XXXIV. CLEVELAND'S SECOND ADMINISTRATION. The Selection of the Cabinet-Geographical Considerations Disregarded-The Democrats in Complete Power for the First Time Since 1861-Delays in Action on the Sherman Law and the Tariff Question-The Special Session Called Late-Repeal of the Sherman Law Finally Accomplished--Unsatisfactory Work on the Tariff Measure-Becomes a Law Without the President's Signature-An Act of "Party Perfidy and Dishonor"-Tremendous Political Overturn in 1894-The Sandwich Island Affair. In making up his second Cabinet, as in the first, President Cleveland ignored geographical considerations, and selected two personal friends from New York. The list was as follows: Secretary of State-Walter Q. Gresham, of Indiana. After the 4th of March, 1893, the Democrats, for the first time since January, 1861, were in possession of all branches of Government. They had come into power largely upon the strength of two specific promises. The first was thus stated in their platform: "We denounce the McKinley Tariff Law, enacted by the Fifty-first Congress, as the culminating atrocity of class legislation; we endorse the efforts made by the Democrats of the present Congress to modify its most oppressive features in the direction of free raw materials and cheaper manufactured goods that enter into general consumption, and we promise its repeal as one of the beneficent results that will follow the action of the people in intrusting power to the Democratic party." The second piece of legislation which the Democrats had promised to do away with, as speedily as possible, was the Sherman Act for the purchase of silver bullion. This Act their platform denounced as "a cowardly makeshift, fraught with possibilities of danger in the future which should make all of its supporters, as well as its author, anxious for its speedy repeal." If the evils brought about by these two measures were as great as Mr. Cleveland, and those who stumped for him during the campaign, declared them to be, it was certainly the part of duty to wipe them off the statute books as soon as it could be done. Everyone expected that Congress would be at once called together for this purpose. But a new danger had arisen. The Populist demand for the free coinage of silver, at the ratio of 16 to 1, had taken a strong hold of the Democrats, and there was a small sprinkling of Republicans from the Northwest who joined in the same demand. The President feared that he could not control his own forces in the Senate, and delayed calling a special session of Congress, in order that the proper influences might be brought to bear upon those members who were not sound upon this question. Meantime the business of the country was in a disturbed condition. The continued purchases of silver and the threat of its free coinage had begun to drive gold abroad. The probability of radical changes in the tariff prevented manufacturers from making calculations for any long time in the future, and stagnation in that branch of industry, of paramount importance to the country was the result; while the threatened abrogation of the reciprocity treaties bid fair to curtail the foreign demand for our agricultural products. A panic followed, accompanied by a general want of confidence. Depositors made runs on the banks, some of which closed, and all of the banks found it necessary to call in their loans. Credits of all kinds shriveled; mills were shut down; laboring men were thrown out of work, and if not brought to actual distress, found their purchasing power very much diminished, and business failures increased enormously, both in numbers and in the amount of liabilities. Congress finally assembled in special session, August 7th, and the President attempted to prod it up to its work by the following utterances in his message: Our unfortunate financial plight is not the result of untoward events, nor of conditions related to our natural resources; nor is it traceable to any of the afflictions which frequently check National growth and prosperity. With plenteous crops, with abundant promise of remunerative production and manufacture, with unusual invitation to safe investment, and with satisfactory assurance to business enterprise, suddenly financial distrust and fear have sprung up on every side. Numerous moneyed institutions have suspended because abundant assets were not immediately available to meet the demands of frightened depositors. Surviving corporations and individuals are content to keep in hand the money they are usually anxious to loan, and those engaged in legitimate business are surprised to find that the securities they offer for loans, though hereto fore satisfactory, are no longer accepted. Values, supposed to be fixed, are fast becoming conjectural, and loss and failure have invaded every branch of business. I believe these things are principally chargeable to Congressional legislation touching the purchase and coinage of silver by the General Government. This legislation is embodied in a statute, passed July 14th, 1890, which was the culmination of much agitation on the subject involved, and it may be considered a truce, after a long struggle, between the advocates of free silver coinage and those intending to be more conservative. Undoubtedly the monthly purchases by the Government of four millions and five hundred thousand ounces of silver, enforced under that statute, were regarded by those interested in silver production as a certain guaranty for its increase in price. The result, however, has been entirely different, for immediately following a spasmodic and slight rise, the price of silver began to fall after the passage of the Act, and has since reached the lowest point ever known. This disappointing result has led to renewed and persistent effort in the direction of free silver coinage. It was my purpose to summon Congress in special session early in the coming September, that we might enter promptly upon the work of tariff reform, which the true interests of the country clearly demand; which so large a majority of the people, as shown by their suffrage desire and expect, and to the accomplishment of which every effort of the present Administration is pledged. But while tariff reform has lost nothing of its immediate and paramount importance, and must, in the near future, engage the attention of Congress, it has seemed to me that the finan cial condition of the country should at once, and before all other subjects, be considered by your honorable body. Instead of taking immediate action in a line to which the Democrats were pledged, and in which a very large proportion of the Republicans were ready to concur, the majority in the House deliberately planned for a long discussion of a Bill which was introduced repealing the Sherman Act. Act. A resolution, introduced by Mr. Bland, was adopted, providing that fourteen days should be allowed for debate under the following order: Eleven days to be given to general debate under the rules of the last House, the time to be equally divided between the two sides, as the Speaker may determine. The last three days may be devoted to the consideration of the Bill and the amendments herein provided for under the usual fiveminute rule of the whole House. General leave to print is hereby granted. Order of amendments. The vote shall be taken first on the free coinage of silver at the present ratio. If that fails, then a separate vote to be had on a similar amendment proposing a ratio of 17 to 1; if that fails, on one proposing a ratio of 18 to 1; if that fails, on one proposing a ratio of 19 to 1; if that fails on one proposing a ratio of 20 to 1. If the above amendment fails, it shall be in order to offer an amendment reviving the Act of February 28, 1878, restoring the standard silver dollar, commonly known as the Bland-Allison Act; the vote then to be taken on the engrossment and third reading of the Bill, as amended, or on the Bill itself, if all amendments shall have been voted down, and on the final passage of the Bill, without other intervening motion. This elaborate program was carried out. And so, while business men were in suspense, and the industries of the country were at a standstill, the solemn trifling of debate over propositions which every body knew were untenable went on. It was not until August 28, three weeks after the House met, that the bill for unconditional repeal passed, by vote of 239 to 109. The proposition to revive the Bland Law was defeated by Republican votes, the Democratic vote standing 112 for to 109 against. The Republican vote was 15 for to 110 against, and 9 Populists voted for the proposition. The 239 votes by which unconditional repeal finally passed consisted of 138 Democrats and 101 Republicans, the negative vote being 76 Democrats, 24 Republicans and 9 Populists. Thus, six months after the Democrats came into power, and three weeks after Congress met, the House passed, by the aid of Republicans, an Act to which the Democrats were pledged, and which ought not to have required more than three hours for its disposal. It was a striking illustration of the incapacity of the latter day Democracy for assuming the responsibilities of Government. But this was not the worst, for the Senate, a smaller body, which might be supposed to act more expeditiously than the House, took just two months over the matter. The Finance Committee of that body reported a substitute for the House Bill, and to this substitute no less than seven others were added by individual Senators. Mr. Peffer, Populist, from Kansas, wanted to go back to the coinage Act of 1834, and if he couldn't have that, then to the Act of 1837. Mr. Berry, of Arkansas, wanted to revive the Bland-Allison Act of 1878. Senator Pasco, of Florida, wanted a commission to ascertain or establish a proper ratio between gold and silver. There were other substitutes offered by Senators Perkins, of California; Allen, of Nebraska; Blackburn, of Kentucky; Squire, of Washington, and Stewart, of Nevada. They included propositions for additional Treasury notes, for silver coinage with a seigniorage of 20 per cent., and the coinage of the seigniorage. At last, on the 28th of October, the Senate passed a substitute for the House Bill, repealing the Sherman Law, and adding a declaration in favor of bimetallism through international agreement. The yeas on this were 23 Republicans and 20 Democrats, and the nays were 19 Democrats, 9 Silver Republi cans and 9 Populists. The House agreed to the substitute by a vote of 194 yeas and 94 nays. The proposition for bimetallism through international agreement was a perfectly harmless one, but utterly futile. The experiment of an international conference was thoroughly tried by the Republican Administrations at earlier stages of the silver discussion, and had shown that it was impossible for the European countries to agree upon the subject. The long delay in repealing the Sherman Act neutralized any good effect that the repeal itself was designed to have; for the debates upon it, and the strong assertion of free coinage sentiment continued to keep business men in a state of alarm, and business itself in a condition of uncertainty. The proposed revision of the tariff was another cause of disturb ance and apprehension that loomed up before business men. Since this revision was bound to come in some form, it would have been vastly better if this also had come promptly, but all consideration of it was deferred from the special to the regular session of Congress. During this delay the question of the free coinage of silver continued to come up in one form or another, while the condition of the Treasury was such as to occasion aların. When the regular session of Congress met in December the Treasury reserve of gold for redemption purposes had fallen below the $100,000,000 which had, for a long time, been considered the lowest limit of safety and there was a deficit of $68,000,000 in the Treasury. For the first time since the days of President Buchanan the Government became a borrower of money to pay current expenses, in time of peace. The first loan of $50,000,000 was called for at about this time, and this was followed in the course of this Administration by four others of equal or larger amount, till the whole sum borrowed reached $262,000,000. |