The L'Anse sentinel. (L'Anse, L.S., Mich.) 18??-current, 1909-06-26
THE NEW UNION.
Essay Delivered by Harvey w. Ray.
nond at 1909 Barssa h. s. Com
mencement Exercises.

The year 1876 marked not only q
ESint of national sentiment in the COM
Rletion of one hundred years of inde-
pendence, but also real turning point
m the history of the country. Normal
conditions of government and of eco
nomic and intellectual life were at
length restored. The period of recon-
struetion was past; Congress had ceased
To exercise xtra-constitutiona powers;
national legal conditions once more
pevailed. Negro rule under scrupu-
lous adventures had been finally put
to an end in the South. and the nat
ura, inevitable ascendency of the
whites, the responsible class, establish
ed. Old questions. now practically set
tiled, fell into the background; new
questions, bred Of new times, thrust
themselves forward. BY an act passed
In 1880 the use of federal troops at the
rslis had been forbidden; and with the
abandonment of federal interfere nee
with elections the southern question"
fortunately lost its prominence in party
program. Financial, economic, and
administrative interests produced the
problems of the day. The most prom
inent of these questions were the
coinage of silver, the reform of the civil
service. the reduction of tariff dutie g.,
the control of corporations, particular
Iy the great interstate railways, and
the purification of the ballot.
The tariff was the most familiar of
these subjects of debate. The Dem
ocrats were in favor of low tariff
while the Republicans were in favor of
a high protective tariff. Repeated eff
forts were made, therefore, to secure
Legislation upon this subject, but moth
ing of any consequence was accomplish
ed At last lin 1882, Congress turn
ed the matter over to Tariff Com
mission, and in the session of 1928,
acted according to the report of this
commission. But very few changes
were made. Consequently the Congress
of 1890 secured the passage of the
Mckinley Bill, bill in favor of high
protective tariff. This bill was in
force until 1894, when the Wilson Bill
was passed, lowering the rates. This
bin marked radical change in the
long existing tariff policy of the United
States. But the Congress of 1897
witnessed the introduction and passage
of the Dingley Bill. This is the law
under which we are working to-day,
and is distinctly protective tariff.
The problem of tariff reform is, how
ever, still with us, as Congress is now
sitting in special session discussing an
other tariff bill known as the Payne
Bill.
The next question to come was that
OF the coinage of silver. An act of
July IA, 1870, provided that the bonds
of the United States should be paid
Sin coin", and an act of February IL,
1S73 had suspended the coinage of 81 :
yer. except for subsidiary coins. This
caused the value Of. silver. as compared
with gold, to be greatly deprecated
Gold was, therefore, known As ''dear
money, while silver was known as
cheap money. At last IN 1873, the
Bland Allison Bill was passed which pre- :
vided that every month the Treasury
should purchase large amount Of sill
yer bullion, and coin it into money.
Thus the silver dollar was made legal
tender in payment Of all debts. In 1890
the Sherman Act was passed, by the
terms Of which silver bullion was to
be bought periodically and paid for in
treasury notes. This made the govern
ment heavy holder Of silver and there
was doubt as to the ability Of the
government, under the circumstances,
to adhere to the standard Of gold. In
1893, under the pressure Of panic,
the Sherman Act was repealed, and
gold coin was made the standard,
In the matter Of the reform Of the
civil service there had been equally
confusing party divisions, but more
satisfactory progress in Legislation
Congress had withdrawn its support
from the reform lin 1874 and the
members Of both houses did not wish
to see legislation on the Subject re
yived. Matters continued in this wa,
until, on January 8, 1883, the Pendel'
ton Civil Service Act passed Congress
1t authorized the President to order
appointments to the civil service to bs
made by competitive examination, and
to constitute Civil Service Commits
sion for the management and develops
meut OF the system. The new Law