The Indianapolis journal., 1898-05-27
SPANS ALLIES IN THE SENATE,

Again the Senate has allowed itself to
the hostile criticism of intelligent people. 1t
has had the war revenue bill three weeks.
Its committee on finance has amended it to
suit the views of those who are the friends
of a deprecated currency because they are
silver mine owners, ana those who are so
because they hope to defraud somebody
who has been lending money Now that the
Senate has the report of the committee,
those who favor deprecated currency and
suspension of specie payments are con-
suming days in what, by courtesy, is called
debate. Not vote will be changed by this
waste of time. Few senators listen to the
dreary talking, and few people will read
word of what is being said unless senators
burden the mails with printed copies of
their speeches. No considerable portion of
the outside world, intent on living pursuits,
gives any heed to the debates of the SEN
ate. The wonder is that the better men in
all parties in that body do not recognize
the fact that the country regards the SEN
ate as an obstacle to needed action and take
steps to prevent such delay.
For weeks during the first part of the
session, while the President was doing his
utmost TO induce Spain to relinquish Cuba
without war, these men in the Senate
Allen, Pettigrew and others of the silver
mine contingent, now controlling the major
ity of those who call themselves Demo-
crats-kept up a continual demand for
recognition of the indanandapoa Of Ct,,ho
These demagogues charged that the money
power and the owners of Spanish bonds
were upholding Spain and controlling the
President. With their allies, these men in
the Senate, when the issue of war came,
undertook to commit the United States to
recognition CT the Rel'utllc of Cuba, which
most thoughtful men now admit would have
been a blunder Of enormous proporticns
Now that the war which they demanded
is in progress they refuse to pass a meas
ure which will give the administration the
means to meet the obligations of the gov
eminent incurred in vigorous preparation
and prosecution of the war. Senator Daniel
says there is no hurry. as the war may be
ended by the capture of the Spanish fleet;
Il
of specie payments is necessary in war;
Senator Allen berates the money power and
those who rode as officers in the late war,
boasting that he carried a musket When
urged by senators who realize the situation
to come to a vote the present week, the
coterie of ultra silver and Populist sena-
tors object that they may take time to
fOoiV ciIx or1d Gof
in the hope that conditions may be forced
upon the country which will take the United
States out of the list of great nations which
are on a gold basis and remand it to ir-
redeemable paper and half-value money
which is the badge of second-class nations.
They would have our troops paid in a de-
preciated paper and the business of the
country forced to use money worth S5
cents on dollar to-day and 80 cents to-
morrow. All this is done in the interest of a
few silver mine millonaires and silver bull
lion speculators These demagogues should
understand that they have led the country
to suspect that their noisy war fervor con-
ceals a sneaking purpose to force the coun-
try into some financial difficulty which will
break the power of Spain unless it accepts
the financial heresies of the Bryanites. The
Kansas City Star, an independent paper
which oftener supports the Democratic than
Republican policies, thus arraigns the So
called Democratic opposition to an issue of
bonds:
The country is now witnessing the spec
tacle of a great party trying to embarraSS
the government, in the midst of an acute
emergency, by opposing bond issues and
striving to weaken the finances of the Ma
tion by forcing issue of demand notes.
They are delaying the entire revenue meas
ure because of this effort force the gov
ernment into dangerous financial expedi-
ent. No nation ever undertook TO raise funds
to carry on war by the issue of paper money
without bringing disaster on the people
The experiment has been tried repeatedly,
and it has always resulted in deranging the
finances of the country which tried it.
AT SANTIAGO.