Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1908-03-10
The Republican Panic FaLacy
Exploded.

Onuer the captlOn. Inc hopuDu-
can Panic Fallacy Exploded" Bryan's
Commoner published the following
which should be read by every Amer
lean citizen, who takes enough interest
in his country to follow it's history The
article SAYS:
So many requests have been made
for copies of The Commoner, dated
October II, 1906, and containing the
following article, that no more copies
can be supplied. The article is there
fore reprinted in order to supply the
demand:
q. Clay, Mexico, Mo, reader,
writes: General Grosvenor, speaking
at our chautauqua, said that low tariff
and hard times are found co-existing
throughout our history-alwavs found
together. Without any dates he sup
ported this statement of the usual old
stock-in-trade argument of the protec-
zionist. Is he right?'
General Grosvenor is mistaken. The
reason he did not give the dates, is that
the dates would have confounded him.
The truth is that every panic since the
civil war originated under republican
rule and developed under republican
legislation.
The great panic which gave "Black
Friday" to history occurred during the
month of September, 1869, when the re-
publican party was in power.
The great panic marked by the
failure of Jay Cooke & Co., occurred
in September, 1878. Then the repub-
! lican party was in power and eleven
months prior to the beginning of that
panic that party had been reelected
to power.
The "panic of 1893" began long
prior to that year and, indeed. long
prior to the presidential election of
1899; and it is a fact, although re-
publican orators and republican or
gans try to forget it, that the So
called panic of 1898 began and played
its greatest havoc under that famous
tariff law known as the Mckinley
bill.
1t may be well for Commoner read
ers to keep readily at hand some of
the facts and figures relating to this
question.
The republican party was restored
to power March 4, 1899.
The Mckinley tariff law bill became
a law October 6, 1890, and remained in
effect until August 81, 1894.
The Wilson tariff law, enacted by a
democratic congress went into effect
August q, 1894.
If any one will take the trouble to
examine the republican campaign
textbook for 1905, pages 125, 1876 and
1877 he will find considerable space de-
voted to statement of business dis
aster from July Is, 1898, until Novem-
Der 13, 1894. The republican managers
expected their readers to remember
that the Cleveland administration was
inaugurated March A, 1898, and that all
these disasters occurred under demo-
cratic administration; but they ex.
pected their readers to forget that the
republican tariff law was in force to
August y, 1894, or covering more than
twelve months of the sixteen months
period of business disasters described
by the republican textbook.
In their references to the panic of
1898, republican orators and organs
habitually overlook the date when the
Mckinley law ceased and the Wilson
law went into effect. But when, in their
tariff discussions, they are required to
face the fact that that panic played it's
greatest havoc during the life of the
republican tariff law they answer that
was the anticipation of tariff legisla-
ton growing out of the democratic
victory in 1892 which brought on these
business disasters, For this reason in
their list of business disasters they
place July Is, 1898, as marking the be-
ginning of that great panic.
Let it be remembered that the Nc
Kinley tariff law became a law October
6, 1890, and that the first indications of
the so-called panic 1884 were given
November IL, 1890. A LITTLE MORE
THAN THIRTY DAYS AFTER THE
MCKINLEY TARIFF BILL BECAME
A LAW. From that day the panic
| ragged.
The Harrison administration was
inaugurated March 4, 1899, and when
the first indications of this panic were
given, President Harrison had not ex-
hausted the half of the term for which
he was elected. It's admitted by every
one familiar with the facts that Presi-
dent Harrison's administration had
plates prepared for the bonds and Mr.
Harrisons secretary of the treasury
made visit to New York for the pur-
pose of negotiating the bond deal He
was wired by MIR. Harrison to return to
Washington. Mr.. Harrison said that
he had concluded not to have any bond
issues under his administration and in
order to avoid stigma the Harrison
administration warded off the bond
issue and unloaded it ON the incoming
Cleveland administration
1t may not be out of place to point
out that when the democratic admin
istration surrendered the reins of gov
eminent, March 4, 1889, there was in
the federal treasury the largest surplus
in history. When the republican party
went out of power, March 4, 1898, there
1 L, IOE.
administration was finally persuaded
to make the bond issues which its re-
publican predecessor had at one time
thought to be necessary, but had skill
fully avoided:
The claim that the business disasters
of the period referred to were due to
the popular fear that tariff legislation
to be enacted by democrats is as has
been said, met by the fact that this