The San Francisco call., 1899-10-31
FINANCIAL LEGISLATION.

THE session of Congress will soon begin. There
will be many things requiring its attention.
New subjects OF legislation, of the gravest
character, have appeared. They involve questions Of
government and of revenue. great army and
great navy have to be cared for. Exhaustng mill
tary operations at a costly distance from their base
have to be carried on. We in the midst OF un-
tried policies and Of problems Their burden
only adds to the dangers to be anticipated from any
weak places in system.
Our financial legislation and policy as weak
now as when their condition so keenly alarmed the
country in 1896 The burden upon them then was
only that OF carrying such conditions might arise
of policies long before the people and that bur
den they were believed incapable OF supporting. Our
financial system was then believed by millions to be
a disease that threatened, at all times, the public
credit The Republican party and the gold Democ-
racy boldly declared that the disease must be erad
Gated The Bryan Democracy as stoutly insisted that
must be used as a foundation
The country has waited. The Republican party to
the close OF the last Congress had power to cure
Our financial disease 1t had no majority in the Sen
ate 1t could act no further than declare its pur-
pose to act when the people gave power. The peo-
pie have responded. They have given it a working
majority in both houses They have been so earnest
in this grant of power that not single straight Dem
ocratc Senator is left from the North, and seven
Senatorial seats have been filled by Republicans from
the South. Never in our political history have the
people shown such determined devotion to have an
issue settled and settled rightly, they have shown
now in regard to this issue.
Those who don't want to act who say they want
to let well enough alone, in effect mean that they
want to let bad enough alone The prosperity to
which they point is not because of our bad financial
system, but in spite OF it, Were that system sane
and sound there would be less feverish apprehension
attending present business conditions The prosper
itv we have would promise longer continuance, and
its benefits would be even more general than they
are ii the foundation were secure They not
we'll informed advisers who counsel the Republican
party to sleep on its financial promises Public at
tention cannot be altogether withdrawn from those
promises nor from that issue. The position OF Mr..
Bryan is wrong; it may be called fanatcism, scien-
tificallv unsound and all that But has one single
virtue and that very useful in politics. 1t is
an affirmative position. 1t be turned by a
negation The Republican party has opposed it, up
to the point of reversing the majority in the Senate
by positive policy. It's convictions in favor Of
financial reform have been so plainly stated that sound
money Democrats and Republicans everywhere COM
bined in support of Republican candidates The
threatening fusions of last year in every State
faced fought and overthrown by that sound money
force.
Therefore it is that every obligation Of honor and
policy requires that the Republican party proceed,
decently and in order, of its will and by the
exercise Of the power given to it by the people,
enact the reform legislation it has promised Against
this no good argument can. be made from Repub-
lican standpoint The forces behind Mr. Bryan will
be delighted with Republican failure to act They
will take such failure admission that the sound
money of the country afraid to use their
power to redeem their promises.
There are roads and roads to such reforms. One
road is by letting the advocates of financial heresy
and confusion take power and it to enact their
schemes into law. This is burning the building to
get rid OF the rats
The Republican plan should be to destroy the rats
that they will not die in the house, and save the
building.
Moreover, it is easy now to put reform legislation
in action. The country IS strong in trade. Though
there is still treasury deficit, the consuming ca
pacity of the people will respond readily to rate
Of taxation that will turn it into a surplus What
the sound money proposed in 1896 can now be
carried out and not adverse ripple will appear on
the swelling sea OF commerce Such legislation will
make easier the reaction which always follows these
periods of high activity Without such legislation
that reaction may become cyclone. With it there
will be only Stacking in the trade winds and wreck
and ruin will be averted