The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1898-02-02
A VOTE TO BE PROUD OF.

| 1t has been q long time since the House
of Representatives made as important a
record as the vote on the Teller resolution.
The vote itself and the manner of it were
equally worthy of the best traditions of the
Republican party. When the House met in
special session in March last it was for the
understood purpose of passing a new tariff
law. The question had been fully discussed,
and no person doubted how the House at
least would dispose of it. The action of the
House in that case was thoroughly salts
factory and creditable because it fully met
public expectations, but the fact that the
House was pledged in advance to a certain
| lire of action detracted from the interest
and to some extent from the significance
attaching to it.
The present case is different. 1t was not
expected when Congress met that it would
have to deal with the question of repudia-
| ton as presented in a resurrected phase of
| the silver question. The St. Louis platform
had not made any explicit declaration on
that phase of the question: it had not been
| discussed in the campaign, and members
of Congress were neither pledged nor in
passed by the Senate after short debate by
decisive majority and precipitated upon
the House very unexpectedly and under cir
cumstances calculated to test to the Mt
most not only the party discipline but the
courage and convictions of the Republicans.
1t might be compared in war to a surprise
or an attack from an entirely unexpected
o1so .fa dir IN
panic. In politics it was a situation in
which a party without strong convictions
and the sustaining power of a patriotic and
honorable record behind it to rally on would
either have gone to pieces or evaded the
issue and endeavored to gain time by tenn
porizing. Happily for the party and the
country the Republican majority III the
House did neither of these things. So far
from breaking they did not WAIVER, and in
stead of retreating they advanced to meet
the issue and not only did not seek to gain
time for consultation but used all the par
liamentary power at their disposal to Short
en- debate and hasten action. The result
is before the country in the most important
vote of recent years-1S2 to 132 against the
most plausible and insidious form of repu-
diation ever presented. The significance of
the vote is emphasized by the fact that al
though it was taken after only five hours
of debate every Republican in the House
except one voted against the resolution
The history of legislation does not show a
more solid and impregnable majority in IA
vor of righteous cause.
The effect of the vote will be good in
many ways. 1t will strengthen confidence
In the honesty of the American people and
the popular branch of Congress. 1t will
strengthen the Republican party, especially
with business men and all who believe IN
preserving the national credit and honor in
tact. 1t makes a record which the party
cannot get away from and which cannot
get away from the party-a record to which
Republicans in coming years will point with
! as much pride as to anything in the past his
tory of the party. 1t supplies a stronghold
| in what is plainly destined to be the line Of
battle in 1900, when the advocates of sound
money, currency reform and national hon
esty will have to meet and defeat again
the coIpbined forces of free silver Bryan
ism, Populism, fiat money and Reputation.
In every aspect of the case it was a vote
to be proud of.