The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1903-02-04
A wALL-sTREET PARTY.

A significant article appears in the cur
rent issue of the North American Review,
addressed to the Democracy OF the South,
dent of New York. a wall-street man, as
ISOLATED In large business enterprises with
men like ex-Secretary w. c. Whitney, j.
Pierpont Morgan and others of that class.
Mr.. Ryan is a native of the South, and ad-
dressed the Democrats OF that section upon
solid South and that of the Eastern fringe
of States can control the next national
Democratic convention and make what
ever platform they like regardless of the
Democracy in the West. Mr.. Ryan assumes
that Organism is dead; indeed, so silent
on this point is the Wall-street man that
one would never imagine that seven years
ago the entire Democratic party voted for
the silver heresy and denounced all such
men as Mr.. Ryan and his associates. Nor
does Mr.. Ryan content himself with gen.
eralties; he tells the Democrats of the
which he outlines as follows:
1. A moderate tariff for revenue, without
prejudice to domestic industries.
2. A sound currency.
3. Moderation in public expenditures
4. The restriction of the federal govern
ment to it's legitimate functions, and op-
position to the further extension of it's
powers over the acts and industries of the
people of the States.
The first plank would be a complete back
down from what Messrs. Cleveland, Olney
and the Democrats Of Indiana in their
last platform declared for, namely, "a
tariff for revenue only" "a moderate
tariff for revenue only is a phrase COM
pletely nullified by the words without
prejudice to domestic industries" There is
not and cannot be such a thing as a tariff
| for revenue without prejudice to domestic
industries, for the duty which affords the
greater revenue is one which will most
prejudice domestic industries. A sound cur
rency is Wall-street currency-the gold
standard without feature that Bryanites
could approve. The third plank is one that
every party adopts and rarely observes.
The fourth plank contains the Wall-street
legislate in any manner hostile to trusts.
Such legislation must be left to the States.
There must be no interstate legislation
affecting railroads and traffic in restraint
of the freedom of trade; it is no business
of Congress to put an end to unjust re-
bates; the country should be given over
to Wall street. Lest any one should i'm
agine that he approves of the action of
| President Roosevelt to bring the disastrous
| anthracite strike to an end. Mr. Ryan
| says:
There has of late been an evasion of the
| Constitution which was but the first step
| to an invasion of IT. Nothing has hap
pened in forty years that has given more
usurpation by the executive of the power
| to interfere between the employer and the
employed.
But Mr.. Cleveland has applauded the
course pursued by the President i'm regard
to the strik, and the commission to which
the disputes were referred Many other
prominent Democrats have done the same
thing. About the only protest comes from
the Wall-street people and their organs
Because it is platform which is not for
a tariff for revenue only" Mr.. Cleveland
cannot get upon the Ryan platform; be-
cause it ignores Mr.. Bryan and all his
theories. Mr.. Bryan cannot stand upon
| it. Who can? The Wall-street people who
like Mr.. Ryan. seem to sincerely believe
that the trust holds divine rights.
In the past ten years the Democratic
party has shouted for a good many con-
fiicting and absurd heresies. and under
| the inspiration of Wall street IL NAV adon,
the Ryan rallying cry, Hands off the
| trusts in 1904. but such change would
| be most too rapid for the Democracy