Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1897-03-01
CHANGE IN ADMINISTRATION.

On Thursday next the administra-
ton of the United States govern
ment passes from the hands of de-
mocracy, under Grover Cleveland,
into the hands of the republicans, un-
der William Mckinley. 1t is not ex-
pected that the change will come
with commotion or earthquake phe-
noma. Peaceful, orderly, pleasant,
without shock or harm to those who
step out and to those who come in
the change will be. Thousands will
gather at Washington to witness the
interesting ceremony, and the world
can see how grandly the great repub-
lie moves from one political regime
to another, without i'll or jar. To
those who step down there must be
feeling of relief and rest; to those
who have done according to their best
Judgment and honest conscience
there must be a feeling of joy. What
ever may be the verdict of to-day,
they wait patiently the attest of his
tory, which will fix them a place
where they may be honored. Mr..
Cleveland retires from second term
in the preidency.s His record has
been somewhat checkered. Taken
first from low and humble sphere
in life his rise in political honors and
ascendancy was remarkable. With
all his peculiarities, not as a great
man, but lucky man, he became re-
markably popular III his own party,
few men probably ever having a bet
ter control over a party Than he.
Sound on most matters, he had the
power to convince many that his
faults were virtues, his mistakes were
wisdom. Inculcating the natural
democratic notion that protection,
in the matter of tariff, is wrong, he
has never changed his belief. His
mind is of that sort which will not be
changed by the proof of experience,
or the power of demonstration. Real
ly his head is such that there has new
er been room enough in it to re-
verse an idea-the way it first enters
his Uranium, that way it must remain.
The harm that. President Cleveland
has done was first and hardest felt in
his first administration, when he
began to pipe the song of .reform."
His own party caught on to this cry
and many wavering republicans
were willing to abandon everything
for reform. That reform was simply
the change of the. American protec-
tive system to the free trade fallacy.
The first administration he tried to
reform something, after it's fashion,
but it's success was such that Harrison
was elected over Cleveland by a
great majority. During the Harri-
son administration there was a peri
cd of great national prosperity. Men
was growth, peace, wealth getting,
debt paying, private and national. A
tariff which produced ample revenue
had been formulated and passed,
which had given life to all old indus
tries, apd started new ones in al
most every quarter. Unfortunately
new election was at hand; the dem
ocrats snd every one, who was will
ing to risk change for the sake of a
change, were willing to throw Harri-
son overheard and take Cleveland
again. The republicans, confident
that the people would not vote pros
perity out aud uncertainty in, did not
bestir themselves, and woke mp on
November morning astonished and
defeated.
The democrats rode into power on
issues which were wrong and prom
ises which presaged disaster. Within
a brief period there came financial
disasters along certain lines, such as
the country had never seen. In a
few months there were failures of
banks, railroads, stock holders, great
money institutions, which were un-
PARALLEL. It was estimated that loss
es could be counted up which would
aggregate billions of dollars. Not
long after the calamity struck smaller
institutions; factories began to close;
furnace fires went out; prices of all
sorts of manufactures diminished;
people were out of employment, and
the hard pinching times were on.
Last, but not less severe, was the
blight of depression and low prices
which fell on the farmers of the whole
country. Then was the ruin well