The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1897-01-07
WHY THURsToN IS TO LEAD.

The inexperienced reader of the news
in his daily paper does not accept Off
hand every statement contained as alb
solute verify. particularly those relat-
ing to politics or politicians. He has
learned to weigh them in the scale of
proba utilities connecting them with
known facts, and thus arriving al the
degree of credibility to which, in his
judgment, they are entitled. SO when
our readers of this kind read in the
GIob that Senator Thurston was III
Cleveland, was closeted with Mr.. Han
ma, whose guest for a day or two was
alse the president-elect, and that the
Two latter had decided that the tariff
bill of the administration should be
drafted by a master hand" and that
that hand will be Senator Thurston's,
in whose discretion judgment and fore
both place implicit confidence" they
will not swallow the narrative without
lining it up with some other facts
drawn from their memories that tend
to corroborate it.
One of these will be the fact that,
while the constitution lodges in the
house of representative the sole power
to originate revenue bills, in practice Of
late years it is the senate that has
made them, the house merely giving
them an initiative The last Mills
bill was sent to the senate and there
completely remodelled and became in
the next congress the Mckinley bill
The Wilson bill was changed beyond
recognition by the senate, and the
house was held up by the five de-
serters and their Republican allies
until it ratified it. This renders it
probable that Mr. Mckinley is looking
to the senate rather than the house to
formulate the bill that shall embody
his ideas Of prosperity by taxation
Then there is that other important cir
cumstance that it is by no means prob.
able that the Republicans will be in
control Of the senate independent of
the assistance of those senators VINO
revolted and f1ocked under the silver
banner. There are some Democrat IS,
Of the German stripe, who are protec-
tionists and would find some plausible
excuse for aiding in passing stiff pro-
tectionist bill, but they would not suf-
flee if the silver men stand pat.
Here is where we find something to
sustain the Thurston leadership narrat-
&c in the Cleveland dispatch Thurs
ton, it is true, took somewhat promi-
nent part in the campaign advocating
and defending the gold standard plank
of his party, but it is probable that he
only regarded it as "a good enough
Morgan until after election" for until
the convention spoke the senator was
a very decided advocate of doing
something for silver" quite as much
50 as was the president prior tc
the ST. Louis convention. One recalls
that as late as July, 1898, the senator
wrote to Mr. Gunton, editor Of the So
cial Economist, that mo matter what
other governments may do, this coun-
try ought not to eliminate silver from
use as a coin metal" In another LET
ter the same month he said: 81 am !
profound believer in the use of both
gold and silver as money. advocated
the restoration of free coinage before
any who are now the self-elected cham
pions of silver in Nebraska had ever
opened their lips on the subject" Lat
en- in 1894, the senator addressed a Re
publican convention in Nebraska in 8
speech that was hailed as "a ringing
declaration of principles" in which he
said: Were / to frame q platform for
the Republican party it would mean
this: American minis for
American mines. The free coinage of
the American product of silver and gold
into honest money"
Here we have that which lends prof,
ability to the Cleveland news. Tho
administration must have it's tariff
measure. It's danger point Is the SEN
ate. The obstacle is the silver con-
tingent.s They must be placated The
bill must be in charge OF one who has