The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1898-10-26
Flattering Reception rendered Ou-
Iuth's War Congressman at
the Armory
TWO THOUSAND CHEER HIM
He Delivers a Magnificent Address
Fully Setting Out All
Issues.

itself upon the single proposition that
| the existing conditions would never
! change, could never change, until this
nation, without reference to the policy
pursued by the other great commercial
nations, should adopt the free and I'M
| limited coinage Of silver at the ratio of
16 to L. On the other hand, the Republic
cans confidently appealing for the popu-
lar and historical justification OF their
| claims to the matchlesS achievements Of
80 years of Republican rule and refusing
| to surrender one jot or little to those VINO
| threatened to bolt and desert, boldly
planted themselves upon the long ac-
cepted and we'll understood doctrines OF
their party. They pointed to the proved
incompetency of the heterogeneous ele>
nlents arrayed against them They declar-
ed that the disastrous conditions then ex-
evil policies already adopted and
worse one threatened, and would disap-
pear when the government was restored
| to competent hands and to that policy OF
| commercial and industrial development
and to that plane of commercial and ma
tional honor, in and upon which it had
made its splendid and marvellous growth
| to wealth and greatness and power. Iney
/ renewed and emphasized their allegiance
| to the policy of protection as the bulwark
of American Industrial independence and
| the foundation of American development
and prosperity, and while pledging them
| selves to no particular schedules and on
| the contrary declaring that the rates
should be governed by the conditions OF
time and of production, unquallnedly
promised to return to that policy in which
| the ruling and uncompromdSing principle
is the protection and development Of
American labor and industry. They de-
| clared that the country demanded right
settlement and then wanted rest and they
| promised to give it both. They declared
| that the Republican party was unreserv-
| edly for sound money; that it had caused
the resumption of specie payments and
since then every dollar OF our money mao
been as good as gold; that they were I'm
| alterably opposed to every measure cal
culated to debase our currency or inn
pair the credit Of our country, and that
| therefore they were opposed to the free
| coinage Of silver except by
International Agreement
with the leading nations Of the world,
which they pledged themselves to
/ promote, and that until such agreement
could be obtained, the existing gold stand
ard must be preserved. That the govern
ment Of Spain, having lost control OF
! Cuba, and being unable to protect prop
erty and life, or to comply with its treaty
obligations, the government of the United
States should actively use its influence
and good offices to restore peace and
give independence to the island. Let US
ses how these promises have been kept
and these predictions fulfilled.
On the 4th of March, 1897, William Nc
1
United States. Eleven days thereafter,
upon his call, the new congress convened.
1t was called specially for the purpose Of
revising the customs laws OF the coun-
try. Sixteen days later, what is now
known as the Dingley bill, passed the
house and went to the senate. All the Re
| publican members of the ways and means
committee of the preceding house had
been reelected and they had for three
months been having hearings on the
various schedules and framing and per-
fecting the bill which they expected to
present and did present to the new con-
gress. The determining characteristics of
the bill and the principle underlying it
had already been determined by the vote
of the people by their endorsement Of the
Republican platform and by their cleo
| ton of him who was looked upon by the
whole country as the peculiar representa-
tive and personal embodiment of the pro-
tective idea. Of course there were some
| questions of detail which might give
| rise to discussion, but the time given
| to it by the house was ample for such
discussion, If confined to its legitimate
channels and devoted strictly to the mat
ter under consideration. Instead of this,
| bill in the house was wasted by
| the Democrats in idle fault-fnding
and irrelevant discussion and talk
| about theories which had been con-
demned and about matters having no
connection whatever with the subject UNI
der consideration. When the bill reached
| the senate, the same thing was continued
| for days, weeks, months, so that the bill
| which should have become a law not
| later than the LIST Of May, was not passed
and approved until the Path day of July.
What the loss to the country was, and
| the effect upon the revenues for the sue
| ceeding fiscal year by this unnecessarily
protracted debate, can be only approx
| mately estimated land even that ap-
proXimate estimate is astounding when
| the figures come to be examined. Not
| withstanding this long and mischievous
! delay, a delay which gave rise to i'm
mense anticipatory importations which
affected the revenue and prevented a re-
turn to normal conditions, the returns of
the treasury department before the war
bgan and since it has been practically end
ed, demonstrate beyond question that the
| law completely answers the two pur-
| poses for which 1t was enacted First
| that 1t would produce ample revenue to
meet the peace Expenditures of the gov
eminent, and second, that the great in
duStries and business of the country would
be rapidly recuperated and placed again
| in a condition of
Healthy Progress and Development.
I hold in my hand here a table COM
| piled from the statistics of the treasury
department showing the monthly revenues
in the months of February, March, April,
1897 and 1898. A careful examination of
this table will prove beyond any question
the immense anticipatory importations
which were made during the four or five
months preceding the going into opera
| ton of the Dingley law. 1t will be remem-
bered that that law was passed on the
oath day OF July, and may therefore be