The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1916-1920, 1919-03-04
Good Riddance.

tive department Of the United States
Government ended with the expira-
ton of the Sixty-fifth Congress at
midnight. It survived for four
months its formal reputation and
condemnation by the electors ut the
polls In November. and not one act
Of the majority in the final session
caused a single voter who cast his
ballot against It last fall to regret
his conduct. The Democratic party
in the last hours Of its power showed
itself as incompetent, extravagant and
unworthy of public confidence as 1t did
In the first months Of It's authority.
During eight years, In which four
Congresses have been elected. the
Democrats have had a majority in
the House. They defeated the Re-
publicans In the elections Of 1910, but
the Senate remained Republican. In
1912 the Democrats captured 1t also,
so that since the Sixty-thlrd Congress
was convened on April Z, 1918, the
Democratic party has been absolute
In Washington.
The first thing the Democratic ma
jorities did was to pass tariff law
that crippled American industry. The
panic of 1907 had been followed by
revival Of trade In 1900, checked in
1910. and 1911 was year Of caution
in financial operations. The year 1912
up to the last quarter was marked by
good crops, the largest production Of
pig iron In the country's history, large
railroad earnings, great building op-
erations, 10 per cent. increase In
our foreign trade over 1911. But the
victory in 1912 Of the Democrats
aroused distrust, which their subse-
quent political and economic meas
ures abundantly justified. The win
ter Of 1894 was hard times
winter, with the hesitancy and alarm
Of industry and commerce reflected
in the diminished pay envelopes Of
American workers.
What the outcome of this situation
would have been had the world re-
malned at peace is not worth specula-
ton. The war came In 1914 and up
set all calculations. The stock ex-
changes closed, the South demanded
that everybody should buy a bale Of
cotton to save It from ruin, and all
enterprise received violent check.
After this period passed the war or
ders began to come from the bellig-
erent Powers, and business revived
under those unwholesome conditions
which persisted until the armistice was
signed, and were rendered much worse
by our entry into the war in 1917.
During all the period from August,
1914, on, the Uneerwood law was in
operation. but It's effects were modi-
fed by the extraordinary situation In
Europe and the war legislation en-
acted by the United States. Previous
to that the Underwood law had been
wrecklng American trade, steadily,
surely and consistently.
In September, 1913, our exports ex-
ceeded our imports by $4,000 900.
From that month they dropped, until
March. 1914, found them $10,000,OOO
less than our imports. Our current
balance of trade was wiped out
American exports remained below our
imports until July, when the impend
ing conflict began TO affect the cur.
rent of trade. The Underwood law
had wiped out our balance of trade
and we should soon have been com
| PEELED TO pay our debts to Europe In
gold; our debts for purchases, for in.
terest on money lent to us, for divi.
dends on stocks owned abroad, for the
expenses incurred by tourists. There
was no excess Of exports to nay the
foreign steamship freights that had to
be paid. The balance OF trade was
steadily against us and steadily grow.
ing worse for us.
The United States, under the condi
! lions imposed by the Underwood tarin
law, would have been obliged to &c
into the market and sell its bonds for
gold to ship to Europe to pay its
debts. AS in CLEvELAND's time, We
should have been forced to use the
credit of the United States to pay our
bills abroad. War saved us from that
but the business 1t produced for us
was unhealthy and of a sort no mar
could wish TO have endure.
In this time the Democrats profted
by the disincllnation of the American
people to change administrations
while the foreign affairs of the ma
! ton were in a difficult state. In 1911
the Democrats wene again successful
at the polls; in 1915 President VIII
SON was reelected, carrying Congress,
with him on the platform HE kept Il,
out of war" But continued power
taught the Democratic party nothing
! and in 1913, in spite of the President
passionate personal appeal to the vot
ers, an appeal unprecedented in oui
history, the American electors elected
the Democrats from control of tn,
House and Senate and decreed thai