The Pioche weekly record. [volume] (Pioche, Nev.) 1877-1900, 1897-06-03
JONES OF NEVADA.

The st. Louis Republic seems tc
be somewhat irritated at the attitude
of Senator Jones of Nevada, in re
Ard to the tariff bill, and complains
of it with more feeling than justice
Ii saws that Senator Jones "was, in
a measure, the arbiter of the fate o.
the bill. He could hold it up and
thus throw the Republicans into Q
most unpleasant position.
The Republic forgets, or ignores.
two or three important facts. The
first is that Senator Jones is not a
Democrat. He acted with the Dem
ocrats in the last campaign, not as a
Democrat, but as Il silver Republi-
can.
The second fact is that Senator
Jones is in favor of high tariff,
and he has simply seized favorable
opportunity to impress upon the Re
publicans that Western interests are
Just as important to Western men as
Eastern interests are to the men of
the East.
The third fuct, and altogether the
most important, is that the action of
Senator Jones has thrown the Re-
publicans into position, which,
however, they may now regard it, is
likely to prove to be the most un-
pleasant and embarrassing in their
history.
The st. Louis Republic complains
that "the first opportunity Senator
Jones had to WELD power which
might have been used to the advant-
age of the Democrats he deserted
his allies. Now, that remains to
be seen, and we are firmly convinced
that our st. Louis contemporary will
discover before many months have
elapsed that Senator Jones has
welded the power he had directly
to the advantage of the Democrats,
and in way no Democrat would
have done, even if he had the oppor-
tunity.
But suppose Senator Jones of
Nevada, had acted as the Republic
desired him to act; suppose he had
held up the tariff bill. What would
have been the result? Why there
would have come a great outcry
from the Republican leaders, big
and little, to the effect that the Re-
publicans had faithfully endeavored
to carry out their pledge to restore
prosperity by means of tariff bill,
but that combination of silver men
and Democrats prevented them.
The Republicans would ask moth
ing better than to have their tariff
bill held up. 1t would lift them out
of the most embarrassing position
they have ever occupied before the
people. If they could find the
slightest excuse for dropping their
tariff measure they would seize it as
a drowning man grasps a straw.
1t is singular that the st. Louis
Republic should not realize the stu
alton as it exists. 1t seems to us
that no large amount of intelligence
is necessary to convince a Democrat
that his party has everything to gain
by the adoption of the tariff bill and
nothing to lose. 1t will be the most
tremendous object lesson and argu-
ment in behalf of genuine tariff re-
form that could possibly be devised.
The Nevada Senator is one of the
ablest men in this country. He is in
favor of protective tariff, and there
fore he could consistently add en-
phasis to the futility of the tariff
measure by his amendment. We
have no sort of doubt that he knew
precisely the effect the bill have on
the public mind when once it is put
In operation. But whether he in
tended it or not, he did good days
work for the Democratic party. for
tariff reform and for the people at
large, when he voted to report the
m9nstrosity.
He knows perfectly we'll, and has
shown by unanswerable arguments
that tariff measure cannot, in the
nature of things, restore prosperity
that has been destroyed by cutting
In half the purchasing power of the
producers of the country. He knows
moreover, that the failure of this
tariff bill to restore prosperity will
result in the most overwhelming VIC
tory for the Democrats that the
country has ever witnessed
Knowing these things, the New
ada Senator has made no mistake
Atlanta Constitution.