tariff is mended. They are
going to invite every monopoly in this
country to say how far it wishes to
thrust it's hands into the pockets of the
laborer. They are going to tax the con-
sumner at every point. They are going
to foster monopoly and continue that
extravaganza in administration which
is monopoly's ablest coadjutor. AS to
the financial question. the only Issue