The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1897-03-05
yhe Inaugural Address.

ing of the heart.
The first alarming feature is the an
nouncement that the Administration con-
templates a course of coquetry with the
silver party. Instead of lending its aid
to crush the heresy, it is to humbug over
international commissions and confer
ences, thus helping to keep alive the agi-
tation and to perpetuate the timorous-
ness of Investors in all parts of the world.
When one thinks of the ground on which
the late contest was urged. when one
considers the pledges which the new
President and his party gave to the
people. it is hard to realize this wicked
ness. But when one looks farther back
over Major McKinley's career of vacil-
lation strongly tainted by silverism, one
can only give room to the fear that the
worst estimates set on him, prior to his
nomination, were only too near the
truth.
Hardly less lamentable than this weak
ia OA Ike NoAACAC 4oNSIC
announcement hat Congress is to be
called together with the utmost speed
to consider the provision of more revenue
for the government. The total absence
of need for this is patent to all impartial
men. President Cleveland leaves his sue
cessor a vast surplus in the treasury and
W - - g 1~1- e7En lan mo IA &c
true the revenue is less han the expenses
of government, but the revival of import
trade, which the present tariff renders
possible, is sure to bridge over the gap
before Congress would meet in regular
session in December. It is to be feared
that it is his knowledge of this likelihood
that makes the President call Congress
together at once. 1t is obvious that if he
waited until December, and if the revenue
then equalled the expenses of government,
all excuse for tariff revision would be
removed. Then he would not be able to
crafty his pet fad of providing ''protec-
tion.'' and his inside ring of hackers
would have to go without their reward
for his nomination and election.
The people will be afforded an interest
ing study in logic, the week after next,
when he undertakes to show Congress in
his tariff message how revenue is to be
obtained by curbing importations and
establishing reciprocity, and how trusts
and combinations are to be curbed by in
c~reasing the protective indueement to
their formation and continuance. But
we doubt whether the people will feel
tina this exhibition of mental ~acrobatics
win pay them for the mere fact of "hav-
ing Congress on their hands, Mr.. Nc
Kinley is properly shocked at the sugges-
ton that the mere session of Congress is
a menace to business interests. 1t is a
pity he should feel SO badly about it; but
his feelings will not count against a fact
proven again and again.
And when we consider the possibilities
of the next Congress, of the Cuban reso-
lutions that may be adopted and of the
Hawaiian bills that may be passed, we
cannot but have a thrill of dread. The
strong hand and stronger conscience of
Grover Cleveland will no longer stand
between us and war, between us and the
lust of territorial ACKNOWLEDGEMENT. In
stead, we will have the gentleman who
uttered those colorless, meaningless SEN
fences on foreign affairs which were the
third ground for heart-failure in the In
augural address. To do Major Mckinley
justice, his position upon the arbitration
treaty was plain enough and good enough.
One or two of his sentences, too, seemed
spiracy. Indeed, we do not doubt that
the President. left to himself, would be
conservative in foreign matters to the
verge Of pusillanimity. But we do not
think the danger lies with him primarily.
1t lies with the jingoes and hot-heads in
Congress, and his share consists in the
weaknes which units him to combat
against that element. In other words, he
is likely to lombard Havana, rather than
incur the oratorical and newspaper bonn
bardment himself, of which his predeees-
sor was the victim.
No doubt. some persons will think we
are dealing hardly with the new Presi-
dent, but we think not. We are taking
aim at his word-no more, no less AS
the word is presumably the best, the
most deliberate, the most thoroughly con-
sidered that he has to give us, we are
presumably justified in holding him to it.
That we are not alone in our estimate
3 amply shown by the results of the
message on Wall street. These are de-
,cribed by a morning paper thus.-
At 1880 o'clock the first scant para
,raphs began coming and in half an hour
more the decisive points of the document
we're all clearly understood. Immediately
he market broke. In less than half an
aour Sugar had fallen az points. To-
,acco. III; Gas, NJ, and Leather Q points.
The strong hand of the Rubber Trust
done held its grip, neither gaining nor
osing ground. The slump was not con-
lned to the Trust stocks, however, but