New-York tribune., 1897-08-17
Qusition at the very outset or an ihe'' P'eH'
IJGUT N THE WEST.

That any conceivable change could III less
than a month cure the silver mania oil Nc""'o'
Stewart no man would have believed. Inc p'"p
ability that the rising tide of prosperity wo"'o
drown out the silver craze in most western
States making it quite useless to hgl'' "po"'
the money question, has been gener'iiF r'''I-
nzed But that means only the return I" S''-
ly Of the great proportion OF the men WHO ""i'
driven by misfortune and desperation hi'" Il
species of financial lUnacy. ana 1t was presume"
that the leading men who had abahhohed every!
thing else for the silver caiise wohid Ieci loi'''1
20 stick to that text. that tho calamity noWi"TS
would still howl as before. ana that the arfah'
dcmagogues would strive rs before 10 ihiia'he
the prciudices of poverty against wealth. Inc
thing which nobody could have anticipated. ana
which is even now with difficulty believed, IS
thot nrosprrity would come in such rush that
Senator Stewart would declare, according To
report published:
There IA no room for pessimism in this coun-
fry There is nothing in talking or Sill
at the present time ana my awe ~ w. ~
friends i'm the West Is TO fall into line win the
forces of prosperity and progress. ana recrlNc
their due share of the reward. The time mas
passed for the old issues we must turn 10 la1u
new issues and conditions. | frequently
hear II said that this security market is ou-
plicate of the market in 1879. 1t IS not. 1t Is
more OF n bull market All Il man mas w Wv
Is to get into ii, 60 TO sleep ana get rlch'
All the world will find il easy to credit a
statement now attributed to the Senator that
he never said any such sensible things. AMI
yet it may be suspected that the Senator had
enough solid sense to begin betting on pros
perty when he saw that the Tariff bill was
bound TO pass, as it did with his vote. NO
body will grudge him the share Of reward which
ton ,hn A llinnn
wanted was prosperity. for themselves and for
the whole country, and they went in TO get II
in the way which seemed to them surest ana
most speedy Nor is it astonishing that Senator
Jones. who had the goQi sense to march our
of the unborn silver party and into the RepuD-
lcan camp after the results of the last election
became known. has perceived. according to
statements attributed TO him, that:
Silver is falling in commercial price because
of the falling off Of the demand for 1t as money.
Japan has gone on "A gold basis, and so lessons
the demand for silver. Besides this. there has
been because of universal hard times. great
falling off in purchases in the East You
will infer that | am not opposed to prosperity
through an Increase in gold The Republicans
are very lucky, and ! congratulate them on the
fact that this great discovery falls WITHIN ther
Administration. | believe great deal OF goa
will be found in Alaska. and it IS certain to re-
store prosperity. for which Republicans VIII
claim and receive the credit. I shall welcome
its return. whether through gold or silver
He does not believe that the incrcasc in gold
production will raise the price of silver. consid-
crng that Increase in either part of the sup
ply of metallic money tends To lessen the de-
mand for tine other part. 1t may be hoped that
Senator Jones also has taken his share in the
prosperity of which Mckinney was advance
agent. though he curouSly nclines to attribute
il To a possible flood of gold from Alaska. which
has not yet come
Practical Americans. who form a majority
of the people do not fool away their time with
many rcconditc and metaphysical explanations
of an event. hut are content 10 reckon that the
obvious cause was. at all events, the main
cause When Cleveland brought disaster the
people looked straight tn the fact that the milis
began to close and gold 10 leave the country
the wcc; after his election. and that the con
sequences of his tariff policy. which all oppo-
ncnts had expected and predicted. were. III
fact visbly produced. The plain people lett
imaginary explanations to Cleveland worship
pcrs and rcvenue rcfOymerS, ana went straight
TO work voting against bo'h aS hard aS possible.
So when McKinleys election began TO appear
certain the plain people at once set themselves
10 prepare for prosperity. They vcnturcd more,
invested more built more. planted more ara
in all ways prepared 10 get share of the pros
perity when il came. Some were foolish enough
TO imagine that it could come in full measure
before the policy of Cleveland had been abol-
lshed But the norc practical millions looked
for GOOD times when II gOOd-times tariff had gone
into effect and are now beginning to reap rs
they have sown Forty years Of involved ana
cnmnIir,tr1 1rnlImrntS about all sorts of other
causes will not get il out Of the heads OF the
practical millions that the prosperity which was
Drcdcted as a result of Protection. and which
began TO come in earnest the very week tn"
new Tariff bill had passed. is in great measure
caused by the peaceful and benelicent revolu-
ton in the industrial policy Of the Government
by return To an American instead OF brltlsh
policy.