The sun., 1903-08-24
A Brief Retrospect.

For the wreck and disaster which be-
fell our finances and industries by reason
of the compulsory purchases OF silver
bullion by the United States Treasury
neither of the two great parties is ex-
clusively responsible. 1t is, however,
to the credit of the Democratic party
that in 1884 there was chosen Presl-
dent who clearly foresaw the peril
In the interval between Mr. CLEvE-
LANDS election and his inauguration,
he wrote his Warner letter. He uttered
another warning in his inaugural. He
appointed Secretary of the Treasury
who enforced the warning in annual
reports to Congress. Reelected In 1892,
he convened, in August of the next
wear, special session of Congress which
united with him in putting an end to the
vicious silver legislation then existing,
but did not see its way clear to enact
ing at the time, as he recommended,
adequate legislation in support of the
gold standard.
That was unfortunately postponed
and the postponement left CLEvELANDs
Administration in the apparent stress
of danger that a silver dollar standard
might take the place of the gold dollar
standard, although, as the event finally
proved three years later, he and the
Congress of 1893 had really averted the
silver peril.
Alongside of an acute inflammation
of the silver question in those years
was the ever-recurring tariff question.
1t assumed a new aspect in the national
conventions of 1885, largely because
Mr.. CLEvELAND's third annual message
the previous year had been devoted
entirely to the need of reform of taxa
ton because OF an existing surplus OF
some Sl40, 900, OOO-nearly one hundred
millions less than the present surplus
lying idle in the Treasury.
Mr. CLEVELAND denounced this ac-
cumulated surplus as "indefensible ex-
tortion.' His message inspired by
reflex action the Republican platform
of 1888, and the Mckinley Tariff law of
two years later, which put tariff legisla-
ton on new grounds, namely, the need
Of the exclusion of competing foreign
products, the invasion of foreign mar
kets with our own products, and the
creation in those matters of self-suf-
fcing nation.
A protective tariff became thereafter
political rather than an economic
question. MCKINLEY's tariff law of $780,
his election six years later, and the
Dingley tariff Of the next year, rested
mainly on the theory of political and
national benefit.
The result was that American capital
left its hiding places, whether at home or
abroad, whether in British consols or
French rentes or United States bonds,
none of which was speculative in
vestment."
When the Spanish war had delivered
to the United States the Philippines,
American capitalists were invited to
make united efforts at American COM
petition in the Far East. They responded
by promoting the growth Of industrial
consolidation, which accomplished what
was sought but which is now condemned
by the President as fault.
The conditions of American produc- |
ton, OF the home market and Of our
exports at the date Of President MCKIN-
LEY's death, show how well those Ameri-
can capitalists did their work, and how |
near then was the goal of national self |
sufficiency which he desired to reach.
So near was it then that his utterances
only few hours before the fatal tragedy |
at Buffalo intimated that part of the |
tariff wall he had contributed to enact |
could be safely modified; but his success
sor in Office began instead a destructive
criticism of the capitalists and corpora
tions which had been engaged in sub
stituting the conditions of 1901 for those |
of 1893 to 1895.