The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1900-03-16
GRE At CHiNcE FOR MCKINLEY.
(Chicago Chronicle.) J

Chicago Chronicle.)
Senator Elkins has introduced reso-
! luton amounting to an abdication of
congressional power in the Porto Rican
matter and turning the whole busi-
ness over to the president. The admit
| ted object of this motive is to give
the president an opportunity to redeem
| himself with the people, regardless of
what may happen to other politicians.
! The West Virginia senator is quoted as
saying to another one of his party who
| is a person of influence: "It is an un-
eXampled chance for the president to
make a grand stand play that will
| change the present furious criticism and
| abuse to enthusiastic and lavish praise"
| When it was suggested that IL the bill
| should pas in it's present shape all the
| indignation would die out shortly be-
| cause the people would come to under
stand the bill, the senator declared that
| that was too uncertain reliance. Per-
| haps the people understood 1t well
enough and perhaps they understood it
too well. 1t was safer, in his opinion,
to give the president a chance-at
which he would be delighted to jump
| to demonstrate that he had been in
favor of free trade with the island all
the time.
That is great politics, to be sure. Here
was the president in December declar-
| ing that it was the plain duty. of the
government to give the Porto Ricans
the benefit of absolutely free trade with
the rest of the country. The head of
the ways and means committee began
the session by agreeing with the presi
| dent and bringing in q bill to carry into
effect the recommendation of the mes
sage. Then along came OXnard and his
grand lobby combination and persuaded
the committee chairman that free trade
for Porto Rico with the rest Of the
country would never do-in fact, would
play the mischief with the Republican
| campaign fund next summer. Then the
chairman and the rest of the bosses
began to whip in recalcitrant Republi-
| cans who insisted on carrying out the
presidents recommendation. They in
| sisted at any rate on knowing whether
the president had changed his mind.
Now, in view of these notorious facts,
can any Republican politician be so
uncomplmentary to the people as to
think that they would be converted
from the error of their ways and trans
mute their furious criticism and abuse
into enthusiastic and lavish praise by
any grand stand play that such
cartilaginous president could make?
Elkins seems to be. but probably he
knows that people who have watched
the course Of Mr. Mckinley in this busi-
ness and have strongly disapprovcd of
it are not going to be aroused to n
high pitch Of enthusiasm and to an in
| diligence in lavish praise by a death
bed repentance.
If he doesn't know 1t other politicians
| do and they are not likely to give Mr..
Mckinley the coveted chance to make
that kind Of play. What they are
looking out for is chance to save them
selves from the wrath of hte people to
whom they must look for their political
future. They are not going TO make
scapegoats of themselves in order to
give Mr.. Mckinley possible chance to
avoid the penalty of his regeneration
and cowardice. They would much pre-
fer TO save themselves and look about
them for another presidential candidate
with whom to cast in their political lot.
They might even prefer to take up Ben
jamin Harrison once more, nothwith-
standing his suspected anti~imperial-
istic leanings.
What happened then? Some said
that the president had changed his mind
while others said no less positively that
he had not and as the days went by the
confusion grew more hopeless. One
authoritative word from the president
would have settled the whole matter SO
far as he was concerned. Was that word
spoken? Not bit of it. The president
allowed those who were supposed to
speak for him, on the floor of the house
to say that he had changed his mind
and that at the same time there were
statements which seemed to be hardly
less authentic that he had not changed
his mind.
One fact stands out indisputable In
the midst of the muddle and that is thai
the house passed bill opposed to the
recommendation of the passage anG
there was not an official word from
the president to set at rest the con
Trajectory statements. And men voted
for the bill who would not have voteC
for II had they not been led to believ'
that the president desired it's pas
sage. And on top of this we have thu
positive statement of the paper which
is edited by the personal friend OF th'
president that under pressure from thu
party leaders In the house he PERSONAL,
urged several representatives TO- sup
port the bill, so as TO preserve an un