The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1897-07-15
COLD COMFORT FOR MIR. DEAN.

The Republicans to whom is intruSt-
ed the direction of the public affairs of
the nation and their contingent of
henchmen accept the election of 1896 as
signifying precisely the same as did
that of 1888, a vote of unlimited conf
dence and an unrestricted license to do
as they will. Learning nothing from
the subsequent lessons, they are rush
ing along the same path now that then
led them to their famous retreat from
Moscow. Evidently they are relying
upon the loyalty of their followers and
possibly banking upon a repetition of
the disintegration of their opponents
in 1896. But there are not wanting indi-
cations of the weakness of both staffs.
One has not to talk with many of the
intelligent men who still give the Re
publican party their adherence, to find
a deep discomfort that bodies no good
for the party, and now and then the
sentiment reaches the public press 1t
was not only those Democrats who
pumped for Mckinley who were led to
tleman, if elected, and of the RepubH-
can congress, if chosen, would be to
place the currency question beyond the
reach of agitation. The great and in
f1uential contingent of Republican bust
ness men also acted on such a belief.
To them it was a sharp disappoint-
ment when the president called con-
gress in extraordinary session to enact
a protective tariff, making no mention
of the one issue that secured him the
opportunity to address congress anv
communication whatever. One of these
gentlemen is our fellow townsman.
Hon. William B. Dean, who bore that
disappointment in a silence that was
unbroken until the president retreated
from his laggard decision to send a
! message to congress asking authority
to appoint a commission to take into
consideration the state of the currency
and to recommend to congress meas
ures for it's reform. Then he addressed
note to our morning contemporary of
his party, in which he said that "tha
efforts now being made by members of
congress to dissuade the president from
carrying out, so far as he is able. the
pledge made to the country by the Re-
publican party in the last campaipn
are pitiful and disheartening. he 20
minds the editor that 1.-The country
was promised that it's financial system
should be reformed" and that eft was
| this issue that secured If its
victory. And now, when the nresiden+
sensitive to the honorable obligations
| under which he and the party rests
proposes to direct the attention of con-
gress to this question of the national
finances, leading Republican members
OF congress, instead of holding UP his
hands and supporting him in his most
laudable purpose, seek to deter and dis
suade him.
And all the comfort he receives from
his mentor is the assurance that there
is no intention on the part of these dis
suaders to dissuade the president from
! redemption Of the pledge of CURRENCY
reform, but merely fear that any ac
ton now on his part in that direction
| would imperil the tariff act. Let lis
! get that out of the way first" and
then congress will attend to the cur
rency." That is to say, that the "is-
sue that secured the party it's victory"
having been sidetracked by the presi-
| dent to give the main line to an issue
that ran the party into the ditch in
1892, must be still kept on the side
track until the hazard is repeated. In
| fact, it means that currency reform is
not to be attempted, for the reasons
assigned for dissuading the president
from sending in his massage now will
| be as strong after the tariff bill is
passed as now. But it was not to dis
suade the president that the members
of congress rushed over to the white
house as soon as they heard that the
| president had prepared and the cab
| met approved the message 1t was to
carry out the bargain made with the
silver contingent which has been aid