Los Angeles herald., 1909-12-02
The American Congress
X-CleveTand Versus Congress
Bv Frederic j. Haskin

DO was to stop coming even what sill
yer was being coined. Under auth
ority of "the purchasing clause of
the Sherman act" passed in $780, the
treasury was required to buy four and
a half million ounces of silver each
month. The treasury was being drained
of gold, bonds were being Issued to
keep up the reserves and there was
trouble a-plenty at the treasury.
Mr.. Cleveland came into office in
March, but he was very, very slow
in the work of removing Republican
ofiice-holders and replacing them with
Democratic patriots" The patriots"
did not like to wait, but Mr.. Cleveland
knew what he was about. Against the
wishes of a majority of his party he
called a special session of congress
to meet August for the purpose of
repeating the purchasing clause Of the
Sherman act.
Congress met and received the presi
dents message asking for the repeal
of the fateful clause. As soon as the
clerk had finished reading 1t in the
senate, Senator Hale, the Republican
leader, supported by Senator Lodge,
rushed to the front as advocates Of
the presidents policy. Senator Cor
man, the Democratic and administra-
ton leader chided them for their zeal,
but 1t was apparent from the first
moment of the debate that the great
Democratic victory OF 1892, which gave
that party complete control of the
government for the first time since the
civil war, was but dead-sea fruit. The
Democratic party was cut in twain by
Mr.. Cleveland's message to the special
session of 1898, and 1t has not since
united.
The bill for the repeal was intro
duced In the House by Representative
Wilson of West Virginia, who was TO
give his name to tariff bill in the
same congress. After three weeks of
debate the house took graduated
vote, first for free coinage at sixteen
to one, then at seventeen, eighteen,
nineteen and twenty to one, successive
ly, then for the re-enactment of the
Bland-Allison act, and then for the
repeal. Each of the six silver measures
was voted down and the repeal was
passed by q vote of 240 to no. The
Democrats gave 139, the Republicans
101 votes in the affirmative. In the
negative there were 76 Democrats, %
Republicans and IL Populists
The house didn't like the measure,
but many Democratic members were
pie hungry and Uncle Grover had let
it be known that there was nothing
was accomplished. and even then he
would exercise discretion in recogniz-
ing the claims of various gentlemen.
Speaker Crisp also kept back the com
mittee assignments until he saw how
things were drifting, just as Speaker
Cannon did at the special tariff ses-
sion this year.
The east fought the west and south
in the upper chamber. The debate
dragged on for weeks. The Democrats
once agreed on a compromise measure,
only to have 1t thrown back from the
White House with a demand for un-
conditional repeal. Some Democratic
senators supported the president with
good grace others under duress, and
many openly revolted. Vest poured out
walls of wrath upon the head of the
president, Morgan denounced him with
withering sarcasm and dubbed his sup
porters "cuckoos" 1t was great fight.
but the president had the offices and
with them he had the power to quell
senatorial storms and to move legisla-
tive mountains. Finally, on October So
the repeal bill passed the senate by
vote of 43 to 90. The president was
supported by % Republicans and go
Democrats, and he was opposed by 19
Democrats, 10 Republicans and Popu-
lists. Party lines were knocked into
smithereens.
When the senate bill got back to
the house for concurrence In some
slight amendments, an attempt at a
fiilibuster was made. Said a contem-
porary reporter: "Chevalier Bryan of
Nebraska stood like Horatius at the
bridge, with his quiver full of dilatory
motions" But the fllibuster was
choked by Speaker Crisp and on the
final vote only 76 Democrats and
Republicans resisted the demands of
the president that the purchasing
clause of the Sherman act be repealed
unconditionally. 1t was great
triumph for Mr.. Cleveland, and II led
to the settlement of the Vexing problem
of the coinage question. MIR. Cleveland
had established the power of the pres
idency in legislation.
But now that the sixty-first congress
is with us, perhaps one of the most In
teresting recollections of the extra ses-
sion of 1893 is that one of the twenty
three "insurgent" Republicans who.
voted against the repeal. and one of
the FIVE Republicans who supported
Mr.. Bryans futile flibuster, was that
fearless champion of free silver, Jo-
seph G. Cannon, a representative in
congress from the state of Illinois.
Tomorrow-The American Congress;
XI-Roosevelt and Congress. -..-
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