The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1904-06-02


ed 1t TO be known that he was can
didate to succeed Mitchell in the SEN
ate. All serious opposition disappear
ed before thelegislature met. The Re
publican caucus was held in the fore
noon of January by 154 votes against
cast for Galusha A. Grow.
In the interest of protective tariff
Quay accomplished two notable
things in the United States Senate.
The Mckinley bill was presented in
the Fifty first Congress. 1t passed
the House in 1890 but was debated
long and resisted bitterly by the
Democratic members of the Senate.
At the same time the Lodge bill for
the federal supervision of elections,
known as the Force Bill, was on it's
course through the Senate. The op-
position of the Democrats to it was
intense. A majority of the Senate
was Republican, but under the pecu-
lar rules of that body the Democrats
were able TO delay either measure
until the expiration of the session.
1t was in this emergency that Quay
effected compromise with the Dem
ocratic leaders for which he was
severely criticised in radical Re-
publican quarters. For the sake of
securing the passing of the tariff
measure he and few Republicans
united with the Democrats in ditch
ing the Force Bill and forever remov-
ing it from the path of legislation.
The Bardsley scandal in Philadel-
phia, in May, 1891, gave the enemies
of Quay another chance to attack
him. Efforts were made to connect
him with the Philadelphia treasurer's
defalcations. Among Bardslev's
papers was found check for SIC, 1000,
Endorsed by Quay, which Attorney
General Hensel secured and caused
to be published in several of the Dem
ocratic newspapers of the state Sen
ator Quay instantly brought suit for
criminal libel against some of the
papers. 1t developed that Quay had
Endorsed the check as collateral to
secure loan for the state committee.
and the editors of two papers were
convicted. Two Beaver county edi-
tors were sentenced to a short term of
imprisonment in the Beaver county
jail by Judge Wickham, and for this
hardship the senator was severely
criticised.
In January, 1898, Quay was.leasily
reelected to the United States Sen
ate. The Philadelphia machine was
for him and the Pittsburg machine
against him.
In the meantime another state
treasury scandal had broken out.
Quay was ever a Spectator in stocks
and he had made and won large
fortunes by the rise and fall of secur-
tiles in Wall street After the fail
ure of the Keystone Bank the Peo-
pies Bank of Philadelphia had be-
come the political bank of the state.
Here were deposited enormous sums
of the states money, from which va
rious men borrowed.
The bank failed in the early days
of Quay's fight to succeed himself and
the cashier committed suicide. OF
the states funds 100000 had been
lost. James Mechanics, an old-time
politician. whom Qnay had fought
through many year and whom he
had finally driven out of the leader
ship, wrote his own check for $780,
900 to make good the deficit. When
the authorities took charge of the
banks affairs they found in the desk
of the dead cashier letters and tele-
grams which indicated that Quay
and others had influenced the deposit
of large sums of the states money in
the bank, and in turn had borrowed
money from the bank for speculative
purposes.
But he was acquitted, and that very
day he got his second "vindication,
for Governor William A. Stone ap-
pointed him to the vacancy in the
Senate, for which he had failed to re-
ceived an election by the legislature.
Still the fight against Quay went
on. The legality of his appointment
by the Governor after the legislature
had failed to act was questioned by
the Senate, and Quay was denied his
seat by majority of one vote. That
vote was cast by Senator Hanna, of
Ohio. Quay's friends were furious,
but Quay was not dismayed. The
very next day the Republicans State
Convention met at Harrisburg, and
Quay was nominated for the United
States Senate, to be voted for by the
legislature to be elected that fall.
He won, as usual and the legislature
elected him to the Senate just as the
campaign of 1900 was coming on.
Quay did not keep up his fight with
Mckinley after the Republicans con-