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diff --git a/3041-h/3041-h.htm b/3041-h/3041-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..60d840e --- /dev/null +++ b/3041-h/3041-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,5127 @@ +<?xml version="1.0" encoding="us-ascii"?> + +<!DOCTYPE html + PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" + "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd" > + +<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" lang="en"> + <head> + <title> + The Cleveland Era,, by Henry Jones Ford + </title> + <style type="text/css" xml:space="preserve"> + + body { margin:5%; background:#faebd0; text-align:justify} + P { text-indent: 1em; margin-top: .25em; margin-bottom: .25em; } + H1,H2,H3,H4,H5,H6 { text-align: center; margin-left: 15%; margin-right: 15%; } + hr { width: 50%; text-align: center;} + .foot { margin-left: 20%; margin-right: 20%; text-align: justify; text-indent: -3em; font-size: 90%; } + blockquote {font-size: 97%; font-style: italic; margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%;} + .mynote {background-color: #DDE; color: #000; padding: .5em; margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 95%;} + .toc { margin-left: 10%; margin-bottom: .75em;} + .toc2 { margin-left: 20%;} + div.fig { display:block; margin:0 auto; text-align:center; } + div.middle { margin-left: 20%; margin-right: 20%; text-align: justify; } + .figleft {float: left; margin-left: 0%; margin-right: 1%;} + .figright {float: right; margin-right: 0%; margin-left: 1%;} + .pagenum {display:inline; font-size: 70%; font-style:normal; + margin: 0; padding: 0; position: absolute; right: 1%; + text-align: right;} + pre { font-style: italic; font-size: 90%; margin-left: 10%;} + +</style> + </head> + <body> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + +The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Cleveland Era, by Henry Jones Ford + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The Cleveland Era + A Chronicle of the New Order in Politics, Volume 44 in The + Chronicles of America Series + +Author: Henry Jones Ford + +Release Date: January 23, 2009 [EBook #3041] +[Last updated: April 18, 2015] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE CLEVELAND ERA *** + + + + +Produced by The James J. Kelly Library Of St. Gregory's +University, Alev Akman, and David Widger + + + + + + + +</pre> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <h1> + THE CLEVELAND ERA, + </h1> + <h2> + A CHRONICLE OF THE NEW ORDER IN POLITICS + </h2> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <h2> + By Henry Jones Ford + </h2> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <h5> + NEW HAVEN: YALE UNIVERSITY PRESS <br /> <br /> TORONTO: GLASGOW, BROOK & + CO. <br /> <br /> LONDON: HUMPHREY MILFORD <br /> <br /> OXFORD UNIVERSITY + PRESS <br /> <br /> 1919 + </h5> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <h4> + Volume 44 in the Chronicles of America Series. Abraham Lincoln Edition. + </h4> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <h2> + Contents + </h2> + <p> + <a href="#link2H_4_0001"> THE CLEVELAND ERA </a><br /> + </p> + <table summary="" style="margin-right: auto; margin-left: auto"> + <tr> + <td> + <a href="#link2HCH0001"> CHAPTER I. </a> + </td> + <td> + A TRANSITION PERIOD + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + <a href="#link2HCH0002"> CHAPTER II. </a> + </td> + <td> + POLITICAL GROPING AND PARTY FLUCTUATION + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + <a href="#link2HCH0003"> CHAPTER III. </a> + </td> + <td> + THE ADVENT OF CLEVELAND + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + <a href="#link2HCH0004"> CHAPTER IV. </a> + </td> + <td> + A CONSTITUTIONAL CRISIS + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + <a href="#link2HCH0005"> CHAPTER V. </a> + </td> + <td> + PARTY POLICY IN CONGRESS + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + <a href="#link2HCH0006"> CHAPTER VI. </a> + </td> + <td> + PRESIDENTIAL KNIGHT-ERRANTRY + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + <a href="#link2HCH0007"> CHAPTER VII. </a> + </td> + <td> + THE PUBLIC DISCONTENTS + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + <a href="#link2HCH0008"> CHAPTER VIII. </a> + </td> + <td> + THE REPUBLICAN OPPORTUNITY + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + <a href="#link2HCH0009"> CHAPTER IX. </a> + </td> + <td> + THE FREE SILVER REVOLT + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + <a href="#link2HCH0010"> CHAPTER X. </a> + </td> + <td> + LAW AND ORDER UPHELD + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + </td> + </tr> + </table> + <p> + <a href="#link2H_4_0012"> BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTE </a> + </p> + <table summary="" style="margin-right: auto; margin-left: auto"> + <tr> + <td> + </td> + </tr> + </table> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <br /> <br /> <a name="link2H_4_0001" id="link2H_4_0001"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <h1> + THE CLEVELAND ERA + </h1> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0001" id="link2HCH0001"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER I. A TRANSITION PERIOD + </h2> + <p> + Politicians at Washington very generally failed to realize that the advent + of President Hayes marked the dismissal of the issues of war and + reconstruction. They regarded as an episode what turned out to be the + close of an era. They saw, indeed, that public interest in the old issues + had waned, but they were confident that this lack of interest was + transient. They admitted that the emotional fervor excited by the war and + by the issues of human right involved in its results was somewhat damped, + but they believed that the settlement of those issues was still so + incomplete that public interest would surely rekindle. For many years the + ruling thought of the Republican party leaders was to be watchful of any + opportunity to ply the bellows on the embers. Besides genuine concern over + the way in which the negroes had been divested of political privileges + conferred by national legislation, the Republicans felt a tingling sense + of party injury. + </p> + <p> + The most eminent party leaders at this time—both standing high as + presidential possibilities—were James G. Blaine and John Sherman. In + a magazine article published in 1880 Mr. Blaine wrote: "As the matter + stands, all violence in the South inures to the benefit of one political + party.... Our institutions have been tried by the fiery test of war, and + have survived. It remains to be seen whether the attempt to govern the + country by the power of a 'solid South,' unlawfully consolidated, can be + successful.... The republic must be strong enough, and shall be strong + enough, to protect the weakest of its citizens in all their rights." And + so late as 1884, Mr. Sherman earnestly contended for the principle of + national intervention in the conduct of state elections. "The war," he + said, "emancipated and made citizens of five million people who had been + slaves. This was a national act and whether wisely or imprudently done it + must be respected by the people of all the States. If sought to be + reversed in any degree by the people of any locality it is the duty of the + national government to make their act respected by all its citizens." + </p> + <p> + Republican party platforms reiterated such opinions long after their + practical futility had become manifest. Indeed, it was a matter of common + knowledge that negro suffrage had been undone by force and fraud; hardly + more than a perfunctory denial of the fact was ever made in Congress, and + meanwhile it was a source of jest and anecdote among members of all + parties behind the scenes. Republican members were bantered by Democratic + colleagues upon the way in which provision for Republican party advantage + in the South had actually given to the Democratic party a solid block of + sure electoral votes. The time at last came when a Southern Senator, + Benjamin Tillman of South Carolina, blurted out in the open what had for + years been common talk in private. "We took the government away," he + asserted. "We stuffed ballot boxes. We shot them. We are not ashamed of + it.... With that system—force, tissue ballots, etc.—we got + tired ourselves. So we called a constitutional convention, and we + eliminated, as I said, all of the colored people we could under the + fourteenth and fifteenth amendments.... The brotherhood of man exists no + longer, because you shoot negroes in Illinois, when they come in + competition with your labor, and we shoot them in South Carolina, when + they come in competition with us in the matter of elections." + </p> + <p> + Such a miscarriage of Republican policy was long a bitter grievance to the + leaders of the party and incited them to action. If they could have had + their desire, they would have used stringent means to remedy the + situation. Measures to enforce the political rights of the freedmen were + frequently agitated, but every force bill which was presented had to + encounter a deep and pervasive opposition not confined by party lines but + manifested even within the Republican party itself. Party platforms + insisted upon the issue, but public opinion steadily disregarded it. + Apparently a fine opportunity to redress this grievance was afforded by + the election of President Harrison in 1888 upon a platform declaring that + the national power of the Democratic party was due to "the suppression of + the ballot by a criminal nullification of the Constitution and laws of the + United States," and demanding "effective legislation to secure integrity + and purity of elections." But, although they were victorious at the polls + that year, the Republican leaders were unable to embody in legislation the + ideal proposed in their platform. Of the causes of this failure, George F. + Hoar gives an instructive account in his "Autobiography." As chairman of + the Senate committee on privileges and elections he was in a position to + know all the details of the legislative attempts, the failure of which + compelled the Republican leaders to acquiesce in the decision of public + opinion against the old issues and in favor of new issues. + </p> + <p> + Senator Hoar relates that he made careful preparation of a bill for + holding, under national authority, separate registrations and elections + for members of Congress. But when he consulted his party associates in the + Senate he found most of them averse to an arrangement which would double + the cost of elections and would require citizens to register at different + times for federal elections and for state and municipal elections. Senator + Hoar thereupon abandoned that bill and prepared another which provided + that, upon application to court showing reasonable grounds, the court + should appoint officers from both parties to supervise the election. The + bill adopted a feature of electoral procedure which in England has had a + salutary effect. It was provided that in case of a dispute concerning an + election certificate, the circuit court of the United States in which the + district was situated should hear the case and should award a certificate + entitling the one or other of the contestants to be placed on the clerk's + roll and to serve until the House should act on the case. Mr. Hoar stated + that the bill "deeply excited the whole country," and went on to say that + "some worthy Republican senators became alarmed. They thought, with a good + deal of reason, that it was better to allow existing evils and conditions + to be cured by time, and the returning conscience and good sense of the + people, rather than have the strife, the result of which must be quite + doubtful, which the enactment and enforcement of this law, however + moderate and just, would inevitably create." The existence of this + attitude of mind made party advocacy of the bill a hopeless undertaking + and, though it was favorably reported on August 7, 1890, no further action + was taken during that session. At the December session it was taken up for + consideration, but after a few days of debate a motion to lay it aside was + carried by the Democrats with the assistance of enough Republicans to give + them a majority. This was the end of force bills, and during President + Cleveland's second term the few remaining statutes giving authority for + federal interference in such matters was repealed under the lead of + Senator Hill of New York. With the passage of this act, the Republican + party leaders for the first time abandoned all purpose of attempting to + secure by national legislation the political privileges of the negroes. + This determination was announced in the Senate by Mr. Hoar and was + assented to by Senator Chandler of New Hampshire, who had been a zealous + champion of federal action. According to Mr. Hoar, "no Republican has + dissented from it." + </p> + <p> + The facts upon which the force bill was based were so notorious and the + bill itself was so moderate in its character that the general indifference + of the public seemed to betray moral insensibility and emotional torpor. + Much could be said in favor of the bill. This latest assertion of national + authority in federal elections involved no new principle. In legalistic + complexion the proposed measure was of the same character as previous + legislation dealing with this subject, instances of which are the Act of + 1842, requiring the election of members of the House by districts, and the + Act of 1866, regulating the election of United States Senators. Fraudulent + returns in congressional elections have always been a notorious evil, and + the partisan way in which they are passed upon is still a gross blemish + upon the constitutional system of the United States, and one which is + likely never to be removed until the principle of judicial determination + of electoral contests has been adopted in this country as it has been in + England. The truth of the matter appears to be that the public paid no + attention to the merits of the bill. It was viewed simply as a + continuation of the radical reconstruction policy, the practical results + of which had become intolerable. However great the actual evils of the + situation might be, public opinion held that it would be wiser to leave + them to be dealt with by state authority than by such incompetent + statesmanship as had been common in Washington. Moreover, the man in the + street resented the indifference of politicians to all issues save those + derived from the Civil War. + </p> + <p> + Viscount Bryce in his "American Commonwealth," the most complete and + penetrating examination of American political conditions written during + this period, gives this account of the party situation: + </p> + <p> + "The great parties are the Republicans and the Democrats. What are their + principles, their distinctive tenets, their tendencies? Which of them is + for tariff reform, for the further extension of civil service reform, a + spirited foreign policy, for the regulation of railroads and telegraphs by + legislation, for changes in the currency, for any other of the twenty + issues which one hears discussed in this country as seriously involving + its welfare? This is what a European is always asking of intelligent + Republicans and intelligent Democrats. He is always asking because he + never gets an answer. The replies leave him deeper in perplexity. After + some months the truth begins to dawn upon him. Neither party has, as a + party, anything definite to say on these issues; neither party has any + clean-cut principles, any distinctive tenets. Both have traditions. Both + claim to have tendencies. Both certainly have war cries, organizations, + interests, enlisted in their support. But those interests are in the main + the interests of getting or keeping the patronage of the government. + Tenets and policies, points of political doctrine and points of political + practice have all but vanished. They have not been thrown away, but have + been stripped away by time and the progress of events, fulfilling some + policies, blotting out others. All has been lost, except office or the + hope of it." + </p> + <p> + That such a situation could actually exist in the face of public + disapproval is a demonstration of the defects of Congress as an organ of + national representation. Normally, a representative assembly is a school + of statesmanship which is drawn upon for filling the great posts of + administration. Not only is this the case under the parliamentary system + in vogue in England, but it is equally the case in Switzerland whose + constitution agrees with that of the United States in forbidding members + of Congress to hold executive office. But somehow the American Congress + fails to produce capable statesmen. It attracts politicians who display + affability, shrewdness, dexterity, and eloquence, but who are lacking in + discernment of public needs and in ability to provide for them, so that + power and opportunity are often associated with gross political + incompetency.* The solutions of the great political problems of the United + States are accomplished by transferring to Washington men like Hayes and + Cleveland whose political experience has been gained in other fields. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + * Of this regrettable fact the whole history of emancipation is a +monument. The contrast between the social consequences of emancipation +in the West Indies, as guided by British statesmanship, under conditions +of meager industrial opportunity, and the social consequences of +emancipation in the United States, affords an instructive example of +the complicated evils which a nation may experience through the sheer +incapacity of its government. +</pre> + <p> + The system of congressional government was subjected to some scrutiny in + 1880-81 through the efforts of Senator George H. Pendleton of Ohio, an old + statesman who had returned to public life after long absence. He had been + prominent in the Democratic party before the war and in 1864 he was the + party candidate for Vice-President. In 1868 he was the leading candidate + for the presidential nomination on a number of ballots, but he was + defeated. In 1869 he was a candidate for Governor of Ohio but was + defeated; he then retired from public life until 1879 when he was elected + to the United States Senate. As a member of that body, he devoted himself + to the betterment of political conditions. His efforts in this direction + were facilitated not only by his wide political experience but also by the + tact and urbanity of his manners, which had gained for him in Ohio + politics the nickname of "Gentleman George." + </p> + <p> + In agreement with opinions long previously expressed in Story's + "Commentaries," Senator Pendleton attributed the inefficiency of national + government to the sharp separation of Congress from the Administration—a + separation not required by the Constitution but made by Congress itself + and subject to change at its discretion. He proposed to admit the heads of + executive departments to participation in the proceedings of Congress. + "This system," said he, "will require the selection of the strongest men + to be heads of departments, and will require them to be well equipped with + the knowledge of their offices. It will also require the strongest men to + be the leaders of Congress and participate in the debate. It will bring + those strong men in contact, perhaps into conflict, to advance the public + weal and thus stimulate their abilities and their efforts, and will thus + assuredly result to the good of the country."* The report—signed by + such party leaders as Allison, Blaine, and Ingalls among the Republicans, + and by Pendleton and Voorhees among the Democrats—reviewed the + history of relations between the executive and legislative branches and + closed with the expression of the unanimous belief of the committee that + the adoption of the measure "will be the first step towards a sound civil + service reform, which will secure a larger wisdom in the adoption of + policies, and a better system in their execution." + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + * "Senate Report," No. 837, 46th Congress, 3d session, February +4, 1881. +</pre> + <p> + No action was taken on this proposal, notwithstanding the favor with which + it was regarded by many close students of the political institutions of + the country. Public opinion, preoccupied with more specific issues, seemed + indifferent to a reform that aimed simply at general improvement in + governmental machinery. The legislative calendars are always so heaped + with projects that to reach and act upon any particular measure is + impossible, except when there is brought to bear such energetic pressure + as to produce special arrangements for the purpose, and in this case no + such pressure was developed. A companion measure for civil service reform + which was proposed by Senator Pendleton long remained in a worse + situation, for it was not merely left under the congressional midden heap + but was deliberately buried by politicians who were determined that it + should never emerge. That it did emerge is due to a tragedy which aroused + public opinion to an extent that intimidated Congress. + </p> + <p> + Want of genuine political principles made factional spirit only the more + violent and depraved. So long as power and opportunity were based not upon + public confidence but upon mere advantage of position, the contention of + party leaders turned upon questions of appointment to office and the + control of party machinery. The Republican national convention of 1880 was + the scene of a factional struggle which left deep marks upon public life + and caused divisions lasting until the party leaders of that period were + removed from the scene. In September 1879, General Grant landed in San + Francisco, after a tour around the world occupying over two years, and as + he passed through the country he was received with a warmth which showed + that popular devotion was abounding. A movement in favor of renominating + him to the Presidency was started under the direction of Senator Roscoe + Conkling of New York. Grant's renown as the greatest military leader of + the Civil War was not his only asset in the eyes of his supporters. In his + career as President he had shown, on occasion, independence and + steadfastness of character. He stayed the greenback movement by his veto + after eminent party leaders had yielded to it. He had endeavored to + introduce civil service reform and, although his measures had been + frustrated by the refusal of Congress to vote the necessary + appropriations, his tenacity of purpose was such that it could scarcely be + doubted that with renewed opportunity he would resume his efforts. The + scandals which blemished the conduct of public affairs during his + administration could not be attributed to any lack of personal honesty on + his part. Grant went out of the presidential office poorer than when he + entered it. Since then, his views had been broadened by travel and by + observation, and it was a reasonable supposition that he was now better + qualified than ever before for the duties of the presidential office. He + was only fifty-eight, an age much below that at which an active career + should be expected to close, and certainly an age at which European + statesmen are commonly thought to possess unabated powers. In opposition + to him was a tradition peculiar to American politics, though unsupported + by any provision of the Constitution according to which no one should be + elected President for more than two terms. It may be questioned whether + this tradition does not owe its strength more to the ambition of + politicians than to sincere conviction on the part of the people.* + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + * The reasoning of "The Federalist," in favor of continued +reeligibility, is cogent in itself and is supported by the experience +of other countries, for it shows that custody of power may remain in the +same hands for long periods without detriment and without occasioning +any difficulty in terminating that custody when public confidence is +withdrawn. American sensitiveness on this point would seem to impute +to the Constitution a frailty that gives it a low rating among forms of +government. As better means are provided for enforcing administrative +responsibility, the popular dislike of third terms will doubtless +disappear. +</pre> + <p> + So strong was the movement in favor of General Grant as President that the + united strength of the other candidates had difficulty in staying the + boom, which, indeed, might have been successful but for the arrogant + methods and tactical blunders of Senator Conkling. When three of the + delegates voted against a resolution binding all to support the nominee + whoever that nominee might be, he offered a resolution that those who had + voted in the negative "do not deserve and have forfeited their vote in + this convention." The feeling excited by this condemnatory motion was so + strong that Conkling was obliged to withdraw it. He also made a contest in + behalf of the unit rule but was defeated, as the convention decided that + every delegate should have the right to have his vote counted as he + individually desired. Notwithstanding these defeats of the chief manager + of the movement in his favor, Grant was the leading candidate with 304 + votes on the first ballot, James G. Blaine standing second with 284. This + was the highest point in the balloting reached by Blaine, while the Grant + vote made slight gains. Besides Grant and Blaine, four other candidates + were in the field, and the convention drifted into a deadlock which under + ordinary circumstances would have probably been dissolved by shifts of + support to Grant. But in the preliminary disputes a very favorable + impression had been made upon the convention by General Garfield, who was + not himself a candidate but was supporting the candidacy of John Sherman, + who stood third in the poll. On the twenty-eighth ballot, two votes were + cast for Garfield; although he protested that he was not a candidate and + was pledged to Sherman. But it became apparent that no concentration could + be effected on any other candidate to prevent the nomination of Grant, and + votes now turned to Garfield so rapidly that on the thirty-sixth ballot he + received 399, a clear majority of the whole. The adherents of Grant stuck + to him to the end, polling 306 votes on the last ballot and subsequently + deporting themselves as those who had made a proud record of constancy. + </p> + <p> + The Democratic national convention nominated General Hancock, which was, + in effect, an appeal to the memories and sentiments of the past, as their + candidate's public distinction rested upon his war record. The canvass was + marked by listlessness and indifference on the part of the general public, + and by a fury of calumny on the part of the politicians directed against + their opponents. Forgery was resorted to with marked effect on the Pacific + coast, where a letter—the famous Morey letter—in which + Garfield's handwriting was counterfeited, was circulated expressing + unpopular views on the subject of Chinese immigration. The forgery was + issued in the closing days of the canvass, when there was not time to + expose it. Arrangements had been made for a wide distribution of + facsimiles which exerted a strong influence. Hancock won five out of the + six electoral votes of California and came near getting the three votes of + Oregon also. In the popular vote of the whole country, Garfield had a + plurality of less than ten thousand in a total vote of over nine million. + </p> + <p> + The peculiarities of the party system which has been developed in American + politics, forces upon the President the occupation of employment agent as + one of his principal engagements. The contention over official patronage, + always strong and ardent upon the accession of every new President, was + aggravated in Garfield's case by the factional war of which his own + nomination was a phase. The factions of the Republican party in New York + at this period were known as the "Stalwarts" and the "Half-Breeds," the + former adhering to the leadership of Senator Conkling, the latter to the + leadership of Mr. Blaine, whom President Garfield had appointed to be his + Secretary of State. Soon after the inauguration of Garfield it became + manifest that he would favor the "Half-Breeds"; but under the Constitution + appointments are made by and with the advice and consent of the Senate and + both the Senators from New York were "Stalwarts." Although the + Constitution contemplates the action of the entire Senate as the advisory + body in matters of appointment, a practice had been established by which + the Senators from each State were accorded the right to dictate + appointments in their respective States. According to Senator Hoar, when + he entered public life in 1869, "the Senate claimed almost the entire + control of the executive function of appointment to office.... What was + called 'the courtesy of the Senate' was depended upon to enable a Senator + to dictate to the executive all appointments and removals in his + territory." This practice was at its greatest height when President + Garfield challenged the system, and he let it be understood that he would + insist upon his constitutional right to make nominations at his own + discretion. When Senator Conkling obtained from a caucus of his Republican + colleagues an expression of sympathy with his position, the President let + it be known that he regarded such action as an affront and he withdrew all + New York nominations except those to which exception had been taken by the + New York Senators, thus confronting the Senate with the issue whether they + would stand by the new Administration or would follow Conkling's lead. + </p> + <p> + On the other hand, Senator Conkling and his adherents declared the issue + to be simply whether competent public officials should be removed to make + room for factional favorites. This view of the case was adopted by + Vice-President Arthur and by Postmaster-General James of Garfield's own + Cabinet, who, with New York Senators Conkling and Platt, signed a + remonstrance in which they declared that in their belief the interests of + the public service would not be promoted by the changes proposed. These + changes were thus described in a letter of May 14, 1881, from the New York + Senators to Governor Cornell of New York: + </p> + <p> + "Some weeks ago, the President sent to the Senate in a group the + nominations of several persons for public offices already filled. One of + these offices is the Collectorship of the Port of New York, now held by + General Merritt; another is the consul generalship at London, now held by + General Badeau; another is Charge d'Affaires to Denmark, held by Mr. + Cramer; another is the mission to Switzerland, held by Mr. Fish, a son of + the former Secretary of State.... It was proposed to displace them all, + not for any alleged fault of theirs, or for any alleged need or advantage + of the public service, but in order to give the great offices of Collector + of the Port of New York to Mr. William H. Robertson as a 'reward' for + certain acts of his, said to have aided in making the nomination of + General Garfield possible.... We have not attempted to 'dictate,' nor have + we asked the nomination of one person to any office in the State." + </p> + <p> + Except in the case of their remonstrance against the Robertson + appointment, they had "never even expressed an opinion to the President in + any case unless questioned in regard to it." Along with this statement the + New York Senators transmitted their resignations, saying "we hold it + respectful and becoming to make room for those who may correct all the + errors we have made, and interpret aright all the duties we have + misconceived." + </p> + <p> + The New York Legislature was then in session. Conkling and Platt offered + themselves as candidates for reelection, and a protracted factional + struggle ensued; in the course of which, the nation was shocked by the + news that President Garfield had been assassinated by a disappointed office + seeker in a Washington railway station on July 2, 1881. The President died + from the effects of the wound on the 19th of September. Meanwhile, the + contest in the New York Legislature continued until the 22d of July when + the deadlock was broken by the election of Warner Miller and Elbridge G. + Lapham to fill the vacancies. + </p> + <p> + The deep disgust with which the nation regarded this factional war, and + the horror inspired by the assassination of President Garfield, produced a + revulsion of public opinion in favor of civil service reform so energetic + as to overcome congressional antipathy. Senator Pendleton's bill to + introduce the merit system, which had been pending for nearly two years, + was passed by the Senate on December 27, 1882, and by the House on January + 4, 1883. The importance of the act lay in its recognition of the + principles of the reform and in its provision of means by which the + President could apply those principles. A Civil Service Commission was + created, and the President was authorized to classify the Civil Service + and to provide selection by competitive examination for all appointments + to the service thus classified. The law was essentially an enabling act, + and its practical efficacy was contingent upon executive discretion. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0002" id="link2HCH0002"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER II. POLITICAL GROPING AND PARTY FLUCTUATION + </h2> + <p> + President Garfield's career was cut short so soon after his accession to + office, that he had no opportunity of showing whether he had the will and + the power to obtain action for the redress of public grievances, which the + congressional factions were disposed to ignore. His experience and his + attainments were such as should have qualified him for the task, and in + his public life he had shown firmness of character. His courageous + opposition to the greenback movement in Ohio had been of great service to + the nation in maintaining the standard of value. When a party convention + in his district passed resolutions in favor of paying interest on the + bonds with paper instead of coin, he gave a rare instance of political + intrepidity by declaring that he would not accept the nomination on such a + platform. It was the deliberate opinion of Senator Hoar, who knew Garfield + intimately, that "next to the assassination of Lincoln, his death was the + greatest national misfortune ever caused to this country by the loss of a + single life." + </p> + <p> + The lingering illness of President Garfield raised a serious question + about presidential authority which is still unsettled. For over two months + before he died he was unable to attend to any duties of office. The + Constitution provides that "in case of the removal of the President from + office, or of his death, resignation, or inability to discharge the powers + and duties of the said office, the same shall devolve on the + Vice-President." What is the practical significance of the term + "inability"? If it should be accepted in its ordinary meaning, a + prostrating illness would be regarded as sufficient reason for allowing + the Vice-President to assume presidential responsibility. Though there was + much quiet discussion of the problem, no attempt was made to press a + decision. After Garfield died, President Arthur, on succeeding to the + office, took up the matter in his first annual message, putting a number + of queries as to the actual significance of the language of the + Constitution—queries which have yet to be answered. The rights and + duties of the Vice-President in this particular are dangerously vague. The + situation is complicated by a peculiarity of the electoral system. In + theory, by electing a President the nation expresses its will respecting + public policy; but in practice the candidate for President may be an + exponent of one school of opinion and the candidate for Vice-President may + represent another view. It is impossible for a voter to discriminate + between the two; he cannot vote for the candidate for President without + voting for the candidate for Vice-President, since he does not vote + directly for the candidates themselves but for the party electors who are + pledged to the entire party ticket. Party conventions take advantage of + this disability on the part of the voter to work an electioneering device + known as a "straddle," the aim of which is to please opposite interests by + giving each a place on the ticket. After Garfield was nominated, the + attempt was made to placate the defeated faction by nominating one of its + adherents for Vice-President, and now that nominee unexpectedly became the + President of the United States, with power to reverse the policy of his + predecessor. + </p> + <p> + In one important matter there was, in fact, an abrupt reversal of policy. + The independent countries of North and South America had been invited to + participate in a general congress to be held in Washington, November 24, + 1881. James Gillespie Blaine, who was then Secretary of State, had applied + himself with earnestness and vigor to this undertaking, which might have + produced valuable results. It was a movement towards closer relations + between American countries, a purpose which has since become public policy + and has been steadily promoted by the Government. With the inauguration of + President Arthur, Blaine was succeeded by Frederick T. Frelinghuysen of + New Jersey, who practically canceled the invitation to the proposed + Congress some six weeks after it had been issued. On February 3, 1889, + Blaine protested in an open letter to the President, and the affair + occasioned sharp discussion. In his regular message to Congress in the + following December, the President offered excuses of an evasive character, + pointing out that Congress had made no appropriation for expenses and + declaring that he had thought it "fitting that the Executive should + consult the representatives of the people before pursuing a line of policy + somewhat novel in its character and far-reaching in its possible + consequences." + </p> + <p> + In general, President Arthur behaved with a tact and prudence that + improved his position in public esteem. It soon became manifest that, + although he had been Conkling's adherent, he was not his servitor. He + conducted the routine business of the presidential office with dignity, + and he displayed independence of character in his relations with Congress. + But his powers were so limited by the conditions under which he had to act + that to a large extent public interests had to drift along without + direction and management. In some degree, the situation resembled that + which existed in the Holy Roman Empire when a complicated legalism kept + grinding away and pretentious forms of authority were maintained, + although, meanwhile, there was actual administrative impotence. Striking + evidence of the existence of such a situation is found in President + Arthur's messages to Congress. + </p> + <p> + In his message of December 6, 1881, the President mentioned the fact that + in the West "a band of armed desperadoes known as 'Cowboys,' probably + numbering fifty to one hundred men, have been engaged for months in + committing acts of lawlessness and brutality which the local authorities + have been unable to repress." He observed that "with every disposition to + meet the exigencies of the case, I am embarrassed by lack of authority to + deal with them effectually." The center of disturbance was in Arizona, and + the punishment of crime there was ordinarily the business of the local + authorities. But even if they called for aid, said the President, "this + Government would be powerless to render assistance," for the laws had been + altered by Congress so that States but not Territories could demand the + protection of the national Government against "domestic violence." He + recommended legislation extending to the Territories "the protection which + is accorded the States by the Constitution." On April 26, 1882, the + President sent a special message to Congress on conditions in Arizona, + announcing that "robbery, murder, and resistance to laws have become so + common as to cease causing surprise, and that the people are greatly + intimidated and losing confidence in the protection of the law." He also + advised Congress that the "Cowboys" were making raids into Mexico, and + again begged for legal authority to act. On the 3rd of May, he issued a + proclamation calling upon the outlaws "to disperse and retire peaceably to + their respective abodes." In his regular annual message on December 4, + 1882, he again called attention "to the prevalent lawlessness upon the + borders, and to the necessity of legislation for its suppression." + </p> + <p> + Such vast agitation from the operations of a band of ruffians, estimated + at from fifty to one hundred in number, and such floundering incapacity + for prompt action by public authority seem more like events from a + chronicle of the Middle Ages than from the public records of a modern + nation. Of like tenor, was a famous career which came to an end in this + period. Jesse W. James, the son of a Baptist minister in Clay County, + Missouri, for some years carried on a bandit business, specializing in the + robbery of banks and railroad trains, with takings computed at $263,778. + As his friends and admirers were numerous, the elective sheriffs, + prosecuting attorneys, and judges in the area of his activities were + unable to stop him by any means within their reach. Meanwhile, the + frightened burghers of the small towns in his range of operations were + clamoring for deliverance from his raids, and finally Governor Crittenden + of Missouri offered a reward of $10,000 for his capture dead or alive. Two + members of his own band shot him down in his own house, April 3, 1882. + They at once reported the deed and surrendered themselves to the police, + were soon put on trial, pleaded guilty of murder, were sentenced to death, + and were at once pardoned by the Governor. Meanwhile, the funeral + ceremonies over Jesse James's remains drew a great concourse of people, + and there were many indications of popular sympathy. Stories of his + exploits have had an extensive sale, and his name has become a center of + legend and ballad somewhat after the fashion of the medieval hero Robin + Hood. + </p> + <p> + The legislative blundering which tied the President's hands and made the + Government impotent to protect American citizens from desperadoes of the + type of the "cowboys" and Jesse James, is characteristic of Congress + during this period. Another example of congressional muddling is found in + an act which was passed for the better protection of ocean travel and + which the President felt constrained to veto. In his veto message of July + 1, 1882, the President said that he was entirely in accord with the + purpose of the bill which related to matters urgently demanding + legislative attention. But the bill was so drawn that in practice it would + have caused great confusion in the clearing of vessels and would have led + to an impossible situation. It was not the intention of the bill to do + what the President found its language to require, and the defects were due + simply to maladroit phrasing, which frequently occurs in congressional + enactments, thereby giving support to the theory of John Stuart Mill that + a representative assembly is by its very nature unfit to prepare + legislative measures. + </p> + <p> + The clumsy machinery of legislation kept bungling on, irresponsive to the + principal needs and interests of the times. An ineffectual start was made + on two subjects presenting simple issues on which there was an energetic + pressure of popular sentiment—Chinese immigration and polygamy among + the Mormons. Anti-Chinese legislation had to contend with a traditional + sentiment in favor of maintaining the United States as an asylum for all + peoples. But the demand from the workers of the Pacific slope for + protection against Asiatic competition in the home labor market was so + fierce and so determined that Congress yielded. President Arthur vetoed a + bill prohibiting Chinese immigration as "a breach of our national faith," + but he admitted the need of legislation on the subject and finally + approved a bill suspending immigration from China for a term of years. + This was a beginning of legislation which eventually arrived at a policy + of complete exclusion. The Mormon question was dealt with by the Act of + March 22, 1882, imposing penalties upon the practice of polygamy and + placing the conduct of elections in the Territory of Utah under the + supervision of a board of five persons appointed by the President. Though + there were many prosecutions under this act, it proved so ineffectual in + suppressing polygamy that it was eventually supplemented by giving the + Government power to seize and administer the property of the Mormon + Church. This action, resulting from the Act of March 3, 1887, created a + momentous precedent. The escheated property was held by the Government + until 1896 and meanwhile, the Mormon Church submitted to the law and made + a formal declaration that it had abandoned polygamy. + </p> + <p> + Another instance in which a lack of agreement between the executive and + the legislative branches of the Government manifested itself, arose out of + a scheme which President Arthur recommended to Congress for the + improvement of the waterways of the Mississippi and its tributaries. The + response of Congress was a bill in which there was an appropriation of + about $4,000,000 for the general improvements recommended, but about + $14,000,000 were added for other special river and harbor schemes which + had obtained congressional favor. President Arthur's veto message of + August 1, 1882, condemned the bill because it contained provisions + designed "entirely for the benefit of the particular localities in which + it is proposed to make the improvements." He thus described a type of + legislation of which the nation had and is still having bitter experience: + "As the citizens of one State find that money, to raise which they in + common with the whole country are taxed, is to be expended for local + improvements in another State, they demand similar benefits for + themselves, and it is not unnatural that they should seek to indemnify + themselves for such use of the public funds by securing appropriations for + similar improvements in their own neighborhood. Thus as the bill becomes + more objectionable it secures more support." The truth of this last + assertion Congress immediately proved by passing the bill over the + President's veto. Senator Hoar, who defended the bill, has admitted that + "a large number of the members of the House who voted for it lost their + seats" and that in his opinion the affair "cost the Republican party its + majority in the House of Representatives." + </p> + <p> + Legislation regarding the tariff was, however, the event of Arthur's + administration which had the deepest effect upon the political situation. + Both national parties were reluctant to face the issue, but the pressure + of conditions became too strong for them. Revenue arrangements originally + planned for war needs were still amassing funds in the Treasury vaults + which were now far beyond the needs of the Government, and were at the + same time deranging commerce and industry. In times of war, the Treasury + served as a financial conduit; peace had now made it a catch basin whose + excess accumulations embarrassed the Treasury and at the same time caused + the business world to suffer from a scarcity of currency. In his annual + message on December 6, 1881, President Arthur cautiously observed that it + seemed to him "that the time has arrived when the people may justly demand + some relief from the present onerous burden." In his message of December + 4, 1882, he was much more emphatic. Calling attention to the fact that the + annual surplus had increased to more than $145,000,000, he observed that + "either the surplus must lie idle in the Treasury or the Government will + be forced to buy at market rates its bonds not then redeemable, and which + under such circumstances cannot fail to command an enormous premium, or + the swollen revenues will be devoted to extravagant expenditures, which, + as experience has taught, is ever the bane of an overflowing treasury." + </p> + <p> + The congressional agents of the protected industries were confronted by an + exacting situation. The country was at peace but it was still burdened by + war taxes, although the Government did not need the accumulating revenue + and was actually embarrassed by its excess. The President had already made + himself the spokesman of the popular demand for a substantial reduction of + taxes. Such a combination of forces in favor of lightening the popular + burden might seem to be constitutionally irresistible, but by adroit + maneuvering the congressional supporters of protection managed to have the + war rates generally maintained and, in some cases, even increased. The + case is a typical example of the way in which advantage of strategic + position in a governmental system can prevail against mere numbers. + </p> + <p> + By the Act of May 15, 1882, a tariff commission was created to examine the + industrial situation and make recommendations as to rates of duty. The + President appointed men who stood high in the commercial world and who + were strongly attached to the protective system. They applied themselves + to their task with such energy that by December 4, 1882, they had produced + a voluminous report with suggested amendments to customs laws. + </p> + <p> + But the advocates of high protection in the House were not satisfied; they + opposed the recommendations of the report and urged that the best and + quickest way to reduce taxation was by abolishing or reducing items on the + internal revenue list. This policy not only commanded support on the + Republican side, but also received the aid of a Democratic faction which + avowed protectionist principles and claimed party sanction for them. These + political elements in the House were strong enough to prevent action on + the customs tariff, but a bill was passed reducing some of the internal + revenue taxes. This action seemed likely to prevent tariff revision at + least during that session. Formidable obstacles, both constitutional and + parliamentary, stood in the way of action, but they were surmounted by + ingenious management. + </p> + <p> + The Constitution provides that all revenue bills shall originate in the + House of Representatives, but the Senate has the right to propose + amendments. Under cover of this clause the Senate originated a voluminous + tariff bill and tacked it to the House bill as an amendment. When the + bill, as thus amended, came back to the House, a two-thirds vote would + have been required by the existing rules to take it up for consideration, + but this obstacle was overcome by adopting a new rule by which a bare + majority of the House could forthwith take up a bill amended by the + Senate, for the purpose of non-concurrence but not for concurrence. The + object of this maneuver was to get the bill into a committee of conference + where the details could be arranged by private negotiation. The rule was + adopted on February 26, 1883, but the committee of conference was not + finally constituted until the 1st of March, within two days of the close + of the session. On the 3rd of March, when this committee reported a + measure on which they had agreed, both Houses adopted this report and + enacted the measure without further ado. + </p> + <p> + In some cases, rates were fixed by the committee above the figures voted + in either House and even when there was no disagreement, changes were + made. The tariff commission had recommended, for example, a duty of fifty + cents a ton on iron ore, and both the Senate and the House voted to put + the duty at that figure; but the conference committee fixed the rate at + seventy-five cents. When a conference committee report comes before the + House, it is adopted or rejected in toto, as it is not divisible or + amendable. In theory, the revision of a report is feasible by sending it + back to conference under instructions voted by the House, but such a + procedure is not really available in the closing hours of a session, and + the only practical course of action is either to pass the bill as shaped + by the conferees or else to accept the responsibility for inaction. Thus + pressed for time, Congress passed a bill containing features obnoxious to + a majority in both Houses and offensive to public opinion. Senator Sherman + in his "Recollections" expressed regret that he had voted for the bill and + declared that, had the recommendations of the tariff commission been + adopted, "the tariff would have been settled for many years," but "many + persons wishing to advance their particular industries appeared before the + committee and succeeded in having their views adopted." In his annual + message, December 4, 1883, President Arthur accepted the act as a response + to the demand for a reduction of taxation, which was sufficiently + tolerable to make further effort inexpedient until its effects could be + definitely ascertained; but he remarked that he had "no doubt that still + further reductions may be wisely made." + </p> + <p> + In general, President Arthur's administration may therefore be accurately + described as a period of political groping and party fluctuation. In + neither of the great national parties was there a sincere and definite + attitude on the new issues which were clamorous for attention, and the + public discontent was reflected in abrupt changes of political support. + There was a general feeling of distrust regarding the character and + capacity of the politicians at Washington, and election results were + apparently dictated more by fear than by hope. One party would be raised + up and the other party cast down, not because the one was trusted more + than the other, but because it was for a while less odious. Thus a party + success might well be a prelude to a party disaster because neither party + knew how to improve its political opportunity. The record of party + fluctuation in Congress during this period is almost unparalleled in + sharpness.* + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + * In 1875, at the opening of the Forty-fourth Congress, the House +stood 110 Republicans and 182 Democrats. In 1881, the House stood 150 +Republicans to 131 Democrats, with 12 Independent members. In 1884, the +Republican list had declined to 119 and the Democratic had grown to 201, +and there were five Independents. The Senate, although only a third +of its membership is renewed every two years, displayed extraordinary +changes during this period. The Republican membership of 46 in 1876 had +declined to 33 by 1880, and the Democratic membership had increased +to 42. In 1882, the Senate was evenly balanced in party strength, each +party having 37 avowed adherents, but there were two Independents. +</pre> + <p> + In state politics, the polling showed that both parties were disgusted + with their leadership and that there was a public indifference to issues + which kept people away from the polls. A comparison of the total vote cast + in state elections in 1882 with that cast in the presidential election of + 1880, showed a decline of over eight hundred thousand in the Republican + vote and of nearly four hundred thousand in the Democratic vote. The most + violent of the party changes that took place during this period occurred + in the election of 1882, in New York State, when the Republican vote + showed a decline of over two hundred thousand and the Democratic candidate + for Governor was elected by a plurality of nearly that amount. It was this + election which brought Grover Cleveland into national prominence. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0003" id="link2HCH0003"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER III. THE ADVENT OF CLEVELAND + </h2> + <p> + Popular dissatisfaction with the behavior of public authority had not up + to this time extended to the formal Constitution. Schemes of radical + rearrangement of the political institutions of the country had not yet + been agitated. New party movements were devoted to particular measures + such as fresh greenback issues or the prohibition of liquor traffic. + Popular reverence for the Constitution was deep and strong, and it was the + habit of the American people to impute practical defects not to the + governmental system itself but to the character of those acting in it. + Burke, as long ago as 1770, remarked truly that "where there is a regular + scheme of operations carried on, it is the system and not any individual + person who acts in it that is truly dangerous." But it is an inveterate + habit of public opinion to mistake results for causes and to vent its + resentment upon persons when misgovernment occurs. That disposition was + bitterly intense at this period. "Turn the rascals out" was the ordinary + campaign slogan of an opposition party, and calumny formed the staple of + its argument. Of course no party could establish exclusive proprietorship + to such tactics, and whichever party might be in power in a particular + locality was cast for the villain's part in the political drama. But as + changes of party control took place, experience taught that the only + practical result was to introduce new players into the same old game. Such + experience spread among the people a despairing feeling that American + politics were hopelessly depraved, and at the same time it gave them a + deep yearning for some strong deliverer. To this messianic hope of + politics may be ascribed what is in some respects the most remarkable + career in the political history of the United States. The rapid and + fortuitous rise of Grover Cleveland to political eminence is without a + parallel in the records of American statesmanship, notwithstanding many + instances of public distinction attained from humble beginnings. + </p> + <p> + The antecedents of Cleveland were Americans of the best type. He was + descended from a colonial stock which had settled in the Connecticut + Valley. His earliest ancestor of whom there is any exact knowledge was + Aaron Cleveland, an Episcopal clergyman, who died at East Haddam, + Connecticut, in 1757, after founding a family which in every generation + furnished recruits to the ministry. It argues a hereditary disposition for + independent judgment that among these there was a marked variation in + denominational choice. Aaron Cleveland was so strong in his attachment to + the Anglican church that to be ordained he went to England—under the + conditions of travel in those days a hard, serious undertaking. His son, + also named Aaron, became a Congregational minister. Two of the sons of the + younger Aaron became ministers, one of them an Episcopalian like his + grandfather. Another son, William, who became a prosperous silversmith, + was for many years a deacon in the church in which his father preached. + William sent his second son, Richard, to Yale, where he graduated with + honors at the age of nineteen. He turned to the Presbyterian church, + studied theology at Princeton, and upon receiving ordination began a + ministerial career which like that of many preachers was carried on in + many pastorates. He was settled at Caldwell, New Jersey, in his third + pastorate, and there Stephen Grover Cleveland was born, on March 18, 1837, + the fifth in a family of children that eventually increased to nine. He + was named after the Presbyterian minister who was his father's + predecessor. The first name soon dropped out of use, and from childhood he + went by his middle name, a practice of which the Clevelands supply so many + instances that it seems to be quite a family trait. + </p> + <p> + In campaign literature, so much has been made of the humble circumstances + in which Grover made his start in life, that the unwary reader might easily + imagine that the future President was almost a waif. Nothing could be + farther from the truth. He really belonged to the most authentic + aristocracy that any state of society can produce—that which + maintains its standards and principles from generation to generation by + the integrity of the stock without any endowment of wealth. The Clevelands + were people who reared large families and sustained themselves with + dignity and credit on narrow means. It was a settled tradition with such + republican aristocrats that a son destined for a learned profession—usually + the ministry—should be sent to college, and for that purpose heroic + economies were practiced in the family. The opportunities which wealth can + confer are really trivial in comparison with the advantage of being born + and reared in such bracing conditions as those which surrounded Grover + Cleveland. As a boy he was a clerk in a country store, but his education + was not neglected and at the age of fifteen he was studying, with a view + to entering college. His father's death ended that prospect and forced him + to go to work again to help support the family. Some two years later, when + the family circumstances were sufficiently eased so that he could strike + out for himself, he set off westward, intending to reach Cleveland. + Arriving at Buffalo, he called upon a married aunt, who, on learning that + he was planning to get work at Cleveland with the idea of becoming a + lawyer, advised him to stay in Buffalo where opportunities were better. + Young Cleveland was taken into her home virtually as private secretary to + her husband, Lewis F. Allen, a man of means, culture, and public spirit. + Allen occupied a large house with spacious grounds in a suburb of the + city, and owned a farm on which he bred fine cattle. He issued the + "American Short-Horn Herd Book," a standard authority for pedigree stock, + and the fifth edition, published in 1861, made a public acknowledgment of + "the kindness, industry, and ability" with which Grover Cleveland had + assisted the editor "in correcting and arranging the pedigrees for + publication." + </p> + <p> + With his uncle's friendship to back him, Cleveland had, of course, no + difficulty in getting into a reputable law office as a student, and + thereafter his affairs moved steadily along the road by which innumerable + young Americans of diligence and industry have advanced to success in the + legal profession. Cleveland's career as a lawyer was marked by those + steady, solid gains in reputation which result from care and thoroughness + rather than from brilliancy, and in these respects it finds many parallels + among lawyers of the trustee type. What is exceptional and peculiar in + Cleveland's career is the way in which political situations formed about + him without any contrivance on his part, and as it were projected him from + office to office until he arrived in the White House. + </p> + <p> + At the outset nothing could have seemed more unlikely than such a career. + Cleveland's ambitions were bound up in his profession and his politics + were opposed to those of the powers holding local control. But the one + circumstance did not shut him out of political vocation and the other + became a positive advantage. He entered public life in 1863 through an + unsought appointment as assistant district attorney for Erie County. The + incumbent of the office was in poor health and needed an assistant on whom + he could rely to do the work. Hence Cleveland was called into service. His + actual occupancy of the position prompted his party to nominate him to the + office; and although he was defeated, he received a vote so much above the + normal voting strength of his party that, in 1869, he was picked for the + nomination to the office of sheriff to strengthen a party ticket made up + in the interest of a congressional candidate. The expectation was that + while the district might be carried for the Democratic candidate for + Congress, Cleveland would probably fail of election. The nomination was + virtually forced upon him against his wishes. But he was elected by a + small plurality. This success, reenforced by his able conduct of the + office, singled him out as the party's hope for success in the Buffalo + municipal election; and after his term as sheriff he was nominated for + mayor, again without any effort on his part. Although ordinarily the + Democratic party was in a hopeless minority, Cleveland was elected. It was + in this campaign that he enunciated the principle that public office is a + public trust, which was his rule of action throughout his career. Both as + sheriff and as mayor he acted upon it with a vigor that brought him into + collision with predatory politicians, and the energy and address with + which he defended public interests made him widely known as the reform + mayor of Buffalo. His record and reputation naturally attracted the + attention of the state managers of the Democratic party, who were casting + about for a candidate strong enough to overthrow the established + Republican control, and Cleveland was just as distinctly drafted for the + nomination to the governorship in 1882 as he had been for his previous + offices. + </p> + <p> + In his career as governor Cleveland displayed the same stanch + characteristics as before, and he was fearless and aggressive in + maintaining his principles. The most striking characteristic of his veto + messages is the utter absence of partisan or personal designs. Some of the + bills he vetoed purported to benefit labor interests, and politicians are + usually fearful of any appearance of opposition to such interests: His + veto of the bill establishing a five cent fare for the New York elevated + railways was an action of a kind to make him a target for calumny and + misrepresentation. Examination of the record reveals no instance in which + Cleveland flinched from doing his duty or faltered in the full performance + of it. He acted throughout in his avowed capacity of a public trustee, and + he conducted the office of governor with the same laborious fidelity which + he had displayed as sheriff and as mayor. And now, as before, he + antagonized elements of his own party who sought only the opportunities of + office and cared little for its responsibilities. He did not unite suavity + of manner with vigor of action, and at times he allowed himself to reflect + upon the motives of opponents and to use language that was personally + offensive. He told the Legislature in one veto message that "of all the + defective and shabby legislation which has been presented to me, this is + the worst and most inexcusable." He once sent a scolding message to the + State Senate, in which he said that "the money of the State is apparently + expended with no regard to economy," and that "barefaced jobbery has been + permitted." The Senate having refused to confirm a certain appointee, he + declared that the opposition had "its rise in an overwhelming greed for + the patronage which may attach to the place," and that the practical + effect of such opposition was to perpetuate "the practice of unblushing + peculation." What he said was quite true and it was the kind of truth that + hurt. The brusqueness of his official style and the censoriousness of his + language infused even more personal bitterness into the opposition which + developed within his own party than in that felt in the ranks of the + opposing party. At the same time, these traits delighted a growing body of + reformers hostile to both the regular parties. These "Mugwumps," as they + were called, were as a class so addicted to personal invective that it was + said of them with as much truth as wit that they brought malice into + politics without even the excuse of partisanship. But it was probably the + enthusiastic support of this class which turned the scale in New York in + the presidential election of 1884. + </p> + <p> + In the national conventions of that year, there was an unusually small + amount of factional strife. In the Republican convention, President Arthur + was a candidate, but party sentiment was so strong for Blaine that he led + Arthur on the first ballot and was nominated on the fourth by a large + majority. In the Democratic convention, Cleveland was nominated on the + second ballot. Meanwhile, his opponents had organized a new party from + which more was expected than it actually accomplished. It assumed the + title Anti-Monopoly and chose the notorious demagogue, General Benjamin F. + Butler, as its candidate for President. + </p> + <p> + During this campaign, the satirical cartoon attained a power and an + effectiveness difficult to realize now that it has become an ordinary + feature of journalism, equally available for any school of opinion. But it + so happened that the rise of Cleveland in politics coincided with the + artistic career of Joseph Keppler, who came to this country from Vienna + and who for some years supported himself chiefly as an actor in Western + theatrical companies. He had studied drawing in Vienna and had contributed + cartoons to periodicals in that city. After some unsuccessful ventures in + illustrated journalism, he started a pictorial weekly in New York in 1875. + It was originally printed in German, but in less than a year it was issued + also in English. It was not until 1879 that it sprang into general notice + through Keppler's success in reproducing lithographed designs in color. + Meanwhile, the artist was feeling his way from the old style caricature, + crowded with figures with overhead loops of explanatory text, to designs + possessing an artistic unity expressive of an idea plain enough to tell + its own story. He had matured both his mechanical resources and his + artistic method by the time the campaign of 1884 came on, and he had + founded a school which could apply the style to American politics with + aptness superior to his own. It was Bernhard Gillam, who, working in the + new Keppler style, produced a series of cartoons whose tremendous + impressiveness was universally recognized. Blaine was depicted as the + tattooed man and was exhibited in that character in all sorts of telling + situations. While on the stump during the campaign, Blaine had sometimes + literally to wade through campaign documents assailing his personal + integrity, and phrases culled from them were chanted in public + processions. One of the features of a great parade of business men of New + York was a periodical chorus of "Burn this letter," suiting the action to + the word and thus making a striking pyrotechnic display.* But the cartoons + reached people who would never have been touched by campaign documents or + by campaign processions. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + * The allusion was to the Mulligan letters, which had been made +public by Mr. Blaine himself when it had been charged that they +contained evidence of corrupt business dealings. The disclosure had been +made four years before and ample opportunity had existed for instituting +proceedings if the case warranted it, but nothing was done except to +nurse the scandal for campaign use. +</pre> + <p> + Notwithstanding the exceptional violence and novel ingenuity of the + attacks made upon him, Blaine met them with such ability and address that + everywhere he augmented the ordinary strength of his party, and his + eventual defeat was generally attributed to an untoward event among his + own adherents at the close of the campaign. At a political reception in + the interest of Blaine among New York clergymen, the Reverend Dr. Burchard + spoke of the Democratic party as "the party of rum, Romanism, and + rebellion." Unfortunately Blaine did not hear him distinctly enough to + repudiate this slur upon the religious belief of millions of American + citizens, and alienation of sentiment caused by the tactless and + intolerant remark could easily account for Blaine's defeat by a small + margin. He was only 1149 votes behind Cleveland in New York in a poll of + over 1,125,000 votes, and only 23,005 votes behind in a national poll of + over 9,700,000 votes for the leading candidates. Of course Cleveland in + his turn was a target of calumny, and in his case the end of the campaign + did not bring the customary relief. He was pursued to the end of his + public career by active, ingenious, resourceful, personal spite and steady + malignity of political opposition from interests whose enmity he had + incurred while Governor of New York. + </p> + <p> + The situation which confronted Cleveland when he became President was so + complicated and embarrassing that perhaps even the most sagacious and + resourceful statesman could not have coped with it successfully, though it + is the characteristic of genius to accomplish the impossible. But + Cleveland was no genius; he was not even a man of marked talent. He was + stanch, plodding, laborious, and dutiful; but he was lacking in ability to + penetrate to the heart of obscure political problems and to deal with + primary causes rather than with effects. The great successes of his + administration were gained in particular problems whose significance had + already been clearly defined. In this field, Cleveland's resolute and + energetic performance of duty had splendid results. + </p> + <p> + At the time of Cleveland's inauguration as President, the Senate claimed + an extent of authority which, if allowed to go unchallenged, would have + turned the Presidency into an office much like that of the doge of Venice, + one of ceremonial dignity without real power. "The Federalist"—that + matchless collection of constitutional essays written by Hamilton, + Madison, and Jay—laid down the doctrine that "against the + enterprising ambition" of the legislative department "the people ought to + indulge all their jealousy and exhaust all their precautions." But some of + the precautions taken in framing the Constitution proved ineffectual from + the start. The right conferred upon the President to recommend to the + consideration of Congress "such measures as he shall judge necessary and + expedient," was emptied of practical importance by the success of Congress + in interpreting it as meaning no more than that the President may request + Congress to take a subject into consideration. In practice, Congress + considers only such measures as are recommended by its own committees. The + framers of the Constitution took special pains to fortify the President's + position by the veto power, which is treated at length in the + Constitution. By a special clause, the veto power was extended to "every + order, resolution or vote... except on a question of adjournment"—a + clause which apparently should enable the President to strike off the + "riders" continually put upon appropriation bills to coerce executive + action; but no President has ventured to exercise this authority. Although + the Senate was joined to the President as an advisory council in + appointments to office, it was explained in "The Federalist" that "there + will be no exertion of choice on the part of Senators." Nevertheless, the + Senate has claimed and exercised the right to dictate appointments. While + thus successfully encroaching upon the authority of the President, the + Senate had also been signally successful in encroaching upon the authority + of the House. The framers of the Constitution anticipated for the House a + masterful career like that of the House of Commons, and they feared that + the Senate could not protect itself in the discharge of its own functions; + so, although the traditional principle that all revenue bills should + originate in the House was taken over into the Constitution, it was + modified by the proviso that "the Senate may propose or concur with + amendments as on other bills." This right to propose amendments has been + improved by the Senate until the prerogative of the House has been reduced + to an empty form. Any money bill may be made over by amendment in the + Senate, and when contests have followed, the Senate has been so successful + in imposing its will upon the House that the House has acquired the habit + of submission. Not long before the election of Cleveland, as has been + pointed out, this habitual deference of the House had enabled the Senate + to originate a voluminous tariff act in the form of an amendment to the + Internal Revenue Bill voted by the House. + </p> + <p> + In addition to these extensions of power through superior address in + management, the ascendancy of the Senate was fortified by positive law. In + 1867, when President Johnson fell out with the Republican leaders in + Congress, a Tenure of Office Act was passed over his veto, which took away + from the President the power of making removals except by permission of + the Senate. In 1869, when Johnson's term had expired, a bill for the + unconditional repeal of this law passed the House with only sixteen votes + in the negative, but the Senate was able to force a compromise act which + perpetuated its authority over removals.* President Grant complained of + this act as "being inconsistent with a faithful and efficient + administration of the government," but with all his great fame and + popularity he was unable to induce the Senate to relinquish the power it + had gained. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + * The Act of April 5, 1869, required the President, within thirty +days after the opening of the sessions, to nominate persons for all +vacant offices, whether temporarily filled or not, and in place of all +officers who may have been suspended during the recess of the Senate. +</pre> + <p> + This law was now invoked by Republicans as a means of counteracting the + result of the election. Such was the feeling of the times that + partisanship could easily masquerade as patriotism. Republicans still + believed that as saviors of the Union they had a prescriptive right to the + government. During the campaign, Eugene Field, the famous Western poet, + had given a typical expression of this sentiment in some scornful verses + concluding with this defiant notice: + </p> + <p> + These quondam rebels come today In penitential form, And hypocritically + say The country needs "Reform!" Out on reformers such as these; By + Freedom's sacred powers, We'll run the country as we please; We saved it, + and it's ours. + </p> + <p> + Although the Democratic party had won the Presidency and the House, the + Republicans still retained control of the Senate, and they were expected + as a matter of course to use their powers for party advantage. Some + memorable struggles, rich in constitutional precedents, issued from these + conditions. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0004" id="link2HCH0004"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER IV. A CONSTITUTIONAL CRISIS + </h2> + <p> + As soon as Cleveland was seated in the presidential chair, he had to deal + with a tremendous onslaught of office seekers. In ordinary business + affairs, a man responsible for general policy and management would never + be expected to fritter away his time and strength in receiving applicants + for employment. The fact that such servitude is imposed upon the President + of the United States shows that American political arrangements are still + rather barbaric, for such usages are more suitable to some kinglet seated + under a tree to receive the petitions of his tribesmen than they are to a + republican magistrate charged with the welfare of millions of people + distributed over a vast continent. Office seekers apparently regard + themselves as a privileged class with a right of personal access to the + President, and any appearances of aloofness or reserve on his part gives + sharp offense. The exceptional force of such claims of privilege in the + United States may be attributed to the participation which members of + Congress have acquired in the appointing power. The system thus created + imposes upon the President the duties of an employment agent, and at the + same time engages Congressmen in continual occupation as office brokers. + The President cannot deny himself to Congressmen, since he is dependent + upon their favor for opportunity to get legislative consideration for his + measures. + </p> + <p> + It was inevitable that numerous changes in office should take place when + the Democratic party came into power, after being excluded for twenty-four + years. It may be admitted that, in a sound constitutional system, a change + of management in the public business would not vacate all offices any more + than in private business, but would affect only such leading positions as + are responsible for policy and discipline. Such a sensible system, + however, had existed only in the early days of the republic and at the + time of Cleveland's accession to office federal offices were generally + used as party barracks. The situation which confronted President Cleveland + he thus described in later years: + </p> + <p> + "In numerous instances the post-offices were made headquarters for local + party committees and organizations and the centers of partisan scheming. + Party literature favorable to the postmaster's party, that never passed + regularly through the mails, was distributed through the post-offices as + an item of party service; and matter of a political character, passing + through the mails in the usual course and addressed to patrons belonging + to the opposite party, was withheld; disgusting and irritating placards + were prominently displayed in many post-offices, and the attention of + Democratic inquirers for mail matter was tauntingly directed to them by + the postmaster; and in various other ways postmasters and similar + officials annoyed and vexed those holding opposite political opinions, + who, in common with all having business at public offices, were entitled + to considerate and obliging treatment. In some quarters, official + incumbents neglected public duty to do political work and especially in + Southern States, they frequently were not only inordinately active in + questionable political work, but sought to do party service by secret and + sinister manipulation of colored votes, and by other practices inviting + avoidable and dangerous collisions between the white and colored + population."* + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + * Cleveland, "Presidential Problems," pp. 42-43. +</pre> + <p> + The Administration began its career in March, 1885. The Senate did not + convene until December. Meanwhile, removals and appointments went on in + the public service, the total for ten months being six hundred and + forty-three which was thirty-seven less than the number of removals made + by President Grant in seven weeks, in 1869. + </p> + <p> + In obedience to the statute of 1869, President Cleveland sent in all the + recess appointments within thirty days after the opening of the session. + They were referred to various committees according to the long established + custom of the Senate, but the Senate moved so slowly that three months + after the opening of the session, only seventeen nominations had been + considered, fifteen of which the Senate confirmed. + </p> + <p> + Meanwhile, the Senate had raised an issue which the President met with a + force and a directness probably unexpected. Among the recess appointments + was one to the office of District Attorney for the Southern District of + Alabama, in place of an officer who had been suspended in July 1885, but + whose term of office expired by limitation on December 20, 1885. + Therefore, at the time the Senate took up the case, the Tenure of Office + Act did not apply to it, and the only question actually open was whether + the acting officer should be confirmed or rejected. Nevertheless, the + disposition to assert control over executive action was so strong that the + Senate drifted into a constitutional struggle over a case that did not + then involve the question of the President's discretionary power of + removal from office, which was really the point at issue. + </p> + <p> + On December 26, 1885, the Judiciary Committee notified the + Attorney-General to transmit "all papers and information in the possession + of the Department" regarding both the nomination and "the suspension and + proposed removal from office" of the former incumbent. On January 11, + 1886, the Attorney-General sent to the Committee the papers bearing upon + the nomination, but withheld those touching the removal on the ground that + he had "received no direction from the President in relation to their + transmission." The matter was debated by the Senate in executive session + and on January 25, 1886, a resolution was adopted which was authoritative + in its tone and which directed the Attorney-General to transmit copies of + all documents and papers in relation to the conduct of the office of + District Attorney for the Southern District of Alabama since January 1, + 1885. Within three days, Attorney-General Garland responded that he had + already transmitted all papers relating to the nomination; but with regard + to the demand for papers exclusively relating to the suspension of the + former incumbent he was directed by the President to say "that it is not + considered that the public interests will be promoted by a compliance." + </p> + <p> + The response of the Attorney-General was referred to the Judiciary + Committee which, on the 18th of February, made an elaborate report + exhibiting the issue as one which involved the right of Congress to obtain + information. It urged that "the important question, then, is whether it is + within the constitutional competence of either House of Congress to have + access to the official papers and documents in the various public offices + of the United States, created by laws enacted by themselves." The report, + which was signed only by the Republican members of the Committee, was an + adroit partisan performance, invoking traditional constitutional + principles in behalf of congressional privilege. A distinct and emphatic + assertion of the prerogative of the Senate was made, however, in + resolutions recommended to the Senate for adoption. Those resolutions + censured the Attorney-General and declared it to be the duty of the Senate + "to refuse its advice and consent to proposed removals of officers" when + papers relating to them "are withheld by the Executive or any head of a + department." + </p> + <p> + On the 2nd of March, a minority report was submitted, making the point of + which the cogency was obvious, that inasmuch as the term of the official + concerning whose suspension the Senate undertook to inquire had already + expired by legal limitation, the only object in pressing for the papers in + his case must be to review an act of the President which was no longer + within the jurisdiction of the Senate, even if the constitutionality of + the Tenure of Office Act should be granted. The report also showed that of + the precedents cited in behalf of the majority's contention, the + applicability could be maintained only of those which were supplied by + cases arising since 1867, before which time the right of the President to + remove officers at his own discretion was fully conceded. + </p> + <p> + The controversy had so far followed the ordinary lines of partisan + contention in Congress, which public opinion was accustomed to regard with + contemptuous indifference as mere sparring for points in the + electioneering game. President Cleveland now intervened in a way which + riveted the attention of the nation upon the issue. Ever since the + memorable struggle which began when the Senate censured President Jackson + and did not end until that censure was expunged, the Senate had been chary + of a direct encounter with the President. Although the response of the + Attorney-General stated that he was acting under the direction of the + President, the pending resolutions avoided any mention of the President + but expressed "condemnation of the refusal of the Attorney-General under + whatever influence, to send to the Senate" the required papers. The + logical implication was that, when the orders of the President and the + Senate conflicted, it was the duty of the Attorney-General to obey the + Senate. This raised an issue which President Cleveland met by sending to + the Senate his message of March 1, 1886, which has taken a high rank among + American constitutional documents. It is strong in its logic, dignified in + its tone, terse, direct, and forceful in its diction. + </p> + <p> + Cleveland's message opened with the statement that "ever since the + beginning of the present session of the Senate, the different heads of the + departments attached to the executive branch of the government have been + plied with various requests and documents from committees of the Senate, + from members of such committees, and at last from the Senate itself, + requiring the transmission of reasons for the suspension of certain + officials during the recess of that body, or for papers touching the + conduct of such officials." The President then observed that "though these + suspensions are my executive acts, based upon considerations addressed to + me alone and for which I am wholly responsible, I have had no invitation + from the Senate to state the position which I have felt constrained to + assume." Further on, he clinched this admission of full responsibility by + declaring that "the letter of the Attorney-General in response to the + resolution of the Senate... was written at my suggestion and by my + direction." + </p> + <p> + This statement made clear in the sight of the nation that the true issue + was between the President and the Senate. The strength of the Senate's + position lay in its claim to the right of access to the records of public + offices "created by laws enacted by themselves." The counterstroke of the + President was one of the most effective passages of his message in its + effect upon public opinion. "I do not suppose," he said, "that the public + offices of the United States are regulated or controlled in their + relations to either House of Congress by the fact that they were 'created + by laws enacted by themselves.' It must be that these instrumentalities + were enacted for the benefit of the people and to answer the general + purposes of government under the Constitution and the laws, and that they + are unencumbered by any lien in favor of either branch of Congress growing + out of their construction, and unembarrassed by any obligation to the + Senate as the price of their creation." + </p> + <p> + The President asserted that, as a matter of fact, no official papers on + file in the departments had been withheld. "While it is by no means + conceded that the Senate has the right, in any case, to review the act of + the Executive in removing or suspending a public officer upon official + documents or otherwise, it is considered that documents and papers of that + nature should, because they are official, be freely transmitted to the + Senate upon its demand, trusting the use of the same, for proper and + legitimate purposes, to the good faith of that body; and though no such + paper or document has been especially demanded in any of the numerous + requests and demands made upon the departments, yet as often as they were + found in the public offices they have been furnished in answer to such + applications." The point made by the President, with sharp emphasis, was + that there was nothing in his action which could be construed as a refusal + of access to official records; what he did refuse to acknowledge was the + right of the Senate to inquire into his motives and to exact from him a + disclosure of the facts, circumstances, and sources of information that + prompted his action. The materials upon which his judgment was formed were + of a varied character. "They consist of letters and representations + addressed to the Executive or intended for his inspection; they are + voluntarily written and presented by private citizens who are not in the + least instigated thereto by any official invitation or at all subject to + official control. While some of them are entitled to Executive + consideration, many of them are so irrelevant or in the light of other + facts so worthless, that they have not been given the least weight in + determining the question to which they are supposed to relate." If such + matter were to be considered public records and subject to the inspection + of the Senate, the President would thereby incur "the risk of being + charged with making a suspension from office upon evidence which was not + even considered." + </p> + <p> + Issue as to the status of such documents was joined by the President in + the sharpest possible way by the declaration: "I consider them in no + proper sense as upon the files of the department but as deposited there + for my convenience, remaining still completely under my control. I suppose + if I desired to take them into my custody I might do so with entire + propriety, and if I saw fit to destroy them no one could complain." + </p> + <p> + Moreover, there were cases in which action was prompted by oral + communications which did not go on record in any form. As to this, + Cleveland observed, "It will not be denied, I suppose, that the President + may suspend a public officer in the entire absence of any papers or + documents to aid his official judgment and discretion; and I am quite + prepared to avow that the cases are not few in which suspensions from + office have depended more upon oral representations made to me by citizens + of known good repute and by members of the House of Representatives and + Senators of the United States than upon any letters and documents + presented for my examination." Nor were such representations confined to + members of his own party for, said he, "I recall a few suspensions which + bear the approval of individual members identified politically with the + majority in the Senate." The message then reviewed the legislative history + of the Tenure of Office Act and questioned its constitutionality. The + position which the President had taken and would maintain was exactly + defined by this vigorous statement in his message: + </p> + <p> + "The requests and demands which by the score have for nearly three months + been presented to the different Departments of the government, whatever + may be their form, have but one complexion. They assume the right of the + Senate to sit in judgement upon the exercise of my exclusive discretion + and executive function, for which I am solely responsible to the people + from whom I have so lately received the sacred trust of office. My oath to + support and defend the Constitution, my duty to the people who have chosen + me to execute the powers of their great office and not relinquish them, + and my duty to the chief magistracy which I must preserve unimpaired in + all its dignity and vigor, compel me to refuse compliance with these + demands." + </p> + <p> + There is a ringing quality in the style of this message not generally + characteristic of President Cleveland's state papers. It evoked as ringing + a response from public opinion, and this effect was heightened by a + tactless allusion to the message made at this time in the Senate. In + moving a reference of the message to the Judiciary Committee, its + chairman, Senator Edmunds of Vermont, remarked that the presidential + message brought vividly to his mind "the communication of King Charles I + to the Parliament, telling them what, in conducting their affairs, they + ought to do and ought not to do." The historical reference, however, had + an application which Senator Edmunds did not foresee. It brought vividly + to mind what the people of England had endured from a factional tyranny so + relentless that the nation was delighted when Oliver Cromwell turned + Parliament out of doors. It is an interesting coincidence that the + Cleveland era was marked by what in the book trade was known as the + Cromwell boom. Another unfortunate remark made by Senator Edmunds was that + it was the first time "that any President of the United States has + undertaken to interfere with the deliberations of either House of Congress + on questions pending before them, otherwise than by message on the state + of the Union which the Constitution commands him to make from time to + time." The effect of this statement, however, was to stir up recollections + of President Jackson's message of protest against the censure of the + Senate. The principle laid down by Jackson in his message of April 15, + 1834, was that "the President is the direct representative of the American + people," whereas the Senate is "a body not directly amenable to the + people." However assailable this statement may be from the standpoint of + traditional legal theory, it is indubitably the principle to which + American politics conform in practice. The people instinctively expect the + President to guard their interests against congressional machinations. + </p> + <p> + There was a prevalent belief that the Senate's profession of motives, of + constitutional propriety, was insincere and that the position it had + assumed would never have been thought of had the Republican candidate for + President been elected. A feeling that the Senate was not playing the game + fairly to refuse the Democrats their innings was felt even among Senator + Edmunds' own adherents. A spirit of comity traversing party lines is very + noticeable in the intercourse of professional politicians. Their + willingness to help each other out is often manifested, particularly in + struggles involving control of party machinery. Indeed, a system of ring + rule in a governing party seems to have for its natural concomitant the + formation of a similar ring in the regular opposition, and the two rings + maintain friendly relations behind the forms of party antagonism. The + situation is very similar to that which exists between opposing counsel in + suits at law, where the contentions at the trial table may seem to be full + of animosity and may indeed at times really develop personal enmity, but + which as a general rule are merely for effect and do not at all hinder + cooperation in matters pertaining to their common professional interest. + </p> + <p> + The attitude taken by the Senate in its opposition to President Cleveland + jarred upon this sense of professional comity, and it was very noticeable + that in the midst of the struggle some questionable nominations of + notorious machine politicians were confirmed by the Senate. It may have + been that a desire to discredit the reform professions of the + Administration contributed to this result, but the effect was + disadvantageous to the Senate. "The Nation" on March 11, 1886, in a + powerful article reviewing the controversy observed: "There is not the + smallest reason for believing that, if the Senate won, it would use its + victory in any way for the maintenance or promotion of reform. In truth, + in the very midst of the controversy, it confirmed the nomination of one + of Baltimore's political scamps." It is certainly true that the advising + power of the Senate has never exerted a corrective influence upon + appointments to office; its constant tendency is towards a system of + apportionment which concedes the right of the President to certain + personal appointments and asserts the reciprocal right of Congressmen to + their individual quotas. + </p> + <p> + As a result of these various influences, the position assumed by the + Republicans under the lead of Senator Edmunds was seriously weakened. When + the resolutions of censure were put to the vote on the 26th of March, that + condemning the refusal of the Attorney-General to produce the papers was + adopted by thirty-two ayes to twenty-six nays—a strict party vote; + but the resolution declaring it to be the duty of the Senate in all such + cases to refuse its consent to removals of suspended officials was adopted + by a majority of only one vote, and two Republican Senators voted with the + Democrats. The result was, in effect, a defeat for the Republican leaders, + and they wisely decided to withdraw from the position which they had been + holding. Shortly after the passage of the resolutions, the Senate + confirmed the nomination over which the contest started, and thereafter + the right of the President to make removals at his own discretion was not + questioned. + </p> + <p> + This retreat of the Republican leaders was accompanied, however, by a new + development in political tactics, which from the standpoint of party + advantage, was ingeniously conceived. It was now held that, inasmuch as + the President had avowed attachment to the principle of tenure of office + during good behavior, his action in suspending officers therefore implied + delinquency in their character or conduct from which they should be + exonerated in case the removal was really on partisan grounds. In + reporting upon nominations, therefore, Senate committees adopted the + practice of noting that there were no charges of misconduct against the + previous incumbents and that the suspension was on account of "political + reasons." As these proceedings took place in executive session, which is + held behind closed doors, reports of this character would not ordinarily + reach the public, but the Senate now voted to remove the injunction of + secrecy, and the reports were published. The manifest object of these + maneuvers was to exhibit the President as acting upon the "spoils system" + of distributing offices. The President's position was that he was not + accountable to the Senate in such matters. In his message of the 1st of + March he said: "The pledges I have made were made to the people, and to + them I am responsible for the manner in which they have been redeemed. I + am not responsible to the Senate, and I am unwilling to submit my actions + and official conduct to them for judgement." + </p> + <p> + While this contest was still going on, President Cleveland had to + encounter another attempt of the Senate to take his authority out of his + hands. The history of American diplomacy during this period belongs to + another volume in this series,* but a diplomatic question was drawn into + the struggle between the President and the Senate in such a way that it + requires mention here. Shortly after President Cleveland took office, the + fishery articles of the Treaty of Washington had terminated. In his first + annual message to Congress, on December 8, 1885, he recommended the + appointment of a commission to settle with a similar commission from Great + Britain "the entire question of the fishery rights of the two governments + and their respective citizens on the coasts of the United States and + British North America." But this sensible advice was denounced as weak and + cowardly. Oratory of the kind known as "twisting the lion's tail" + resounded in Congress. Claims were made of natural right to the use of + Canadian waters which would not have been indulged for a moment in respect + of the territorial waters of the United States. For instance, it was held + that a bay over six miles between headlands gave free ingress so long as + vessels kept three miles from shore—a doctrine which, if applied to + Long Island Sound, Delaware Bay, or Chesapeake Bay, would have impaired + our national jurisdiction over those waters. Senator Frye of Maine took + the lead in a rub-a-dub agitation in the presence of which some Democratic + Senators showed marked timidity. The administration of public services by + congressional committees has the incurable defect that it reflects the + particular interests and attachments of the committeemen. Presidential + administration is so circumstanced that it tends to be nationally minded; + committee administration, just as naturally, tends to be locally minded. + Hence, Senator Frye was able to report from the committee on foreign + relations a resolution declaring that a commission "charged with the + consideration and settlement of the fishery rights... ought not to be + provided for by Congress." Such was the attitude of the Senate towards the + President on this question, that on April 13, 1886, this arrogant + resolution was adopted by thirty-five ayes to 10 nays. A group of Eastern + Democrats who were in a position to be affected by the longshore vote, + joined with the Republicans in voting for the resolution, and among them + Senator Gorman of Maryland, national chairman of the Democratic party. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + * See "The Path of Empire," by Carl Russell Fish (in "The +Chronicles of America"). +</pre> + <p> + President Cleveland was no more affected by this Senate resolution than he + had been by their other resolutions attacking his authority. He went ahead + with his negotiations and concluded treaty arrangements which the Senate, + of course, rejected; but, as that result had been anticipated, a modus + vivendi which had been arranged by executive agreements between the two + countries went into effect, regardless of the Senate's attitude. The case + is a signal instance of the substitution of executive arrangements for + treaty engagements which has since then been such a marked tendency in the + conduct of the foreign relations of the United States. + </p> + <p> + A consideration which worked steadily against the Senate in its attacks + upon the President, was the prevalent belief that the Tenure of Office Act + was unconstitutional in its nature and mischievous in its effects. + Although Senator Edmunds had been able to obtain a show of solid party + support, it eventually became known that he stood almost alone in the + Judiciary Committee in his approval of that act. The case is an + instructive revelation of the arbitrary power conferred by the committee + system. Members are loath to antagonize a party chairman to whom their own + bills must go for approval. Finally, Senator Hoar dared to take the risk, + and with such success that on June 21, 1886, the committee reported a bill + for the complete repeal of the Tenure of Office Act, the chairman—Senator + Edmunds—alone dissenting. When the bill was taken up for + consideration, Senator Hoar remarked that he did not believe there were + five members of the Senate who really believed in the propriety of that + act. "It did not seem to me to be quite becoming," he explained, "to ask + the Senate to deal with this general question, while the question which + arose between the President and the Senate as to the interpretation and + administration of the existing law was pending. I thought, as a party man, + that I had hardly the right to interfere with the matter which was under + the special charge of my honorable friend from Vermont, by challenging a + debate upon the general subject from a different point of view." + </p> + <p> + Although delicately put, this statement was in effect a repudiation of the + party leadership of Edmunds and in the debate which ensued, not a single + Senator came to his support. He stood alone in upholding the propriety of + the Tenure of Office Act, arguing that without its restraint "the whole + real power and patronage of this government was vested solely in the hands + of a President of the United States and his will was the law." He held + that the consent of the Senate to appointments was an insufficient check + if the President were allowed to remove at his own will and pleasure. He + was answered by his own party colleagues and committee associates, Hoar + and Evarts. Senator Hoar went so far as to say that in his opinion there + was not a single person in this country, in Congress or out of Congress, + with the exception of the Senator from Vermont, who did not believe that a + necessary step towards reform "must be to impose the responsibility of the + Civil Service upon the Executive." Senator Evarts argued that the existing + law was incompatible with executive responsibility, for "it placed the + Executive power in a strait-jacket." He then pointed out that the + President had not the legal right to remove a member of his own Cabinet + and asked, "Is not the President imprisoned if his Cabinet are to be his + masters by the will of the Senate?" The debate was almost wholly confined + to the Republican side of the Senate, for only one Democrat took any part + in it. Senator Edmunds was the sole spokesman on his side, but he fought + hard against defeat and delivered several elaborate arguments of the + "check and balance" type. When the final vote took place, only three + Republicans actually voted for the repealing bill, but there were + absentees whose votes would have been cast the same way had they been + needed to pass the bill.* + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + * The bill was passed by thirty yeas and twenty-two nays, and +among the nays were several Senators who while members of the House had +voted for repeal. The repeal bill passed the House by a vote of 172 to +67, and became law on March 3, 1887 +</pre> + <p> + President Cleveland had achieved a brilliant victory. In the joust between + him and Edmunds, in lists of his adversary's own contriving, he had held + victoriously to his course while his opponent had been unhorsed. The + granite composure of Senator Edmunds' habitual mien did not permit any + sign of disturbance to break through, but his position in the Senate was + never again what it had been, and eventually he resigned his seat before + the expiration of his term. He retired from public life in 1891, at the + age of sixty-three. + </p> + <p> + From the standpoint of the public welfare, it is to be noted that the + issue turned on the maintenance of privilege rather than on the discharge + of responsibility. President Cleveland contended that he was not + responsible to the Senate but to the people for the way in which he + exercised his trusteeship. But the phrase "the people" is an abstraction + which has no force save as it receives concrete form in appropriate + institutions. It is the essential characteristic of a sound constitutional + system that it supplies such institutions, so as to put executive + authority on its good behavior by steady pressure of responsibility + through full publicity and detailed criticism. This result, the Senate + fails to secure because it keeps trying to invade executive authority, and + to seize the appointing power instead of seeking to enforce executive + responsibility. This point was forcibly put by "The Nation" when it said: + "There is only one way of securing the presentation to the Senate of all + the papers and documents which influence the President in making either + removals or appointments, and that is a simple way, and one wholly within + the reach of the Senators. They have only to alter their rules, and make + executive sessions as public as legislative sessions, in order to drive + the President not only into making no nominations for which he cannot give + creditable reasons, but into furnishing every creditable reason for the + nomination which he may have in his possession."* + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + * "The Nation," March 11, 1888. +</pre> + <p> + During the struggle, an effort was made to bring about this very reform, + under the lead of a Republican Senator, Orville H. Platt of Connecticut. + On April 13, 1886, he delivered a carefully prepared speech, based upon + much research, in which he showed that the rule of secrecy in executive + sessions could not claim the sanction of the founders of the government. + It is true that the Senate originally sat with closed doors for all sorts + of business, but it discontinued the practice after a few years. It was + not until 1800, six years after the practice of public sessions had been + adopted, that any rule of secrecy was applied to business transacted in + executive sessions. Senator Platt's motion to repeal this rule met with + determined opposition on both sides of the chamber, coupled with an + indisposition to discuss the matter. When it came up for consideration on + the 15th of December, Senator Hoar moved to lay it on the table, which was + done by a vote of thirty-three to twenty-one. Such prominent Democratic + leaders as Gorman of Maryland and Vest of Missouri voted with Republican + leaders like Evarts, Edmunds, Allison, and Harrison, in favor of Hoar's + motion, while Hoar's own colleague, Senator Dawes, together with such + eminent Republicans as Frye of Maine, Hawley of Connecticut, and Sherman + of Ohio voted with Platt. Thus, any party responsibility for the result + was successfully avoided, and an issue of great constitutional importance + was laid away without any apparent stir of popular sentiment. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0005" id="link2HCH0005"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER V. PARTY POLICY IN CONGRESS + </h2> + <p> + While President Cleveland was successfully asserting his executive + authority, the House of Representatives, too, was trying to assert its + authority; but its choice of means was such that it was badly beaten and + was reduced to a state of humble subordination from which it has never + emerged. Its traditional procedure was arranged on the theory that + Congress ought to propose as well as to enact legislation, and to receive + recommendations from all quarters without preference or discrimination. + Although the Constitution makes it the right and duty of the President to + "recommend to their consideration such measures as he shall judge + necessary and expedient," measures proposed by the Administration stand on + the same footing under the rules as those proposed by the humblest citizen + of the United States. In both cases, they are allowed to reach Congress + only in the form of a bill or resolution introduced by a member of + Congress, and they go on the files without any distinction as to rank and + position except such as pertains to them from the time and order in which + they are introduced. Under the rules, all measures are distributed among + numerous committees, each having charge of a particular class, with power + to report favorably or adversely. Each committee is constituted as a + section of the whole House, with a distribution of party representation + corresponding to that which exists in the House. + </p> + <p> + Viewed as an ideal polity, the scheme has attractive features. In + practice, however, it is attended with great disadvantages. Although the + system was originally introduced with the idea that it would give the + House of Representatives control over legislative business, the actual + result has been to reduce this body to an impotence unparalleled among + national representative assemblies in countries having constitutional + government. In a speech delivered on December 10, 1885, William M. + Springer of Illinois complained: "We find ourselves bound hand and foot, + the majority delivering themselves over to the power of the minority that + might oppose any particular measures, so that nothing could be done in the + way of legislation except by unanimous consent or by a two-thirds vote." + As an instance of legislative paralysis, he related that "during the last + Congress a very important bill, that providing for the presidential + succession... was reported from a committee of which I had the honor to be + a member, and was placed on the calendar of the House on the 21st day of + April, 1884; and that bill, which was favored by nearly the entire House, + was permitted to die on the calendar because there never was a moment, + when under the rules as they then existed, the bill could be reached and + passed by the House." During the whole of that session of Congress, the + regular calendar was never reached. "Owing to the fact that we could not + transact business under the rules, all business was done under unanimous + consent or under propositions to suspend the rules upon the two Mondays in + each month on which suspensions were allowed." As a two-thirds majority + was necessary to suspend the rules, any considerable minority had a veto + power. + </p> + <p> + The standing committees, whose ostensible purpose was to prepare business + for consideration, were characterized as legislative cemeteries. Charles + B. Lore of Delaware, referring to the situation during the previous + session, said: "The committees were formed, they met in their respective + committee rooms day after day, week after week, working up the business + which was committed to them by this House, and they reported to this House + 8290 bills. They came from the respective committees, and they were + consigned to the calendars of this House, which became for them the tomb + of the Capulets; most of them were never heard of afterward. From the + Senate there were 2700 bills.... Nine tenths of the time of the committees + of the Forty-eighth Congress was wasted. We met week after week, month + after month, and labored over the cases prepared, and reported bills to + the House. They were put upon the calendars and there were buried, to be + brought in again and again in succeeding Congresses." + </p> + <p> + William D. Kelley of Pennsylvania bluntly declared: "No legislation can be + effectually originated outside the Committee on Appropriations, unless it + be a bill which will command unanimous consent or a stray bill that may + get a two-thirds vote, or a pension bill." He explained that he excepted + pension bills "because we have for several years by special order remitted + the whole subject of pensions to a committee who bring in their bills at + sessions held one night in each week, when ten or fifteen gentlemen decide + what soldiers may have pensions and what soldiers may not." + </p> + <p> + The Democratic party found this situation extremely irritating when it + came into power in the House. It was unable to do anything of importance + or even to define its own party policy, and in the session of Congress + beginning in December, 1885, it sought to correct the situation by + amending the rules. In this undertaking it had sympathy and support on the + Republican side. The duress under which the House labored was pungently + described by Thomas B. Reed, who was just about that time revealing the + ability that gained for him the Republican leadership. In a speech, + delivered on December 16, 1885, he declared: "For the last three + Congresses the representatives of the people of the United States have + been in irons. They have been allowed to transact no public business + except at the dictation and by the permission of a small coterie of + gentlemen, who, while they possessed individually more wisdom than any of + the rest of us, did not possess all the wisdom in the world." + </p> + <p> + The coterie alluded to by Mr. Reed was that which controlled the committee + on appropriations. Under the system created by the rules of the House, + bills pour in by tens of thousands. A member of the House, of a + statistical turn of mind, once submitted figures to the House showing that + it would take over sixty-six years to go through the calendars of one + session in regular order, allowing an average of one minute for each + member to debate each bill. To get anything done, the House must proceed + by special order, and as it is essential to pass the appropriations to + keep up the government, a precedence was allowed to business reported by + that committee which in effect gave it a position of mastery. O. R. + Singleton of Mississippi, in the course of the same debate, declared that + there was a "grievance which towers above all others as the Alps tower + above the surrounding hills. It is the power resting with said committee, + and oftentimes employed by it, to arrest any legislation upon any subject + which does not meet its approval. A motion to go into committee of the + whole to consider appropriation bills is always in order, and takes + precedence of all other motions as to the order of business." The + practical effect of the rules was that, instead of remaining the servant + of the House, the committee became its master. Not only could the + committee shut off from any consideration any measure to which it was + opposed, but it could also dictate to the House the shape in which its own + bills should be enacted. While the form of full consideration and + amendment is preserved, the terms of a bill are really decided by a + conference committee appointed to adjust differences between the House and + the Senate. John H. Reagan of Texas stated that "a conference committee, + made up of three members of the appropriations committee, acting in + conjunction with a similar conference committee on the part of the Senate, + does substantially our legislation upon this subject of appropriations." + In theory, the House was free to accept or reject the conference + committee's report. Practically the choice lay between the bill as fixed + by the conference committee or no bill at all during that session. Mr. + Reagan stated the case exactly when he said that it meant "letting six men + settle what the terms are to be, beyond our power of control, unless we + consent to a called session of Congress." + </p> + <p> + To deal with this situation, the House had refused to adopt the rules of + the preceding Congress; and after electing John G. Carlisle as Speaker and + authorizing the appointment of a committee on rules, it deferred the + appointment of the usual legislative committees until after a new set of + rules had been adopted. The action of the Speaker in constituting the + Rules Committee was scrupulously fair to the contending interests. It + consisted of himself, Samuel J. Randall of Pennsylvania, and William R. + Morrison of Illinois from the Democratic side of the House; and of Thomas + B. Reed of Maine and Frank Hiscock of New York from the Republican side. + On the 14th of December, the committee made two reports: a majority report + presented by Mr. Morrison and a minority report presented by Mr. Randall + and signed by him alone. + </p> + <p> + These reports and the debates which followed are most disappointing. What + was needed was a penetrating discussion of the means by which the House + could establish its authority and perform its constitutional functions. + But it is a remarkable circumstance that at no time was any reference made + to the only way in which the House can regain freedom of action—namely, + by having the Administration submit its budget demands and its legislative + proposals directly to the committee of the whole House. The preparatory + stages could then be completed before the opening of the legislative + session. Congress would thus save the months of time that are now consumed + in committee incubation and would almost certainly be assured of + opportunity of considering the public business. Discrimination in + legislative privilege among members of the House would then be abolished, + for every member would belong to the committee on appropriations. It is + universally true in constitutional governments that power over + appropriations involves power over legislation, and the only possibility + of a square deal is to open that power to the entire membership of the + assembly, which is the regular practice in Switzerland and in all English + commonwealths. The House could not have been ignorant of the existence of + this alternative, for the whole subject had been luminously discussed in + the Senate Report of February 4, 1881. It was, therein, clearly pointed out + that such an arrangement would prevent paralysis or inaction in Congress. + With the Administration proposing its measures directly to Congress, + discussion of them and decisions upon them could not be avoided. + </p> + <p> + But such a public forum could not be established without sweeping away + many intrenchments of factional interest and private opportunity, and this + was not at all the purpose of the committee on rules. It took its + character and direction from an old feud between Morrison and Randall. + Morrison, as chairman of the Ways and Means Committee in 1876, had + reported a tariff reform measure which was defeated by Randall's + influence. Then Randall, who had succeeded to the Speakership, transferred + Morrison from the chairmanship of the Ways and Means Committee to the + chairmanship of the committee on public lands. But Morrison was a man who + would not submit to defeat. He was a veteran of the Civil War, and had + been severely wounded in leading his regiment at Fort Donelson. After the + war, he figured in Illinois politics and served as Speaker of the State + Legislature. He entered Congress in 1873 and devoted himself to the study + of the tariff with such intelligence and thoroughness that his speeches + are still an indispensable part of the history of tariff legislation. His + habitual manner was so mild and unassuming that it gave little indication + of the force of his personality, which was full of energy and + perseverance. + </p> + <p> + Randall was more imperious in his mien. He was a party leader of + established renown which he had gained in the struggles over force bills + at the close of the reconstruction period. His position on the tariff was + that of a Pennsylvania protectionist, and upon the tariff reform issue in + 1883, he was defeated for the Speakership. At that time, John G. Carlisle + of Kentucky was raised to that post, while Morrison again became chairman + of the Ways and Means Committee. But Randall, now appointed chairman of + the Appropriations Committee, had so great an influence that he was able + to turn about forty Democratic votes against the tariff bill reported by + the Ways and Means Committee, thus enabling the Republicans to kill the + bill by striking out the enacting clause. + </p> + <p> + Only this practical aim, then, was in view in the reports presented by the + committee on rules. The principal feature of the majority report was a + proposal to curtail the jurisdiction of the Appropriations Committee by + transferring to other committees five of the eleven regular appropriation + bills. What, from the constitutional point of view, would appear to be the + main question—the recovery by the House of its freedom of action—was + hardly noticed in the report or in the debates which followed. Heretofore, + the rules had allotted certain periods to general business; now, the + majority report somewhat enlarged these periods and stipulated that no + committee should bring more than one proposal before the House until all + other committees had had their turn. This provision might have been + somewhat more effective had it been accompanied by a revision of the list + of committees such as was proposed by William M. Springer. He pointed out + that there were a number of committees "that have no business to transact + or business so trifling and unimportant as to make it unnecessary to have + standing committees upon such subjects"; he proposed to abolish twenty-one + of these committees and to create four new ones to take their place; he + showed that "if we allow these twenty useless committees to be again put + on our list, to be called regularly in the morning hour... forty-two days + will be consumed in calling these committees"; and, finally, he pointed + out that the change would effect a saving since it would "do away with + sixteen committee clerkships." + </p> + <p> + This saving was, in fact, fatal to the success of Springer's proposal, + since it meant the extinction of so many sinecures bestowed through + congressional favor. In the end, Springer reduced his proposed change to + the creation of one general committee on public expenditures to take the + place of eight committees on departmental expenditures. It was notorious + that such committees did nothing and could do nothing, and their futility, + save as dispensers of patronage, had been demonstrated in a startling + manner by the effect of the Acts of July 12, 1870, and June 20, 1874, + requiring all unused appropriations to be paid into the Treasury. The + amounts thus turned into the Treasury aggregated $174,000,000 and in a + single bureau there was an unexpended balance of $36,000,000, which had + accumulated for a quarter of a century because Congress had not been + advised that no appropriation was needed. Mr. Springer remarked that, + during the ten years in which he had been a member of Congress, he had + observed with regard to these committees "that in nearly all cases, after + their appointment, organization, and the election of a clerk, the + committee practically ceased to exist, and nothing further is done." + William R. Morrison at once came to the rescue of the endangered sinecures + and argued that even although these committees had been inactive in the + past they "constituted the eyes, the ears, and the hands of the House." In + consequence, after a short debate Mr. Springer's motion was rejected + without a division. + </p> + <p> + The arrangements subsequently made to provide time and opportunity for + general legislation, turned out in practice to be quite futile and indeed + they were never more than a mere formal pretense. It was quite obvious, + therefore, that the new rules tended only to make the situation worse than + before. Thomas Ryan of Kansas told the plain truth when he said: "You do + not propose to remedy any of those things of which you complain by any of + the rules you have brought forward. You propose to clothe eight committees + with the same power, with the same temptation and capacity to abuse it. + You multiply eightfold the very evils of which you complain." James H. + Blount of Georgia sought to mitigate the evils of the situation by giving + a number of other committees the same privilege as the appropriation + committees, but this proposal at once raised a storm, for appropriation + committees had leave to report at any time, and to extend the privilege + would prevent expeditious handling of appropriation bills. Mr. Blount's + motion was, therefore, voted down without a division. + </p> + <p> + While in the debate, the pretense of facilitating routine business was + ordinarily kept up; occasional intimations of actual ulterior purpose + leaked out, as when John B. Storm of Pennsylvania remarked that it was a + valuable feature of the rules that they did hamper action and "that the + country which is least governed is the best governed, is a maxim in strict + accord with the idea of true civil liberty." William McKinley was also of + the opinion that barriers were needed "against the wild projects and + visionary schemes which will find advocates in this House." Some years + later, when the subject was again up for discussion, Thomas B. Reed went + to the heart of the situation when he declared that the rules had been + devised not to facilitate action but to obstruct it, for "the whole system + of business here for years has been to seek methods of shirking, not of + meeting, the questions which the people present for the consideration of + their representatives. Peculiar circumstances have caused this. For a long + time, one section of the country largely dominated the other. That section + of the country was constantly apprehensive of danger which might happen at + any time by reason of an institution it was maintaining. Very naturally, + all the rules of the House were bent for the obstruction of action on the + part of Congress." It may be added that these observations apply even more + forcibly, to the rules of the Senate. The privilege of unrestricted debate + was not originally granted by those rules but was introduced as a means of + strengthening the power of sectional resistance to obnoxious legislation. + </p> + <p> + The revision of the rules in 1885, then, was not designed really to + facilitate action by the House, but rather to effect a transfer of the + power to rule the House. It was at least clear that under the proposed + changes the chairman of the committee on appropriations would no longer + retain such complete mastery as Randall had wielded, and this was enough + to insure the adoption of the majority report. The minority report opposed + this weakening of control on the ground that it would be destructive of + orderly and responsible management of the public funds. Everything which + Randall said on that point has since been amply confirmed by much sad + experience. Although some leading Republicans, among whom was Joseph G. + Cannon of Illinois, argued strongly in support of Randall's views, the + temper of the House was such that the majority in favor of the change was + overwhelming, and on December 18, 1885, the Morrison plan was finally + adopted without a roll call. + </p> + <p> + The hope that the change in organization would expedite action on + appropriation bills, was promptly disappointed. Only one of the fourteen + regular appropriation bills became law before the last day of the fiscal + year. The duress to which the House was subject became tighter and harder + than before, and the Speakership entered upon a development unparalleled + in constitutional history. The Speaker was practically in a position to + determine what business the House might consider and what it might not, + and the circumstances were such as to breed a belief that it was his duty + to use his discretion where a choice presented itself. It is obvious that, + when on the floor of the House there are a number of applicants for + recognition, the Speaker must choose between them. All cannot be allowed + to speak at once. There is no chance to apply the shop rule, "first come + first served," for numerous applications for the floor come at the same + time. Shall the Speaker choose at random or according to some definite + principle of selection? In view of the Speaker's interest in the welfare + of the party which raised him to the office, he would naturally inquire in + advance the purpose for which the recognition of the chair was desired. It + was a manifest step towards orderly procedure in session, however, when + instead of crowding around the clerk's desk bawling for recognition, + members applied to the Speaker in advance. In Speaker Blaine's time, this + had become a regular practice and ever since then, a throng of members at + the Speaker's office trying to arrange with him for recognition has been a + daily occurrence during a legislative session. Samuel W. McCall, in his + work on "The Business of Congress," says that the Speaker "usually + scrutinizes the bill and the committee's report upon it, and in case of + doubt he sometimes refers them to a member in whom he has confidence, for + a more careful examination than he himself has time to give." + </p> + <p> + Under Speaker Carlisle, this power to censor proposals was made + conspicuous through the factional war in the Democratic party. For several + sessions of Congress, a bill had been pending to repeal the internal + revenue taxes upon tobacco, and it had such support that it might have + passed if it could have been reached for consideration. On February 5, + 1887, a letter was addressed to Speaker Carlisle by three prominent + Democrats: Samuel J. Randall of Pennsylvania, George D. Wise of Virginia, + and John S. Henderson of North Carolina, saying: "At the instance of many + Democratic members of the House, we appeal to you earnestly to recognize + on Monday next, some Democrat who will move to suspend the rules for the + purpose of giving the House an opportunity of considering the question of + the total repeal of the internal revenue taxes on tobacco." The letter + went on to argue that it would be bad policy to let a Republican have + credit for a proposal, which it was declared "will command more votes than + any other measure pending before the House looking towards a reduction in + taxation; and favorable action on this proposition will not interfere with + other efforts that are being made to reduce the burden of the people." + </p> + <p> + Speaker Carlisle, however, refused to allow the House to consider the + matter on the ground that negotiations with Randall and his friends for + concerted party action had so far been fruitless. "Among other things," he + wrote, "we proposed to submit the entire subject to a caucus of our + political friends, with the understanding that all parties would abide by + the result of its action.... We have received no response to that + communication, and I consider that it would not be proper under the + circumstances for me to agree to a course of action which would present to + the House a simple proposition for the repeal of the internal revenue tax + on tobacco, snuff and cigars, to the exclusion of all other measures for + the reduction of taxation." The letter closed by "sincerely hoping that + some plan may yet be devised which will enable the House to consider the + whole subject of revenue reduction." + </p> + <p> + No one was less of an autocrat in temper and habit of thought than Speaker + Carlisle, and he assumed this position in deference to a recognized + function of his office, supported by a long line of precedents. The case + was, therefore, a signal illustration of the way in which the House has + impaired its ability to consider legislation by claiming the exclusive + privilege of proposing legislation. If the rules had allowed the President + to propose his measures directly to the House, then the way would have + been opened for a substitute or an amendment. As it was, the House was + able to act only upon matters within the control of a few persons + advantageously posted, and none of the changes of rules that have been + made from time to time have seriously disturbed this fundamental + situation. + </p> + <p> + Notwithstanding the new rules adopted in December, 1885, nothing of + importance was accomplished by the House. On February 15, 1886, William R. + Morrison introduced a tariff bill making a moderate reduction in rates of + duty, which, after considerable amendment in the committee of ways and + means, was reported to the House on the 12th of April; but no further + action was taken until the 17th of June, when Morrison moved that the + House go into committee of the whole to consider the bill. Thirty-five + Democrats voted with the Republicans against the motion, which was + defeated by 157 nays to 140 yeas. No further attempt was made to take up + the bill during that session, and in the ensuing fall Morrison was + defeated as a candidate for reelection. Before leaving Congress he tried + once more to obtain consideration of his bill but in vain. Just as that + Congress was expiring, John S. Henderson of North Carolina was at last + allowed to move a suspension of the rules in order to take a vote on a + bill to reduce internal revenue taxes, but he failed to obtain the + two-thirds vote required for suspension of the rules. + </p> + <p> + That the proceedings of the Forty-ninth Congress were not entirely + fruitless, was mainly due to the initiative and address of the Senate. + Some important measures were thus pushed through, among them the act + regulating the presidential succession and the act creating the Interstate + Commerce Commission. The first of these provided for the succession of the + heads of departments in turn, in case of the removal, death, resignation, + or inability of both the President and the Vice-President. + </p> + <p> + The most marked legislative achievement of the House was an act regulating + the manufacture and sale of oleomargarine, to which the Senate assented + with some amendment, and which was signed with reluctance by the + President, after a special message to the House sharply criticizing some + of the provisions of the act. A bill providing for arbitration of + differences between common carriers and their employees was passed by the + Senate without a division, but it did not reach the President until the + closing days of the session and failed of enactment because he did not + sign it before the final adjournment. Taken as a whole, then, the record + of the Congress elected in 1884 showed that while the Democratic party had + the Presidency and the House of Representatives, the Republican party, + although defeated at the polls, still controlled public policy through the + agency of the Senate. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0006" id="link2HCH0006"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER VI. PRESIDENTIAL KNIGHT-ERRANTRY + </h2> + <p> + Although President Cleveland decisively repelled the Senate's attempted + invasion of the power of removal belonging to his office, he was still + left in a deplorable state of servitude through the operation of old laws + based upon the principle of rotation in office. The Acts of 1820 and 1836, + limiting commissions to the term of four years, forced him to make + numerous appointments which provoked controversy and made large demands + upon his time and thought. In the first year of his administration, he + sent about two thousand nominations to the Senate, an average of over six + a day, assuming that he was allowed to rest on Sunday. His freedom of + action was further curtailed by an Act of 1863, prohibiting the payment of + a salary to any person appointed to fill a vacancy existing while the + Senate was in session, until the appointment had been confirmed by the + Senate. The President was thus placed under a strict compulsion to act as + a party employment agent. + </p> + <p> + If it is the prime duty of a President to act in the spirit of a reformer, + Cleveland is entitled to high praise for the stanchness with which he + adhered to his principles under most trying circumstances. Upon November + 27, 1885, he approved rules confirming and extending the civil service + regulations. Charges that Collector Hedden of the New York Customs House + was violating the spirit of the Civil Service Act, and was making a party + machine of his office, caused the Civil Service Commission to make an + investigation which resulted in his resignation in July, 1886. On the 10th + of August, Daniel Magone of Ogdensburg, New York, a widely known lawyer, + was personally chosen by the President with a view to enforcing the civil + service law in the New York Customs House. Before making this appointment, + President Cleveland issued an order to all heads of departments warning + all officeholders against the use of their positions to control political + movements in their localities. "Officeholders," he declared, "are the + agents of the people, not their masters. They have no right, as + officeholders, to dictate the political action of their associates, or to + throttle freedom of action within party lines by methods and practices + which prevent every useful and justifiable purpose of party organization." + In August, President Cleveland gave signal evidence of his devotion to + civil service reform by appointing a Republican, because of his special + qualifications, to be chief examiner for the Civil Service Commission. + </p> + <p> + Democratic party workers were so angered and disgusted by the President's + policy that any mention of his name was enough to start a flow of coarse + denunciation. Strong hostility to his course of action was manifested in + Congress. Chairman Randall, of the committee on appropriations, threatened + to cut off the appropriation for office room for the commission. A "rider" + to the legislative appropriation bill, striking at the civil service law, + caused a vigorous debate in the House in which leading Democrats assailed + the Administration, but eventually the "rider" was ruled out on a point of + order. In the Senate, such party leaders as Vance of North Carolina, + Saulsbury of Delaware, and Voorhees of Indiana, openly ridiculed the civil + service law, and various attempts to cripple it were made but were + defeated. Senator Vance introduced a bill to repeal the law, but it was + indefinitely postponed by a vote of 33 to 6, the affirmative vote being + cast mainly by Republicans; and in general the strongest support for the + law now came from the Republican side. Early in June, 1887, an estimate + was made that nine thousand civil offices outside the scope of the civil + service rules were still held by Republicans. The Republican party press + gloated over the situation and was fond of dwelling upon the way in which + old-line Democrats were being snubbed while the Mugwumps were favored. At + the same time, civil service reformers found much to condemn in the + character of Cleveland's appointments. A special committee of the National + Civil Service Reform League, on March 30, 1887, published a report in + which they asserted that, "tried by the standard of absolute fidelity to + the reform as it is understood by this League, it is not to be denied that + this Administration has left much to be desired." At a subsequent + session of the League, its President, George William Curtis, proclaimed + that the League did not regard the Administration as "in any strict sense + of the words a civil service reform administration." Thus while President + Cleveland was alienating his regular party support, he was not getting in + return any dependable support from the reformers. He seemed to be sitting + down between two stools, both tilting to let him fall. + </p> + <p> + Meanwhile, he went on imperturbably doing his duty as he saw it. Like many + of his predecessors, he would rise early to get some time to attend to + public business before the rush of office seekers began, but the bulk of + his day's work lay in the discharge of his compulsory duties as an + employment agent. Many difficult situations were created by contentions + among Congressmen over appointments. It was Cleveland's habit to deal with + these cases by homely expostulation and by pleas for mutual concessions. + Such incidents do not of course go upon record, and it is only as memoirs + and reminiscences of public men are published that this personal side of + history becomes known. Senator Cullom of Illinois in his "Fifty Years of + Public Service" gives an account that doubtless fairly displays + Cleveland's way of handling his vexatious problems. "I happened to be at + the White House one day, and Mr. Cleveland said to me, 'I wish you would + take up Lamar's nomination and dispose of it. I am between hay and grass + with reference to the Interior Department. Nothing is being done there; I + ought to have some one on duty, and I cannot do anything until you dispose + of Lamar.'" Mr. Lamar, who had entered the Cabinet as Secretary of the + Interior, was nominated for associate justice of the Supreme Court on + December 6, 1887. He had been an eminent member of the Senate, with + previous distinguished service in the House, so that the Senate must have + had abundant knowledge of his character and attainments. It is impossible + to assign the delay that ensued to reasonable need of time for inquiry as + to his qualifications, but Senator Cullom relates that "the nomination + pended before the Judiciary Committee for a long time." Soon after the + personal appeal, which was made by the President to every Senator he could + reach, action was finally taken and the appointment was confirmed January + 16, 1888. + </p> + <p> + Senator Cullom's reminiscences also throw light upon the process by which + judges are appointed. President Cleveland had selected Melville W. Fuller + of Illinois for the office of chief justice of the Supreme Court. + According to Senator Cullom, Senator Edmunds "was very much out of humor + with the President because he had fully expected that Judge Phelps, of his + own State, was to receive the honor.... The result was that Senator + Edmunds held the nomination, without any action, in the Judiciary + Committee for some three months." Senator Cullom, although a party + associate of Edmunds, was pleased that the President had selected an + Illinois jurist and he was determined that, if he could help it, Edmunds + should not have the New Hampshire candidate appointed. He therefore + appealed to the committee to do something about the nomination, either one + way or the other. The committee finally reported the nomination to the + Senate without recommendation. When the matter came up in executive + session, "Senator Edmunds at once took the floor and attacked Judge Fuller + most viciously as having sympathized with the rebellion." But Cullom was + primed to meet that argument. He had been furnished with a copy of a + speech attacking President Lincoln which Phelps had delivered during the + war, and he now read it to the Senate, "much to the chagrin and + mortification of Senator Edmunds." Cullom relates that the Democrats in + the Senate enjoyed the scene. "Naturally, it appeared to them a very funny + performance, two Republicans quarreling over the confirmation of a + Democrat. They sat silent, however, and took no part at all in the debate, + leaving us Republicans to settle it among ourselves." The result of the + Republican split was that the nomination of Fuller was confirmed "by a + substantial majority." + </p> + <p> + Another nomination which caused much agitation at the time was that of + James C. Matthews of New York, to be Recorder of Deeds in the District of + Columbia. The office had been previously held by Frederick Douglass, a + distinguished leader of the colored race; and in filling the vacancy the + President believed it would be an exercise of wise and kindly + consideration to choose a member of the same race. But in the Washington + community, there was such a strong antipathy to the importation of a negro + politician from New York to fill a local office that a great clamor was + raised, in which Democrats joined. The Senate rejected the nomination, but + meanwhile Mr. Matthews had entered upon the duties of his office and he + showed such tact and ability as gradually to soften the opposition. On + December 21, 1886, President Cleveland renominated him, pointing out that + he had been in actual occupation of the office for four months, managing + its affairs with such ability as to remove "much of the opposition to his + appointment which has heretofore existed." In conclusion, the President + confessed "a desire to cooperate in tendering to our colored + fellow-citizens just recognition." This was a shrewd argument. The + Republican majority in the Senate shrank from what might seem to be + drawing the color line, and the appointment was eventually confirmed; but + this did not remove the sense of grievance in Washington over the use of + local offices for national party purposes. Local sentiment in the District + of Columbia is, however, politically unimportant, as the community has no + means of positive action.* + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + * It is a singular fact, which contains matter for deep +consideration, that the District of Columbia, the national capital, +is the only populated area in the civilized world without any sort of +suffrage rights. +</pre> + <p> + In the same month in which President Cleveland issued his memorable + special message to the Senate on the Tenure of Office Act, he began + another struggle against congressional practice in which he was not so + fortunate. On March 10, 1886, he sent to Congress the first of his pension + vetoes. Although liberal provision for granting pensions had been made by + general laws, numerous special applications were made directly to + Congress, and congressmen were solicited to secure favorable consideration + for them. That it was the duty of a representative to support an + application from a resident of his district, was a doctrine enforced by + claim agents with a pertinacity from which there was no escape. To attempt + to assume a judicial attitude in the matter was politically dangerous, and + to yield assent was a matter of practical convenience. Senator Cullom + relates that when he first became a member of the committee on pensions he + was "a little uneasy" lest he "might be too liberal." But he was guided by + the advice of an old, experienced Congressman, Senator Sawyer of + Wisconsin, who told him: "You need not worry, you cannot very well make a + mistake allowing liberal pensions to the soldier boys. The money will get + back into the Treasury very soon." + </p> + <p> + The feeling that anything that the old soldiers wanted should be granted + was even stronger in the House, where about the only opportunity of + distinction allowed by the procedure was to champion these local demands + upon the public treasury. It was indeed this privilege of passing pension + bills which partially reconciled members of the House to the actual + control of legislative opportunity by the Speaker and the chairmen of a + few dominating committees. It was a congressional perquisite to be allowed + to move the passage of so many bills; enactment followed as a matter of + course. President Cleveland made a pointed reference to this process in a + veto message of June 21, 1886. He observed that the pension bills had only + "an apparent Congressional sanction" for the fact was that "a large + proportion of these bills have never been submitted to a majority of + either branch of Congress, but are the results of nominal sessions held + for the express purpose of their consideration and attended by a small + minority of the members of the respective houses of the legislative branch + of government." + </p> + <p> + Obviously, the whole system of pension legislation was faulty. Mere + individual effort on the part of the President to screen the output of the + system was scarcely practicable, even if it were congruous with the nature + of the President's own duties; but nevertheless Cleveland attempted it, + and kept at it with stout perseverance. One of his veto messages remarks + that in a single day nearly 240 special pension bills were presented to + him. He referred them to the Pension Bureau for examination and the labor + involved was so great that they could not be returned to him until within + a few hours of the limit fixed by the Constitution for the President's + assent. + </p> + <p> + There could be no more signal proof of President Cleveland's constancy of + soul than the fact that he was working hard at his veto forge, with the + sparks falling thickly around, right in his honeymoon. He married Miss + Frances Folsom of Buffalo on June 2, 1886. The ceremony took place in the + White House, and immediately thereafter, the President and his charming + bride went to Deer Park, Maryland, a mountain resort. The respite from + official cares was brief; on June 8th, the couple returned to Washington + and some of the most pugnacious of the pension vetoes were sent to + Congress soon after. The rest of his public life was passed under + continual storm, but the peace and happiness of his domestic life provided + a secure refuge. + </p> + <p> + On the other hand, the rebuffs which Democratic Congressmen received in + the matter of pension legislation were, it must be admitted, peculiarly + exasperating. Reviewing the work of the Forty-ninth Congress, "The Nation" + mentioned three enactments which it characterized as great achievements + that should be placed to the credit of Congress. Those were the act + regulating the presidential succession, approved January 18, 1886; the act + regulating the counting of the electoral votes, approved February 3, 1887; + and the repeal of the Tenure of Office Act, approved March 3, 1887. But + all three measures originated in the Senate, and the main credit for their + enactment might be claimed by the Republican party. There was some ground + for the statement that they would have been enacted sooner but for the + disturbance of legislative routine by political upheavals in the House; + and certainly no one could pretend that it was to get these particular + measures passed that the Democratic party was raised to power. The main + cause of the political revolution of 1884 had been the continuance of war + taxes, producing revenues that were not only not needed but were + positively embarrassing to the Government. Popular feeling over the matter + was so strong that even the Republican party had felt bound to put into + its national platform, in 1884, a pledge "to correct the irregularities of + the tariff and to reduce the surplus." The people, however, believed that + the Republican party had already been given sufficient opportunity, and + they now turned to the Democratic party for relief. The rank and file of + this party felt acutely, therefore, that they were not accomplishing what + the people expected. Members arrived in Washington full of good + intentions. They found themselves subject to a system which allowed them + to introduce all the bills they wanted, but not to obtain action upon + them. Action was the prerogative of a group of old hands who managed the + important committees and who were divided among themselves on tariff + policy. And now, the little bills which, by dint of persuasion and + bargaining, they had first put through the committees, and then through + both Houses of Congress, were cut down by executive veto, turning to their + injury what they had counted upon to help them in their districts. + </p> + <p> + During the campaign, Democratic candidates had everywhere contended that + they were just as good friends of the old soldiers as the Republicans. + Now, they felt that to make good this position they must do something to + offset the effect of President Cleveland's vetoes. In his messages, he had + favored "the most generous treatment to the disabled, aged and needy among + our veterans"; but he had argued that it should be done by general laws, + and not by special acts for the benefit of particular claimants. The + Pension Committee of the House responded by reporting a bill "for the + relief of dependent parents and honorably discharged soldiers and sailors + who are now disabled and dependent upon their own labor for support." It + passed the House by a vote of 180 to 76, with 63 not voting, and it passed + the Senate without a division. On the 11th of February, President + Cleveland sent in his veto, accompanied by a message pointing out in the + language of the act defects and ambiguities which he believed would "but + put a further premium on dishonesty and mendacity." He reiterated his + desire that provision should be made "for those who, having served their + country long and well, are reduced to destitution and dependence," but he + did not think that the bill was a proper means of attaining that object. + On the 19th of February, the House committee on pensions submitted an + elaborate report on the veto in which they recited the history of the bill + and the reasons actuating the committee. Extracts from Cleveland's + messages were quoted, and the committee declared that, in "hearty accord + with these views of the President and largely in accordance with his + suggestions, they framed a bill which they then thought, and still + continue to think, will best accomplish the ends proposed." A motion to + pass the bill over the veto on the 24th of February received 175 votes to + 125, but two-thirds not having voted in the affirmative the bill failed to + pass. The Republicans voted solidly in support of the bill, together with + a large group of Democrats. The negative vote came wholly from the + Democratic side. Such a fiasco amounted to a demonstration of the lack of + intelligent leadership. If the President and his party in Congress were + cooperating for the furtherance of the same objects, as both averred, it + was discreditable all around that there should have been such a complete + misunderstanding as to the procedure. + </p> + <p> + Meanwhile, the President was making a unique record by his vetoes. During + the period of ninety-six years, from the foundation of the Government down + to the beginning of Cleveland's administration, the entire number of veto + messages was 132. In four years, Cleveland sent in 301 veto messages, and + in addition he practically vetoed 109 bills by inaction. Of 2042 private + pension bills passed by Congress, 1518 were approved and 284 became laws + by lapse of time without approval. The positive results of the President's + activity were thus inconsiderable, unless incidentally he had managed to + correct the system which he had opposed. That claim, indeed, was made in + his behalf when "The Nation" mentioned "the arrest of the pension craze" + as a "positive achievement of the first order.'" But far from being + arrested, "the pension craze" was made the more furious, and it soon + advanced to extremes unknown before.* + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + * March 19, 1887. +</pre> + <p> + The Democratic politicians naturally viewed with dismay the approach of + the national election of 1888. Any one could see that the party was + drifting on to the rocks and nobody deemed to be at the helm. According to + William R. Morrison, who certainly had been in a position to know, + President Cleveland had "up to this time taken no decided ground one way + or the other on the question of tariff." He had included the subject in + the long dissertation on the state of the Union, which ever since + Jefferson's time the President has been wont to send to Congress at the + opening of a session, but he had not singled it out as having precedence. + He now surprised the country, roused his party, and gave fresh animation + to national politics on December 6, 1887, by devoting his third annual + message wholly to the subject of taxation and revenue. He pointed out that + the treasury surplus was mounting up to $140,000,000; that the redemption + of bonds which had afforded a means for disbursement of excess revenues + had stopped because there were no more bonds that the Government had a + right to redeem; and that, hence, the Treasury "idly holds money uselessly + subtracted from the channels of trade," a situation from which monetary + derangement and business distress would naturally ensue. He strongly urged + that the "present tariff laws, the vicious, inequitable and illogical + source of unnecessary taxation, ought to be at once revised and amended." + Cleveland gave a detailed analysis of the injurious effects which the + existing tariff had upon trade and industry, and went on to remark that + "progress toward a wise conclusion will not be improved by dwelling upon + the theories of protection and free trade. This savors too much of + bandying epithets. It is a condition which confronts us, not a theory." + The effect of the message was very marked both upon public opinion and + party activity. Mr. Morrison correctly summed up the party effect in + saying that "Mr. Mills, obtaining the substantial support of the + Administration, was enabled to press through the House a bill differing in + a very few essential measures from, and combining the general details and + purposes of, the several measures of which I have been the author, and + which had been voted against by many of those who contributed to the + success of the Mills Bill." + </p> + <p> + An incident which attracted great notice because it was thought to have a + bearing on the President's policy of tariff revision, was the veto of the + Allentown Public Building Bill. This bill was of a type which is one of + the rankest growths of the Congressional system—the grant of money + not for the needs of public service but as a district favor. It + appropriated $100,000 to put up a post-office building at Allentown, + Pennsylvania, where adequate quarters were being occupied by the + post-office at an annual rent of $1300. President Cleveland vetoed the + bill simply on the ground that it proposed an unnecessary expenditure, but + the fact was at once noted that the bill had been fathered by Congressman + Snowden, an active adherent of Randall in opposition to the tariff reform + policy of the Administration. The word went through Congress and + reverberated through the press that "there is an Allentown for every + Snowden." Mr. Morrison said in more polite phrase what came to the same + thing when he observed that "when Mr. Cleveland took decided ground in + favor of revision and reduction, he represented the patronage of the + Administration, in consequence of which he was enabled to enforce party + discipline, so that a man could no longer be a good Democrat and favor + anything but reform of the tariff." + </p> + <p> + After the Mills Bill had passed the House* and had been sent to the + Senate, it was held in committee until October 3, 1888. When it emerged it + carried an amendment which was in effect a complete substitute, but it was + not taken up for consideration until after the presidential election, and + it was meant simply as a Republican alternative to the Mills Bill for + campaign use. Consideration of the bill began on the 5th of December and + lasted until the 22nd of January, when the bill was returned to the House + transformed into a new measure. It was referred to the Ways and Means + Committee, and Chairman Mills reported it back with a resolution setting + forth that "the substitution by the Senate under the form of an + amendment.... of another and different bill," is in conflict with the + section of the Constitution which "vests in the House of Representatives + the sole power to originate such a measure." The House refused to consider + the resolution, a number of Democrats led by Mr. Randall voting with the + Republicans in the negative. No further action was taken on the bill and + since that day the House has never ventured to question the right of the + Senate to amend tax bills in any way and to any extent. As Senator Cullom + remarks in his memoirs, the Democrats, although they had long held the + House and had also gained, the Presidency, "were just as powerless to + enact legislation as they had been before." + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + * The Mills Bill was passed July 21, 1888, yeas 162, nays 149, +not voting 14. Randall, Snowden, and two other Democrats joined the +Republicans in voting against the bill. +</pre> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0007" id="link2HCH0007"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER VII. THE PUBLIC DISCONTENTS + </h2> + <p> + While President and Congress were passing the time in mutual obstruction, + the public discontents were becoming hot and bitter to a degree unknown + before. A marked feature of the situation was the disturbance of public + convenience involving loss, trouble, and distress which were vast in + extent but not easily expressed in statistical form. The first three + months of 1886 saw an outbreak of labor troubles far beyond any previous + record in their variety and extent. In 1885, the number of strikes + reported was 645 affecting 2284 establishments, a marked increase over + preceding years. In 1886, the number of strikes rose to 1411, affecting + 9861 establishments and directly involving 499,489 persons. The most + numerous strikes were in the building trades, but there were severe + struggles in many other industries. There was, for example, an + interruption of business on the New York elevated railway and on the + street railways of New York, Brooklyn, and other cities. + </p> + <p> + But the greatest public anxiety was caused by the behavior of the Knights + of Labor, an organization then growing so rapidly that it gave promise of + uniting under one control the active and energetic elements of the working + classes of the country. It started in a humble way, in December, 1869, + among certain garment cutters in Philadelphia, and for some years spread + slowly from that center. The organization remained strictly secret until + 1878, in which year it held a national convention of its fifteen district + assemblies at Reading, Pennsylvania. The object and principles of the + order were now made public and, thereafter, it spread with startling + rapidity, so that in 1886 it pitted its strength against public authority + with a membership estimated at from, 500,000 to 800,000. Had this body + been an army obedient to its leaders, it would have wielded great power; + but it turned out to be only a mob. Its members took part in + demonstrations which were as much mutinies against the authority of their + own executive board as they were strikes against their employers. The + result of lack of organization soon began to be evident. In March 1886, + the receiver of the Texas Pacific Railroad discharged an employee + prominent in the Knights of Labor and thus precipitated a strike which was + promptly extended to the Missouri Pacific. There were riots at various + points in Missouri and Kansas, and railroad traffic at St. Louis was + completely suspended for some days, but the strike was eventually broken. + The Knights of Labor, however, had received a blow from which it never + recovered, and as a result its membership declined. The order has since + been almost wholly superseded by the American Federation of Labor, + established in 1886 through shrewd management by an association of labor + unions which had been maintained since 1881. The Knights had been + organized by localities with the aim of merging all classes of working men + into one body. The Federation, on the other hand, is composed of trades + unions retaining their autonomy—a principle of organization which + has proved to be more solid and durable. + </p> + <p> + To these signs of popular discontent the Government could not be blind. A + congressional committee investigated the railroad strikes, and both + parties in Congress busied themselves with labor legislation. But in spite + of this apparent willingness to cope with the situation, there now + followed another display of those cross purposes which occurred so often + during the Cleveland administration. The House had already passed a bill + providing means of submitting to arbitration controversies between + railroads engaged in interstate commerce and their employees. President + Cleveland now sent a special message recommending that "instead of + arbitrators chosen in the heat of conflicting claims and after each + dispute shall arise, there be created a Commission of Labor, consisting of + three members, who shall be regular officers of the government, charged + among other duties with the consideration and settlement when possible, of + all controversies between labor and capital." In spite of the urgency of + the situation, the Senate seized this occasion for a new display of party + tactics, and it allowed the bill already passed by the House to lie + without action while it proceeded to consider various labor measures of + its own. For example, by June 1, 1886, the Senate had passed a bill + providing that eight hours should be a day's work for letter-carriers; + soon afterwards, it passed a bill legalizing the incorporation of national + trades unions, to which the House promptly assented without a division; + and the House then continued its labor record by passing on the 15th of + July a bill against the importation of contract labor. This last bill was + not passed by the Senate until after the fall elections. It was approved + by the President on February 23, 1887. + </p> + <p> + The Senate also delayed action on the House bill, which proposed + arbitration in labor disputes, until the close of the session; and then + the President, in view of his disregarded suggestion, withheld his assent. + It was not until the following year that the legislation recommended by + the President was enacted. By the Act of June 13, 1888, the Department of + Labor was established, and by the Act of October 1, 1888, in addition to + provision for voluntary arbitration between railroad corporations and + their employees, the President was authorized to appoint a commission to + investigate labor conflicts, with power to act as a board of conciliation. + During the ten years in which the act remained on the statute books, it + was actually put to use only in 1894, when a commission was appointed to + investigate the Pullman strike at Chicago, but this body took no action + towards settling the dispute. + </p> + <p> + Thus far, then, the efforts of the Government to deal with the labor + problem had not been entirely successful. It is true that the labor + conflicts arose over differences which only indirectly involved + constitutional questions. The aims of both the Knights of Labor and of the + American Federation were primarily economic and both organizations were + opposed to agitation of a distinctively political character. But parallel + with the labor agitation, and in communication with it, there were radical + reform movements of a type unknown before. There was now to arise a + socialistic movement opposed to traditional constitutionalism, and + therefore viewed with alarm in many parts of the country. Veneration of + the Constitution of 1787 was practically a national sentiment which had + lasted from the time the Union was successfully established until the + Cleveland era. However violent political differences in regard to public + policy might be, it was the invariable rule that proposals must claim a + constitutional sanction. In the Civil War, both sides felt themselves to + be fighting in defense of the traditional Constitution. + </p> + <p> + The appeal to antiquity—even such a moderate degree of antiquity as + may be claimed for American institutions—has always been the staple + argument in American political controversy. The views and intentions of + the Fathers of the Constitution are exhibited not so much for instruction + as for imitation, and by means of glosses and interpretations conclusions + may be reached which would have surprised the Fathers to whom they are + imputed. Those who examine the records of the formative period of American + institutions, not to obtain material for a case but simply to ascertain + the facts, will readily observe that what is known as the principle of + strict construction dates only from the organization of national parties + under the Constitution. It was an invention of the opposition to + Federalist rule and was not held by the makers of the Constitution + themselves. The main concern of the framers was to get power for the + National Government, and they went as far as they could with such success + that striking instances may be culled from the writings of the Fathers + showing that the scope they contemplated has yet to be attained. Strict + construction affords a short and easy way of avoiding troublesome issues—always + involved in unforeseen national developments—by substituting the + question of constitutional power for a question of public propriety. But + this method has the disadvantage, that it belittles the Constitution by + making it an obstacle to progress. Running through much political + controversy in the United States is the argument that, even granting that + a proposal has all the merit claimed for it, nevertheless it cannot be + adopted because the Constitution is against it. By strict logical + inference the rejoinder then comes that, if so, the Constitution is no + longer an instrument of national advantage. The traditional attachment of + the American people to the Constitution has indeed been so strong that + they have been loath to accept the inference that the Constitution is out + of date, although the quality of legislation at Washington kept + persistently suggesting that view of the case. + </p> + <p> + The failures and disappointments resulting from the series of national + elections from 1874 to 1884, at last, made an opening for party movements + voicing the popular discontent and openly antagonistic to the traditional + Constitution. The Socialist Labor party held its first national convention + in 1877. Its membership was mostly foreign; of twenty-four periodical + publications then carried on in the party interest, only eight were in the + English language; and this polyglot press gave justification to the remark + that the movement was in the hands of people who proposed to remodel the + institutions of the country before they had acquired its language. The + alien origin of the movement was emphasized by the appearance of two + Socialist members of the German Reichstag, who made a tour of this country + in 1881 to stir up interest in the cause. It was soon apparent that the + growth of the Socialist party organization was hindered by the fact that + its methods were too studious and its discussions too abstract to suit the + energetic temper of the times. Many Socialists broke away to join + revolutionary clubs which were now organized in a number of cities without + any clearly defined principle save to fight the existing system of + government. + </p> + <p> + At this critical moment in the process of social disorganization, the + influence of foreign destructive thought made itself felt. The arrival of + Johann Most from Europe, in the fall of 1882, supplied this revolutionary + movement with a leader who made anarchy its principle. Originally a German + Socialist aiming to make the State the sole landlord and capitalist, he + had gone over to anarchism and proposed to dissolve the State altogether, + trusting to voluntary association to supply all genuine social needs. + Driven from Germany, he had taken refuge in England, but even the habitual + British tolerance had given way under his praise of the assassination of + the Czar Alexander in 1881 and his proposal to treat other rulers in the + same way. He had just completed a term of imprisonment before coming to + the United States. Here, he was received as a hero; a great mass meeting + in his honor was held in Cooper Union, New York, in December, 1882; and + when he toured the country he everywhere addressed large meetings. + </p> + <p> + In October 1883, a convention of social revolutionists and anarchists was + held in Chicago, at which a national organization was formed called the + International Working People's Association. The new organization grew much + faster than the Socialist party itself, which now almost disappeared. Two + years later, the International had a party press consisting of seven + German, two Bohemian, and only two English papers. Like the Socialist + party, it was, therefore, mainly foreign in its membership. It was + strongest in and about Chicago, where it included twenty groups with three + thousand enrolled members. The anarchist papers exhorted their adherents + to provide themselves with arms and even published instructions for the + use of dynamite. + </p> + <p> + Political and industrial conditions thus supplied material for an + explosion which came with shocking violence. On May 4, 1885, towards the + close of an anarchist meeting held in Chicago, a dynamite bomb thrown + among a force of policemen killed one and wounded many. Fire was at once + opened on both sides, and, although the battle lasted only a few minutes, + seven policemen were killed and about sixty wounded; while on the side of + the anarchists, four were killed and about fifty were wounded. Ten of the + anarchist leaders were promptly indicted, of whom one made his escape and + another turned State's evidence. The trial of the remaining eight began on + June 21, 1886, and two months later the death sentence was imposed upon + seven and a penitentiary term of fifteen years upon one. The sentences of + two of the seven were commuted to life imprisonment; one committed suicide + in his cell by exploding a cartridge in his mouth; and four met death on + the scaffold. While awaiting their fate they were to a startling extent + regarded as heroes and bore themselves as martyrs to a noble cause. Six + years later, Illinois elected as governor John P. Altgeld, one of whose + first steps was to issue a pardon to the three who were serving terms of + imprisonment and to criticize sharply the conduct of the trial which had + resulted in the conviction of the anarchists. + </p> + <p> + The Chicago outbreak and its result stopped the open spread of anarchism. + Organized labor now withdrew from any sort of association with it. This + cleared the field for a revival of the Socialist movement as the agency of + social and political reconstruction. So rapidly did it gain in membership + and influence that by 1892 it was able to present itself as an organized + national party appealing to public opinion for confidence and support, + submitting its claims to public discussion, and stating its case upon + reasonable grounds. Although its membership was small in comparison with + that of the old parties, the disparity was not so great as it seemed, + since the Socialists represented active intelligence while the other + parties represented political inertia. From this time on, Socialist views + spread among college students, artists, and men of letters, and the + academic Socialist became a familiar figure in American society. + </p> + <p> + Probably more significant than the Socialist movement, as an indication of + the popular demand for radical reform in the government of the country, + was the New York campaign of Henry George in 1886. He was a San Francisco + printer and journalist when he published the work on "Progress and + Poverty" which made him famous. Upon the petition of over thirty thousand + citizens, he became the Labor candidate for mayor of New York City. The + movement in support of George developed so much strength that the regular + parties felt compelled to put forward exceptionally strong candidates. The + Democrats nominated Abram S. Hewitt, a man of the highest type of + character, a fact which was not perhaps so influential in getting him the + nomination as that he was the son-in-law of Peter Cooper, a philanthropist + justly beloved by the working classes. The Republicans nominated Theodore + Roosevelt, who had already distinguished himself by his energy of + character and zeal for reform. Hewitt was elected, but George received + 68,110 votes out of a total of 219,679, and stood second in the poll. His + supporters contended that he had really been elected but had been counted + out, and this belief turned their attention to the subject of ballot + reform. To the agitation which Henry George began, may be fairly ascribed + the general adoption of the Australian ballot in the United States. + </p> + <p> + The Socialist propaganda carried on in large cities and in factory towns + hardly touched the great mass of the people of the United States, who + belonged to the farm rather than to the workshop. The great agricultural + class, which had more weight at the polls than any other class of + citizens, was much interested in the redress of particular grievances and + very little in any general reform of the governmental system. It is a + class that is conservative in disposition but distrustful of authority, + impatient of what is theoretical and abstract, and bent upon the quick + practical solution of problems by the nearest and simplest means. While + the Socialists in the towns were interested in labor questions, the + farmers more than any other class were affected by the defective system of + currency supply. The national banking system had not been devised to meet + industrial needs but as a war measure to provide a market for government + bonds, deposits of which had to be made as the basis of note issues. As + holdings of government bonds were amassed in the East, financial + operations tended to confine themselves to that part of the country, and + banking facilities seemed to be in danger of becoming a sectional + monopoly, and such, indeed, was the case to a marked extent. This + situation inspired among the farmers, especially in the agricultural West, + a hatred of Wall Street and a belief in the existence of a malign money + power which provided an inexhaustible fund of sectional feeling for + demagogic exploitation. + </p> + <p> + For lack of proper machinery of credit for carrying on the process of + exchange, there seemed to be an absolute shortage in the amount of money + in circulation, and it was this circumstance that had given such force to + the Greenback Movement. Although that movement was defeated, its + supporters urged that, if the Government could not supply additional note + issues, it should at least permit an increase in the stock of coined + money. This feeling was so strong that as early as 1877 the House had + passed a bill for the free coinage of silver. For this, the Senate + substituted a measure requiring the purchase and coinage by the Government + of from two to four million dollars' worth of silver monthly, and this + compromise was accepted by the House. As a result, in February, 1878, it + was passed over President Hayes's veto. + </p> + <p> + The operation of this act naturally tended to cause the hoarding of gold + as the cheaper silver was equally a legal tender, and meanwhile the silver + dollars did not tend to pass into circulation. In 1885, in his first + annual message to Congress, President Cleveland mentioned the fact that, + although 215,759,431 silver dollars had been coined, only about fifty + million had found their way into circulation, and that "every month two + millions of gold in the public Treasury are paid out for two millions or + more of silver dollars to be added to the idle mass already accumulated." + The process was draining the stock of gold in the Treasury and forcing the + country to a silver basis without really increasing the amount of money in + actual circulation or removing any of the difficulties in the way of + obtaining supplies of currency for business transactions. President + Cleveland recommended the repeal of the Silver Coinage Act, but he had no + plan to offer by which the genuine complaints of the people against the + existing monetary system could be removed. Free silver thus was allowed to + stand before the people as the only practical proposal for their relief, + and upon this issue a conflict soon began between Congress and the + Administration. + </p> + <p> + At a convention of the American Bankers' Association in September, 1885, a + New York bank president described the methods by which the Treasury + Department was restricting the operation of the Silver Coinage Act so as + to avoid a displacement of the gold standard. On February 3, 1886, + Chairman Bland of the House committee on coinage reported a resolution + reciting statements made in that address, and calling upon the Secretary + of the Treasury for a detailed account of his administration of the Silver + Coinage Act. Secretary Manning's reply was a long and weighty argument + against continuing the coinage of silver. He contended that there was no + hope of maintaining a fixed ratio between gold and silver except by + international concert of action, but "the step is one which no European + nation... will consent to take while the direct or indirect substitution + of European silver for United States gold seems a possibility." While + strong as to what not to do, his reply, like most of the state papers of + this period, was weak as to what to do and how to do it. The outlook of + the Secretary of the Treasury was so narrow that he was led to remark that + "a delusion has spread that the Government has authority to fix the amount + of the people's currency, and the power, and the duty." The Government + certainly has the power and the duty of providing adequate currency supply + through a sound banking system. The instinct of the people on that point + was sounder than the view of their rulers. + </p> + <p> + Secretary Manning's plea had so little effect that the House promptly + voted to suspend the rules in order to make a free coinage bill the + special order of business until it was disposed of. But the influence of + the Administration was strong enough to defeat the bill when it came to a + vote. Though for a time, the legislative advance of the silver movement + was successfully resisted, the Treasury Department was left in a difficult + situation, and the expedients to which it resorted to guard the gold + supply added to the troubles of the people in the matter of obtaining + currency. The quick way of getting gold from the Treasury was to present + legal tender notes for redemption. To keep this process in check, legal + tender notes were impounded as they came in, and silver certificates were + substituted in disbursements. But under the law of 1878, silver + certificates could not be issued in denominations of less than ten + dollars. A scarcity of small notes resulted, which oppressed retail trade + until, in August, 1886, Congress authorized the issue of silver + certificates in one and two and five dollar bills. + </p> + <p> + A more difficult problem was presented by the Treasury surplus which, by + old regulations savoring more of barbarism than of civilized polity, had + to be kept idle in the Treasury vaults. The only apparent means by which + the Secretary of the Treasury could return his surplus funds to the + channels of trade was by redeeming government bonds; but as these were the + basis of bank note issues, the effect of any such action was to produce a + sharp contraction in this class of currency. Between 1882 and 1889, + national bank notes declined in amount from $356,060,348 to $199,779,011. + In the same period, the issue of silver certificates increased from + $63,204,780 to $276,619,715, and the total amount of currency of all sorts + nominally increased from $1,188,752,363 to $1,405,018,000; but of this, + $375,947,715 was in gold coin which was being hoarded, and national bank + notes were almost equally scarce since they were virtually government + bonds in a liquid form. + </p> + <p> + As the inefficiency of the monetary system came home to the people in + practical experience, it seemed as if they were being plagued and + inconvenienced in every possible way. The conditions were just such as + would spread disaffection among the farmers, and their discontent sought + an outlet. The growth of political agitation in the agricultural class, + accompanied by a thorough-going disapproval of existing party leadership, + gave rise to numerous new party movements. Delegates from the Agricultural + Wheel, the Corn-Planters, the Anti-Monopolists, Farmers' Alliance, and + Grangers, attended a convention in February, 1887, and joined the Knights + of Labor and the Greenbackers to form the United Labor party. In the + country, at this time, there were numerous other labor parties of local + origin and composition, with trade unionists predominating in some places + and Socialists in others. Very early, however, these parties showed a + tendency to division that indicated a clash of incompatible elements. + Single taxers, greenbackers, labor leaders, grangers, and socialists were + agreed only in condemning existing public policy. When they came to + consider the question of what new policy should be adopted, they + immediately manifested irreconcilable differences. In 1888, rival national + conventions were held in Cincinnati, one designating itself as the Union + Labor party, the other as the United Labor party. One made a schedule of + particular demands; the other insisted on the single tax as the + consummation of their purpose in seeking reform. Both put presidential + tickets in the field, but of the two, the Union Labor party made by far + the better showing at the polls though, even so, it polled fewer votes + than did the National Prohibition party. Although making no very + considerable showing at the polls, these new movements were very + significant as evidences of popular unrest. The fact that the heaviest + vote of the Union Labor party was polled in the agricultural States of + Kansas, Missouri, and Texas, was a portent of the sweep of the populist + movement which virtually captured the Democratic party organization during + President Cleveland's second term. + </p> + <p> + The withdrawal of Blaine from the list of presidential candidates in 1888 + left the Republican Convention at Chicago to choose from a score of + "favorite sons." Even his repeated statement that he would not accept the + nomination did not prevent his enthusiastic followers from hoping that the + convention might be "stampeded." But on the first ballot, Blaine received + only thirty-five votes while John Sherman led with 229. It was anybody's + race until the eighth ballot, when General Benjamin Harrison, grandson of + "Tippecanoe," suddenly forged ahead and received the nomination. + </p> + <p> + The defeat of the Democratic party at the polls in the presidential + election of 1888 was less emphatic than might have been expected from its + sorry record. Indeed, it is quite possible that an indiscretion in which + Lord Sackville-West, the British Ambassador, was caught may have turned + the scale. An adroitly worded letter was sent to him, purporting to come + from Charles Murchison, a California voter of English birth, asking + confidential advice which might enable the writer "to assure many of our + countrymen that they would do England a service by voting for Cleveland + and against the Republican system of tariff." With an astonishing lack of + astuteness, the British minister fell into the trap and sent a reply + which, while noncommittal on particulars, exhibited friendly interest in + the reelection of President Cleveland. This correspondence, when published + late in the campaign, caused the Administration to demand his recall. A + spirited statement of the case was laid before the public by Thomas + Francis Bayard, Secretary of State, a few days before the election, but + this was not enough to undo the harm that had been done, and the Murchison + letter takes rank with the Morey letter attributed to General Garfield as + specimens of the value of the campaign lie as a weapon in American party + politics. + </p> + <p> + President Cleveland received a slight plurality in the total popular vote; + but by small pluralities Harrison carried the big States, thus obtaining a + heavy majority in the electoral vote. At the same time, the Republicans + obtained nearly as large a majority in the House as the Democrats had had + before. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0008" id="link2HCH0008"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER VIII. THE REPUBLICAN OPPORTUNITY + </h2> + <p> + The Republican party had the inestimable advantage in the year 1889 of + being able to act. It controlled the Senate which had become the seat of + legislative authority; it controlled the House; and it had placed its + candidate in the presidential chair. All branches of the Government were + now in party accord. The leaders in both Houses were able men, experienced + in the diplomacy which, far more than argument or conviction, produces + congressional action. Benjamin Harrison himself had been a member of the + ruling group of Senators, and as he was fully imbued with their ideas as + to the proper place of the President he was careful to avoid interference + with legislative procedure. Such was the party harmony that an extensive + program of legislation was put through without serious difficulty, after + obstruction had been overcome in the House by an amendment of the rules. + </p> + <p> + In the House of Representatives, the quorum is a majority of the whole + membership. This rule enabled the minority to stop business at any time + when the majority party was not present in sufficient strength to maintain + the quorum by its own vote. On several occasions, the Democrats left the + House nominally without a quorum by the subterfuge of refusing to answer + to their names on the roll call. Speaker Reed determined to end this + practice by counting as present any members actually in the chamber. To + the wrath of the minority, he assumed this authority while a revision of + the rules was pending. The absurdity of the Democratic position was + naively exposed when a member arose with a law book in his hand and said, + "I deny your right, Mr. Speaker, to count me as present, and I desire to + read from the parliamentary law on the subject." Speaker Reed, with the + nasal drawl that was his habit, replied, "The Chair is making a statement + of fact that the gentleman from Kentucky is present? Does he deny it?" The + rejoinder was so apposite that the House broke into a roar of laughter, + and the Speaker carried his point. + </p> + <p> + Undoubtedly, Speaker Reed was violating all precedents. Facilities of + obstruction had been cherished by both parties, and nothing short of + Reed's earnestness and determination could have effected this salutary + reform. The fact has since been disclosed that he had made up his mind to + resign the Speakership and retire from public life had his party failed to + support him. For three days, the House was a bedlam, but the Speaker bore + himself throughout with unflinching courage and unruffled composure. + Eventually he had his way. New rules were adopted, and the power to count + a quorum was established.* When in later Congresses a Democratic majority + returned to the former practice, Reed gave them such a dose of their own + medicine that for weeks the House was unable to keep a quorum. Finally, + the House was forced to return to the "Reed rules" which have since then + been permanently retained. As a result of congressional example, they have + been generally adopted by American legislative bodies, with a marked + improvement in their capacity to do business. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + * The rule that "no dilatory motion shall be entertained by the +Speaker" was also adopted at this time. +</pre> + <p> + With the facilities of action which they now possessed, the Republican + leaders had no difficulty in getting rid of the surplus in the Treasury. + Indeed, in this particular they could count on Democratic aid. The main + conduit which they used was an increase of pension expenditures. President + Harrison encouraged a spirit of broad liberality toward veterans of the + Civil War. During the campaign he said that it "was no time to be weighing + the claims of old soldiers with apothecary's scales," and he put this + principle of generous recognition into effect by appointing as + commissioner of pensions a robust partisan known as "Corporal" Tanner. The + report went abroad that on taking office he had gleefully declared, "God + help the surplus," and upon that maxim he acted with unflinching vigor. It + seemed, indeed, as if any claim could count upon being allowed so long as + it purported to come from an old soldier. But Tanner's ambition was not + satisfied with an indulgent consideration of applications pending during + his time; he reopened old cases, rerated a large number of pensioners, and + increased the amount of their allowance. In some cases, large sums were + granted as arrears due on the basis of the new rate. A number of officers + of the pension bureau were thus favored, for a man might receive a pension + on the score of disability though still able to hold office and draw its + salary and emoluments. For example, the sum of $4300 in arrears was + declared to be due to a member of the United States Senate, Charles F. + Manderson of Nebraska. Finally, "Corporal" Tanner's extravagant management + became so intolerable to the Secretary of the Interior that he confronted + President Harrison with the choice of accepting his resignation or + dismissing Tanner. Tanner therefore had to go, and with him his system of + reratings. + </p> + <p> + A pension bill for dependents, such as Cleveland had vetoed, now went + triumphantly through Congress.* It granted pensions of from six to twelve + dollars a month to all persons who had served for ninety days in the Civil + War and had thereby been incapacitated for manual labor to such a degree + as to be unable to support themselves. Pensions were also granted to + widows, minor children, and dependent parents. This law brought in an + enormous flood of claims in passing, upon which it was the policy of the + Pension Bureau to practice great indulgence. In one instance, a pension + was granted to a claimant who had enlisted but never really served in the + army as he had deserted soon after entering the camp. He thereupon had + been sentenced to hard labor for one year and made to forfeit all pay and + allowances. After the war, he had been convicted of horse stealing and + sent to the state penitentiary in Wisconsin. While serving his term, he + presented a pension claim supported by forged testimony to the effect that + he had been wounded in the battle of Franklin. The fraud was discovered by + a special examiner of the pension office, and the claimant and some of his + witnesses were tried for perjury, convicted, and sent to the state + penitentiary at Joliet, Illinois. After serving his time there, he posed + as a neglected old soldier and succeeded in obtaining letters from + sympathetic Congressmen commending his case to the attention of the + pension office, but without avail until the Act of 1890 was passed. He + then put in a claim which was twice rejected by the pension office + examiners, but each time the decision was overruled, and in the end he was + put upon the pension roll. This case is only one of many made possible by + lax methods of investigating pension claims. Senator Gallinger of New + Hampshire eventually said of the effect of pension policy, as shaped by + his own party with his own aid: + </p> + <p> + "If there was any soldier on the Union side during the Civil War who was + not a good soldier, who has not received a pension, I do not know who he + is. He can always find men of his own type, equally poor soldiers who + would swear that they knew he had been in a hospital at a certain time, + whether he was or not—the records did not state it, but they knew it + was so—and who would also swear that they knew he had received a + shock which affected his hearing during a certain battle, or that + something else had happened to him; and so all those pension claims, many + of which are worthless, have been allowed by the Government, because they + were 'proved.'" + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + * June 27, 1890. +</pre> + <p> + The increase in the expenditure for pensions, which rose from $88,000,000 + in 1889 to $159,000,000 in 1893, swept away much of the surplus in the + Treasury. Further inroads were made by the enactment of the largest river + and harbor appropriation bill in the history of the country up to this + time. Moreover, a new tariff bill was contrived in such a way as to impose + protective duties without producing so much revenue that it would cause + popular complaint about unnecessary taxation. A large source of revenue + was cut off by abolishing the sugar duties and by substituting a system of + bounties to encourage home production. Upon this bill as a whole, Senator + Cullom remarks in his memoirs that "it was a high protective tariff, + dictated by the manufacturers of the country" who have "insisted upon + higher duties than they really ought to have." The bill was, indeed, made + up wholly with the view of protecting American manufactures from any + foreign competition in the home market. + </p> + <p> + As passed by the House, not only did the bill ignore American commerce + with other countries but it left American consumers exposed to the + manipulation of prices on the part of other countries. Practically all the + products of tropical America, except tobacco, had been placed upon the + free list without any precaution lest the revenue thus surrendered might + not be appropriated by other countries by means of export taxes. Blaine, + who was once more Secretary of State, began a vigorous agitation in favor + of adding reciprocity provisions to the bill. When the Senate showed a + disposition to resent his interference, Blaine addressed to Senator Frye + of Maine a letter which was in effect an appeal to the people, and which + greatly stirred the farmers by its statement that "there is not a section + or a line in the entire bill that will open the market for another bushel + of wheat or another barrel of pork." The effect was so marked that the + Senate yielded, and the Tariff Bill, as finally enacted, gave the + President power to impose certain duties on sugar, molasses, coffee, tea, + and hides imported from any country imposing on American goods duties, + which, in the opinion of the President, were "reciprocally unequal and + unreasonable." This more equitable result is to be ascribed wholly to + Blaine's energetic and capable leadership. + </p> + <p> + Pending the passage of the Tariff Bill, the Senate had been wrestling with + the trust problem which was making a mockery of a favorite theory of the + Republicans. They had held that tariff protection benefited the consumer + by the stimulus which it gave to home production and by ensuring a supply + of articles on as cheap terms as American labor could afford. There were, + however, notorious facts showing that certain corporations had taken + advantage of the situation to impose high prices, especially upon the + American consumer. It was a campaign taunt that the tariff held the people + down while the trusts went through their pockets, and to this charge the + Republicans found it difficult to make a satisfactory reply. + </p> + <p> + The existence of such economic injustice was continually urged in support + of popular demands for the control of corporations by the Government. + Though the Republican leaders were much averse to providing such control, + they found inaction so dangerous that on January 14, 1890, Senator John + Sherman reported from the Finance Committee a vague but peremptory statute + to make trade competition compulsory. This was the origin of the AntiTrust + Law which has since gone by his name, although the law actually passed was + framed by the Senate judiciary committee. The first section declared that + "every contract, combination in the form of trust or otherwise, or + conspiracy, in restraint of trade or commerce among the several States, or + with foreign nations, is hereby declared to be illegal." The law made no + attempt to define the offenses it penalized and created no machinery for + enforcing its provisions, but it gave jurisdiction over alleged violations + to the courts—a favorite congressional mode of getting rid of + troublesome responsibilities. As a result, the courts have been struggling + with the application of the law ever since, without being able to develop + a clear or consistent rule for discriminating between legal and illegal + combinations in trade and commerce. Even upon the financial question, the + Republicans succeeded in maintaining party harmony, notwithstanding a + sharp conflict between factions. William Windom, the Secretary of the + Treasury, had prepared a bill of the type known as a "straddle." It + offered the advocates of free coinage the right to send to the mint silver + bullion in any quantity and to receive in return the net market value of + the bullion in treasury notes redeemable in gold or silver coin at the + option of the Government. The monthly purchase of not less than $2,000,000 + worth of bullion was, however, no longer to be required by law. When the + advocates of silver insisted that the provision for bullion purchase was + too vague, a substitute was prepared which definitely required the + Secretary of the Treasury to purchase 4,500,000 ounces of silver bullion + in one month. The bill, as thus amended, was put through the House under + special rule by a strict party vote. But when the bill reached the Senate, + the former party agreement could no longer be maintained, and the + Republican leaders lost control of the situation. The free silver + Republicans combined with most of the Democrats to substitute a free + coinage bill, which passed the Senate by forty-three yeas to twenty-four + nays, all the negative votes save three coming from the Republican side. + </p> + <p> + It took all the influence the party leaders could exert to prevent a + silver stampede in the House when the Senate substitute bill was brought + forward; but by dexterous management, a vote of non-concurrence was passed + and a committee of conference was appointed. The Republican leaders now + found themselves in a situation in which presidential non-interference + ceased to be desirable, but president Harrison could not be stirred to + action. He would not even state his views. As Senator Sherman remarked in + his "Recollections," "The situation at that time was critical. A large + majority of the Senate favored free silver, and it was feared that the + small majority against it in the other House might yield and agree to it. + The silence of the President on the matter gave rise to an apprehension + that if a free coinage bill should pass both Houses, he would not feel at + liberty to veto it." + </p> + <p> + In this emergency, the Republican leaders appealed to their free silver + party associates to be content with compelling the Treasury to purchase + 4,500,000 ounces of silver per month, which it was wrongly calculated + would cover the entire output of American mines. The force of party + discipline eventually prevailed, and the Republican party got together on + this compromise. The bill was adopted in both Houses by a strict party + vote, with the Democrats solidly opposed, and was finally enacted on July + 14, 1890. + </p> + <p> + Thus by relying upon political tactics, the managers of the Republican + party were able to reconcile conflicting interests, maintain party + harmony, and present a record of achievement which they hoped to make + available in the fall elections. But while they had placated the party + factions, they had done nothing to satisfy the people as a whole or to + redress their grievances. The slowness of congressional procedure in + matters of legislative reform allowed the amplest opportunity to + unscrupulous business men to engage, in the meantime, in profiteering at + the public expense. They were able to lay in stocks of goods at the old + rates so that an increase of customs rates, for example, became an + enormous tax upon consumers without a corresponding gain to the Treasury; + for the yield was largely intercepted on private accounts by an advance in + prices. The Tariff Bill, which William McKinley reported on April 16, + 1890, became law only on the 1st of October, so there were over five + months during which profiteers could stock at old rates for sales at the + new rates and thus reap a rich harvest. The public, however, was + infuriated, and popular sentiment was so stirred by the methods of retail + trade that the politicians were both angered and dismayed. Whenever + purchasers complained of an increase of price, they received the + apparently plausible explanation, "Oh, the McKinley Bill did it." To + silence this popular discontent, the customary arts and cajoleries of the + politicians proved for once quite ineffectual. + </p> + <p> + At the next election, the Republicans carried only eighty-eight seats in + the House out of 332—the most crushing defeat they had yet + sustained. By their new lease of power in the House, however, the + Democratic party could not accomplish any legislation, as the Republicans + still controlled the Senate. The Democratic leaders, therefore, adopted + the policy of passing a series of bills attacking the tariff at what were + supposed to be particularly vulnerable points. These measures, the + Republicans derided as "pop-gun bills," and in the Senate they turned them + over to the committee on finance for burial. Both parties were rent by the + silver issue, but it was noticeable that in the House which was closest to + the people the opposition to the silver movement was stronger and more + effective than in the Senate. + </p> + <p> + Notwithstanding the popular revolt against the Republican policy which was + disclosed by the fall elections of 1890, President Harrison's annual + message of December 9, 1891, was marked by extreme complacency. Great + things, he assured the people, were being accomplished under his + administration. The results of the McKinley Bill "have disappointed the + evil prophecies of its opponents and in large measure realized the hopeful + predictions of its friends." Rarely had the country been so prosperous. + The foreign commerce of the United States had reached the largest total in + the history of the country. The prophecies made by the antisilver men + regarding disasters to result from the Silver Bullion Purchase Act, had + not been realized. The President remarked "that the increased volume of + currency thus supplied for the use of the people was needed and that + beneficial results upon trade and prices have followed this legislation I + think must be clear to every one." He held that the free coinage of silver + would be disastrous, as it would contract the currency by the withdrawal + of gold, whereas "the business of the world requires the use of both + metals." While "the producers of silver are entitled to just + consideration," it should be remembered that "bimetallism is the desired + end, and the true friends of silver will be careful not to overrun the + goal." In conclusion, the President expressed his great joy over "many + evidences of the increased unification of the people and of the revived + national spirit. The vista that now opens to us is wider and more glorious + than before. Gratification and amazement struggle for supremacy as we + contemplate the population, wealth, and moral strength of our country." + </p> + <p> + Though the course of events has yet to be fully explained, President + Harrison's dull pomposity may have been the underlying reason of the + aversion which Blaine now began to manifest. Although on Harrison's side + and against Blaine, Senator Cullom remarks in his memoirs that Harrison + had "a very cold, distant temperament," and that "he was probably the most + unsatisfactory President we ever had in the White House to those who must + necessarily come into personal contact with him." Cullom is of the opinion + that "jealousy was probably at the bottom of their disaffection," but it + appears to be certain that at this time Blaine had renounced all ambition + to be President and energetically discouraged any movement in favor of his + candidacy. On February 6, 1892, he wrote to the chairman of the Republican + National Committee that he was not a candidate and that his name would not + go before the convention. President Harrison went ahead with his + arrangements for renomination, with no sign of opposition from Blaine. + Then suddenly, on the eve of the convention, something happened—exactly + what has yet to be discovered—which caused Blaine to resign the + office of Secretary of State. It soon became known that Blaine's name + would be presented, although he had not announced himself as a candidate. + Blaine's health was then broken, and it was impossible that he could have + imagined that his action would defeat Harrison. It could not have been + meant for more than a protest. Harrison was renominated on the first + ballot with Blaine a poor second in the poll. + </p> + <p> + In the Democratic convention, Cleveland, too, was renominated on the first + ballot, in the face of a bitter and outspoken opposition. The solid vote + of his own State, New York, was polled against him under the unit rule, + and went in favor of David B. Hill. But even with this large block of + votes to stand upon, Hill was able to get only 113 votes in all, while + Cleveland received 616. Genuine acceptance of his leadership, however, did + not at all correspond with this vote. Cleveland had come out squarely + against free silver, and at least eight of the Democratic state + conventions—in Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Kansas, Nevada, + South Carolina, and Texas—came out just as definitely in favor of + free silver. But even delegates who were opposed to Cleveland, and who + listened with glee to excoriating speeches against him forthwith, voted + for him as the candidate of greatest popular strength. They then solaced + their feelings by nominating a free silver man for Vice-President, who was + made the more acceptable by his opposition to civil service reform. The + ticket thus straddled the main issue; and the platform was similarly + ambiguous. It denounced the Silver Purchase Act as "a cowardly makeshift" + which should be repealed, and it declared in favor of "the coinage of both + gold and silver without discrimination," with the provision that "the + dollar unit of coinage of both metals must be of equal intrinsic and + exchangeable value." The Prohibition party in that year came out for the + "free and unlimited coinage of silver and gold." A more significant sign + of the times was the organization of the "People's party," which held its + first convention and nominated the old Greenback leader, James B. Weaver + of Iowa, on a free silver platform. + </p> + <p> + The campaign was accompanied by labor disturbances of unusual extent and + violence. Shortly after the meeting of the national conventions, a contest + began between the powerful Amalgamated Association of Steel and Iron + Workers, the strongest of the trade-unions, and the Carnegie Company over + a new wage scale introduced in the Homestead mills. The strike began on + June 29, 1892, and local authority at once succumbed to the strikers. In + anticipation of this eventuality, the company had arranged to have three + hundred Pinkerton men act as guards. They arrived in Pittsburgh during the + night of the 5th of July and embarked on barges which were towed up the + river to Homestead. As they approached, the strikers turned out to meet + them, and an engagement ensued in which men were killed or wounded on both + sides and the Pinkerton men were defeated and driven away. For a short + time, the strikers were in complete possession of the town and of the + company's property. They preserved order fairly well but kept a strict + watch that no strike breakers should approach or attempt to resume work. + The government of Pennsylvania was, for a time, completely superseded in + that region by the power of the Amalgamated Association, until a large + force of troops entered Homestead on the 12th of July and remained in + possession of the place for several months. The contest between the + strikers and the company caused great excitement throughout the country, + and a foreign anarchist from New York attempted to assassinate Mr. Frick, + the managing director of the company. Though this strike was caused by + narrow differences concerning only the most highly paid classes of + workers, it continued for some months and then ended in the complete + defeat of the union. + </p> + <p> + On the same day that the militia arrived at Homestead, a more bloody and + destructive conflict occurred in the Coeur d'Alene district of Idaho, + where the workers in the silver mines were on strike. Nonunion men were + imported and put into some of the mines. The strikers, armed with rifles + and dynamite, thereupon attacked the nonunion men and drove them off, but + many lives were lost in the struggle and much property was destroyed. The + strikers proved too strong for any force which state authority could + muster, but upon the call of the Governor, President Harrison ordered + federal troops to the scene and under martial law order was soon restored. + </p> + <p> + Further evidence of popular unrest was given in August by a strike of the + switchmen in the Buffalo railway yards, which paralyzed traffic until + several thousand state troops were put on guard. About the same time, + there were outbreaks in the Tennessee coal districts in protest against + the employment of convict labor in the mines. Bands of strikers seized the + mines, and in some places turned loose the convicts and in other places + escorted them back to prison. As a result of this disturbance, during 1892 + state troops were permanently stationed in the mining districts, and + eventually the convicts were put back at labor in the mines. + </p> + <p> + Such occurrences infused bitterness into the campaign of 1892 and strongly + affected the election returns. Weaver carried Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, and + Nevada, and he got one electoral vote in Oregon and in North Dakota; but + even if these twenty-two electoral votes had gone to Harrison, he would + still have been far behind Cleveland, who received 277 electoral votes out + of a total of 444. Harrison ran only about 381,000 behind Cleveland in the + popular vote, but in four States, the Democrats had nominated no electors + and their votes had contributed to the poll of over a million for Weaver. + The Democratic victory was so sweeping that it gained the Senate as well + as the House, and now for the first time a Democratic President was in + accord with both branches of Congress. It was soon to appear, however, + that this party accord was merely nominal. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0009" id="link2HCH0009"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER IX. THE FREE SILVER REVOLT + </h2> + <p> + The avenging consequences of the Silver Purchase Act moved so rapidly that + when John Griffin Carlisle took office as Secretary of the Treasury in + 1893, the gold reserve had fallen to $100,982,410—only $982,410 + above the limit indicated by the Act of 1882—and the public credit + was shaken by the fact that it was an open question whether the government + obligation to pay a dollar was worth so much or only one half so much. The + latter interpretation, indeed, seemed impending. The new Secretary's first + step was to adopt the makeshift expedient of his predecessors. He appealed + to the banks for gold and backed up by patriotic exhortation from the + press, he did obtain almost twenty-five millions in gold in exchange for + notes. But as even more notes drawing out the gold were presented for + redemption, the Secretary's efforts were no more successful than carrying + water in a sieve. + </p> + <p> + Of the notes presented for redemption during March and April, nearly + one-half were treasury notes of 1890, which by law the Secretary might + redeem "in gold or silver coin at his discretion." The public was now + alarmed by a rumor that Secretary Carlisle, who while in Congress had + voted for free silver, would resort to silver payments on this class of + notes, and regarded his statements as being noncommittal on the point. + Popular alarm was, to some extent, dispelled by a statement from President + Cleveland, on the 23rd of April, declaring flatly and unmistakably that + redemption in gold would be maintained. But the financial situation + throughout the country was such that nothing could stave off the impending + panic. Failures were increasing in number, some large firms broke under + the strain, and the final stroke came on the 5th of May when the National + Cordage Company went into bankruptcy. As often happens in the history of + panics, the event was trivial in comparison with the consequences. This + company was of a type that is the reproach of American jurisprudence—the + marauding corporation. In the very month in which it failed, it declared a + large cash dividend. Its stock, which had sold at 147 in January, fell in + May to below ten dollars a share. Though the Philadelphia and Reading + Railway Company, which failed in February, had a capital of $40,000,000 + and a debt of more than $125,000,000, the market did not break completely + under that strain. The National Cordage had a capital of $20,000,000 and + liabilities of only $10,000,000, but its collapse brought down with it the + whole structure of credit. A general movement of liquidation set in, which + throughout the West was so violent as to threaten general bankruptcy. + Nearly all of the national bank failures were in the West and South, and + still more extensive was the wreck of state banks and private banks. It + had been the practice of country banks, while firmly maintaining local + rates, to keep the bulk of their resources on deposit with city banks at + two per cent. This practice now proved to be a fatal entanglement to many + institutions. There were instances in which country banks were forced to + suspend, though cash resources were actually on the way to them from + depository centers.* + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + * Out of 158 national bank failures during the year, 153 were in +the West and South. In addition there went down 172 state banks, 177 +private banks, 47 savings banks, 13 loan and trust companies, and 6 +mortgage companies. +</pre> + <p> + Even worse than the effect of these numerous failures on the business + situation was the derangement which occurred in the currency supply. The + circulating medium was almost wholly composed of bank notes, treasury + notes, and treasury certificates issued against gold and silver in the + Treasury, coin being little in use except as fractional currency. Bank + notes were essentially treasury certificates issued upon deposits of + government bonds. In effect, the circulating medium was composed of + government securities reduced to handy bits. Usually, a bank panic tends + to bring note issues into rapid circulation for what they will fetch, but + in this new situation, people preferred to impound the notes, which they + knew to be good whatever happened so long as the Government held out. + Private hoarding became so general that currency tended to disappear. + Between September 30, 1892 and October 31, 1893, the amount of deposits in + the national banks shrank over $496,000,000. Trade was reduced to making + use of the methods of primitive barter, though the emergency was met to + some extent by the use of checks and clearinghouse certificates. In many + New England manufacturing towns, for example, checks for use in trade were + drawn in denominations from one dollar up to twenty. In some cases, + corporations paid off their employees in checks drawn on their own + treasurers which served as local currency. In some Southern cities, + clearing-house certificates in small denominations were issued for general + circulation—in Birmingham, Alabama, for sums as small as twenty-five + cents. It is worth noting that a premium was paid as readily for notes as + for gold; indeed, the New York "Financial Chronicle" reported that the + premium on currency was from two to three per cent, while the premium on + gold was only one and one half per cent. Before the panic had ended, the + extraordinary spectacle was presented of gold coins serving as a medium of + trade because treasury notes and bank notes were still hoarded. These + peculiarities of the situation had a deep effect upon the popular attitude + towards the measures recommended by the Administration. + </p> + <p> + While this devastating panic was raging over all the country, President + Cleveland was beset by troubles that were both public and personal. He was + under heavy pressure from the office seekers. They came singly or in + groups and under the escort of Congressmen, some of whom performed such + service several times a day. The situation became so intolerable that on + the 8th of May President Cleveland issued an executive order setting forth + that "a due regard for public duty, which must be neglected if present + conditions continue, and an observance of the limitations placed upon + human endurance, oblige me to decline, from and after this date, all + personal interviews with those seeking office." + </p> + <p> + According to the Washington papers, this sensible decision was received + with a tremendous outburst of indignation. The President was denounced for + shutting his doors upon the people who had elected him, and he was + especially severely criticized for the closing sentence of his order + stating that "applicants for office will only prejudice their prospects by + repeated importunity and by remaining at Washington to await results." + This order was branded as an arbitrary exercise of power compelling free + American citizens to choose exile or punishment, and was featured in the + newspapers all over the country. The hubbub became sufficient to extract + from Cleveland's private secretary an explanatory statement pointing out + that in the President's day a regular allotment of time was made for + congressional and business callers other than the office seekers, for whom + a personal interview was of no value since the details of their cases + could not be remembered. "What was said in behalf of one man was driven + out of mind by the remarks of the next man in line," whereas testimonials + sent through the mails went on file and received due consideration. "So + many hours a day having been given up to the reception of visitors, it has + been necessary, in order to keep up with the current work, for the + President to keep at his desk from early in the morning into the small + hours of the next morning. Now that may do for a week or for a month, but + there is a limit to human physical endurance, and it has about been + reached." + </p> + <p> + Such were the distracting conditions under which President Cleveland had + to deal with the tremendous difficulties of national import which beset + him. There were allusions in his inaugural address which showed how keenly + he felt the weight of his many responsibilities, and there is a touch of + pathos in his remark that he took "much comfort in remembering that my + countrymen are just and generous, and in the assurance that they will not + condemn those who by sincere devotion to their service deserve their + forbearance and approval." This hope of Cleveland's was eventually + justified, but not until after his public career had ended; meanwhile he + had to undergo a storm of censure so blasting that it was more like a + volcanic rain of fire and lava than any ordinary tempest, however violent. + </p> + <p> + On the 30th of June, President Cleveland called an extra session of + Congress for the 7th of August "to the end that the people may be relieved + through legislation from present and impending danger and distress." In + recent years, the fact has come to light that his health was at that time + in a condition so precarious that it would have caused wild excitement had + the truth become known, for only his life stood in the way of a free + silver President. On the same day on which he issued his call for the + extra session, President Cleveland left for New York ostensibly for a + yachting trip, but while the yacht was steaming slowly up the East River, + he was in the hands of surgeons who removed the entire left upper jaw. On + the 5th of July they performed another operation in the same region for + the removal of any tissues which might possibly have been infected. These + operations were so completely successful that the President was fitted + with an artificial jaw of vulcanized rubber which enabled him to speak + without any impairment of the strength and clearness of his voice.* + Immediately after this severe trial, which he bore with calm fortitude, + Cleveland had to battle with the raging silver faction, strong in its + legislative position through its control of the Senate. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + * For details, see New York "Times," Sept. 21, 1917. +</pre> + <p> + When Congress met, the only legislation which the President had to propose + was the repeal of the Silver Purchase Act, although he remarked that + "tariff reform has lost nothing of its immediate and permanent importance + and must in the near future engage the attention of Congress." It was a + natural inference, therefore, that the Administration had no financial + policy beyond putting a stop to treasury purchases of silver, and there + was a vehement outcry against an action which seemed to strike against the + only visible source of additional currency. President Cleveland was even + denounced as a tool of Wall Street, and the panic was declared to be the + result of a plot of British and American bankers against silver. + </p> + <p> + Nevertheless, on the 28th of August, the House passed a repeal bill by a + vote of 240 to 110. There was a long and violent struggle in the Senate, + where such representative anomalies existed that Nevada with a population + of 45,761 had the same voting power as New York with 5,997,853. Hence, at + first, it looked as if the passage of a repeal bill might be impossible. + Finally, the habit of compromise prevailed and a majority agreement was + reached postponing the date of repeal for twelve or eighteen months during + which the treasury stock of silver bullion was to be turned into coin. + Cleveland made it known that he would not consent to such an arrangement, + and the issue was thereafter narrowed to that of unconditional repeal of + the Silver Purchase Act. The Senators from the silver-mining States + carried on an obstinate filibuster and refused to allow the question to + come to a vote, until their arrogance was gradually toned down by the + discovery that the liberty to dump silver on the Treasury had become a + precarious mining asset. The law provided for the purchase of 4,500,000 + ounces a month, "or, so much thereof as may be offered at the market + price." Secretary Carlisle found that offers were frequently higher in + price than New York and London quotations, and by rejecting them he made a + considerable reduction in the amount purchased. Moreover, the silver ranks + began to divide on the question of policy. The Democratic silver Senators + wished to enlarge the circulating medium by increasing the amount of + coinage, and they did not feel the same interest in the mere stacking of + bullion in the Treasury that possessed the mining camp Senators on the + Republican side. When these two elements separated on the question of + policy, the representatives of the mining interests recognized the + hopelessness of preventing a vote upon the proposed repeal of the silver + purchase act. On the 30th of October, the Senate passed the repeal with no + essential difference from the House bill, and the bill became law on + November 1, 1893. + </p> + <p> + But although the repeal bill stopped the silver drain upon the Treasury, + it did not relieve the empty condition to which the Treasury had been + reduced. It was manifest that, if the gold standard was to be maintained, + the Treasury stock of gold would have to be replenished. The Specie + Resumption Act of 1875 authorized the sale of bonds "to prepare and + provide for" redemption of notes in coin, but the only classes of bonds + which it authorized were those at four per cent payable after thirty + years, four and a half per cent payable after fifteen years, and five per + cent payable after ten years from date. For many years, the Government had + been able to borrow at lower rates but had in vain besought Congress to + grant the necessary authority. The Government now appealed once more to + Congress for authority to issue bonds at a lower rate of interest. + Carlisle, the Secretary of the Treasury, addressed a letter to the Senate + committee of finance, setting forth the great saving that would be thus + effected. Then ensued what must be acknowledged to be a breakdown in + constitutional government. Immediately after a committee meeting on + January 16, 1894, the Chairman, Senator Voorhees, issued a public + statement in which he said that "it would be trifling with a very grave + affair to pretend that new legislation concerning the issue of bonds can + be accomplished at this time, and in the midst of present elements and + parties in public life, with elaborate, extensive, and practically + indefinite debate." Therefore, he held that "it will be wiser, safer and + better for the financial and business interests of the country to rely + upon existing law." This plainly amounted to a public confession that + Congress was so organized as to be incapable of providing for the public + welfare. + </p> + <p> + Carlisle decided to sell the ten-year class of bonds, compensating for + their high interest rate by exacting such a premium as would reduce to + three per cent the actual yield to holders. On January 17, 1894, he + offered bonds to the amount of fifty millions, but bids came in so slowly + that he found it necessary to visit New York to make a personal appeal to + a number of leading bankers to exert themselves to prevent the failure of + the sale. As a result of these efforts, the entire issue was sold at a + premium of $8,660,917, and the treasury stock of gold was brought up to + $107,440,802. + </p> + <p> + Then followed what is probably the most curious chapter in the financial + history of modern times. Only gold was accepted by the Treasury in payment + of bonds; but gold could be obtained by offering treasury notes for + redemption. The Act of 1878 expressly provided that, when redeemed, these + notes "shall not be retired, canceled, or destroyed, but they shall be + reissued and paid out again and kept in circulation." The Government, as + President Cleveland pointed out, was "forced to redeem without redemption + and pay without acquittance." These conditions set up against the Treasury + an endless chain by which note redemptions drained out the gold as fast as + bond sales poured it in. In a message to Congress on January 28, 1895, + President Cleveland pointed out that the Treasury had redeemed more than + $300,000,000 of its notes in gold, and yet these notes were all still + outstanding. Appeals to Congress to remedy the situation proved absolutely + fruitless, and the only choice left to the President was to continue + pumping operations or abandon the gold standard, as the silver faction in + Congress desired. By February 8, 1895, the stock of gold in the Treasury + was down to $41,340,181. The Administration met this sharp emergency by a + contract with a New York banking syndicate which agreed to deliver + 3,500,000 ounces of standard gold coin, at least one half to be obtained + in Europe. The syndicate was, moreover, to "exert all financial influence + and make all legitimate efforts to protect the Treasury of the United + States against the withdrawals of gold pending the complete performance of + the contract." + </p> + <p> + The replenishing of the Treasury by this contract was, however, only a + temporary relief. By January 6, 1896, the gold reserve was down to + $61,251,710. The Treasury now offered $100,000,000 of the four per cent + bonds for sale and put forth special efforts to make subscription popular. + Blanks for bids were displayed in all post-offices, a circular letter was + sent to all national banks, the movement was featured in the newspapers, + and the result was that 4635 bids were received coming from forty-seven + States and Territories, and amounting to $526,970,000. This great + oversubscription powerfully upheld the public credit and, thereafter, the + position of the Treasury remained secure; but altogether, $262,000,000 in + bonds had been sold to maintain its solvency. + </p> + <p> + Consideration of the management of American foreign relations during this + period does not enter into the scope of this book, but the fact should be + noted that the anxieties of public finance were aggravated by the menace + of war.* In the boundary dispute between British Guiana and Venezuela, + President Cleveland proposed arbitration, but this was refused by the + British Government. President Cleveland, whose foreign policy was always + vigorous and decisive, then sent a message to Congress on December 17, + 1895, describing the British position as an infringement of the Monroe + Doctrine and recommending that a commission should be appointed by the + United States to conduct an independent inquiry to determine the boundary + line in dispute. He significantly remarked that "in making these + recommendations I am fully alive to the responsibility incurred and keenly + realize all the consequences that may follow." The possibility of + conflict, thus hinted, was averted when Great Britain agreed to + arbitration, but meanwhile, American securities in great numbers were + thrown upon the market through sales of European account and added to the + financial strain. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + * See "The Path of Empire," by Carl Russell Fish (in "The +Chronicles of America"). +</pre> + <p> + The invincible determination which President Cleveland showed in this + memorable struggle to maintain the gold standard will always remain his + securest title to renown, but the admiration due to his constancy of soul + cannot be extended to his handling of the financial problem. It appears, + from his own account, that he was not well advised as to the extent and + nature of his financial resources. He did not know until February 7, 1895, + when Mr. J. P. Morgan called his attention to the fact, that among the + general powers of the Secretary of the Treasury is the provision that he + "may purchase coin with any of the bonds or notes of the United States + authorized by law, at such rates and upon such terms as he may deem most + advantageous to the public interest." The President was urged to proceed + under this law to buy $100,000,000 in gold at a fixed price, paying for it + in bonds. This advice Cleveland did not accept at the time, but in later + years he said that it was "a wise suggestion," and that he had "always + regretted that it was not adopted." + </p> + <p> + But apart from any particular error in the management of the Treasury, the + general policy of the Administration was much below the requirements of + the situation. The panic came to an end in the fall of 1893, much as a + great conflagration expires through having reached all the material on + which it can feed, but leaving a scene of desolation behind it. Thirteen + commercial houses out of every thousand doing business had failed. Within + two years, nearly one fourth of the total railway capitalization of the + country had gone into bankruptcy, involving an exposure of falsified + accounts sufficient to shatter public confidence in the methods of + corporations. Industrial stagnation and unemployment were prevalent + throughout the land. Meanwhile, the congressional situation was plainly + such that only a great uprising of public opinion could break the hold of + the silver faction. The standing committee system, which controls the + gateways of legislation, is made up on a system of party apportionment + whose effect is to give an insurgent faction of the majority the balance + of power, and this opportunity for mischief was unsparingly used by the + silver faction. + </p> + <p> + Such a situation could not be successfully encountered save by a policy + aimed distinctly at accomplishing a redress of popular grievances. But + such a policy, President Cleveland failed to conceive. In his inaugural + address, he indicated in a general way the policy pursued throughout his + term when he said, "I shall to the best of my ability and within my sphere + of duty preserve the Constitution by loyally protecting every grant of + Federal power it contains, by defending all its restraints when attacked + by impatience and restlessness, and by enforcing its limitations and + reservations in favor of the states and the people." This statement sets + forth a low view of governmental function and practically limits its + sphere to the office of the policeman, whose chief concern is to suppress + disorder. Statesmanship should go deeper and should labor in a + constructive way to remove causes of disorder. + </p> + <p> + An examination of President Cleveland's state papers show that his first + concern was always to relieve the Government from its financial + embarrassments; whereas the first concern of the people was naturally and + properly to find relief from their own embarrassments. In the last + analysis, the people were not made for the convenience of the Government, + but the Government was made for the convenience of the people, and this + truth was not sufficiently recognized in the policy of Cleveland's + administration. His guiding principle was stated, in the annual message, + December 3, 1894, as follows: "The absolute divorcement of the Government + from the business of banking is the ideal relationship of the Government + to the circulation of the currency of the country." That ideal, however, + is unattainable in any civilized country. The only great state in which it + has ever been actually adopted is China, and the results were not such as + to commend the system. The policy which yields the greatest practical + benefits is that which makes it the duty of the Government to supervise + and regulate the business of banking and to attend to currency supply; and + the currency troubles of the American people were not removed until + eventually their Government accepted and acted upon this view. + </p> + <p> + Not until his message of December 3, 1894, did President Cleveland make + any recommendation going to the root of the trouble, which was, after all, + the need of adequate provision for the currency supply. In that message, + he sketched a plan devised by Secretary Carlisle, allowing national banks + to issue notes up to seventy-five per cent of their actual capital and + providing also, under certain conditions, for the issue of circulating + notes by state banks without taxation. This plan, he said, "furnishes a + basis for a very great improvement in our present banking and currency + system." But in his subsequent messages, he kept urging that "the day of + sensible and sound financial methods will not dawn upon us until our + Government abandons the banking business." To effect this aim, he urged + that all treasury notes should be "withdrawn from circulation and + canceled," and he declared that he was "of opinion that we have placed too + much stress upon the danger of contracting the currency." Such proposals + addressed to a people agonized by actual scarcity of currency were utterly + impracticable, nor from any point of view can they be pronounced to have + been sound in the circumstances then existing. Until the banking system + was reformed, there was real danger of contracting the currency by a + withdrawal of treasury notes. President Cleveland was making a mistake to + which reformers are prone; he was taking the second step before he had + taken the first. The realization on the part of others that his efforts + were misdirected not only made it impossible for him to obtain any + financial legislation but actually fortified the position of the free + silver advocates by allowing them the advantage of being the only + political party with any positive plans for the redress of popular + grievances. Experts became convinced that statesmen at Washington were as + incompetent to deal with the banking problems as they had been in dealing + with reconstruction problems and that, in like manner, the regulation of + banking had better be abandoned to the States. A leading organ of the + business world pointed out that some of the state systems of note issue + had been better than the system of issuing notes through national banks + which had been substituted in 1862; and it urged that the gains would + exceed all disadvantages if state banks were again allowed to act as + sources of currency supply by a repeal of the government tax of ten per + cent on their circulation. But nothing came of this suggestion, which was, + indeed, a counsel of despair. It took many years of struggle and more + experiences of financial panic and industrial distress to produce a + genuine reform in the system of currency supply. + </p> + <p> + President Cleveland's messages suggest that he made up his mind to do what + he conceived to be his own duty regardless of consequences, whereas an + alert consideration of possible consequences is an integral part of the + duties of statesmanship. He persevered in his pension vetoes without + making any movement towards a change of system, and the only permanent + effect of his crusade was an alteration of procedure on the part of + Congress in order to evade the veto power. Individual pension bills are + still introduced by the thousand at every session of Congress, but since + President Cleveland's time all those approved have been included in one + omnibus bill, known as a "pork barrel bill," which thus collects enough + votes from all quarters to ensure passage. + </p> + <p> + President Cleveland found another topic for energetic remonstrance in a + system of privilege that had been built up at the expense of the + post-office department. Printed matter in the form of books was charged + eight cents a pound, but in periodical form only one cent a pound. This + discrimination against books has had marked effect upon the quality of + American literature, lowering its tone and encouraging the publication of + many cheap magazines. President Cleveland gave impressive statistics + showing the loss to the Government in transporting periodical + publications, "including trashy and even harmful literature." Letter mails + weighing 65,337,343 pounds yielded a revenue of $60,624,464. Periodical + publications weighing 348,988,648 pounds yielded a revenue of $2,996,403. + Cleveland's agitation of the subject under conditions then existing could + not, however, have any practical effect save to affront an influential + interest abundantly able to increase the President's difficulties by abuse + and misrepresentation. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0010" id="link2HCH0010"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER X. LAW AND ORDER UPHELD + </h2> + <p> + While President Cleveland was struggling with the difficult situation in + the Treasury, popular unrest was increasing in violence. Certain startling + political developments now gave fresh incitement to the insurgent temper + which was spreading among the masses. The relief measure at the forefront + of President Cleveland's policy was tariff reform, and upon this the + legislative influence of the Administration was concentrated as soon as + the repeal of the Silver Purchase Act had been accomplished. + </p> + <p> + The House leader in tariff legislation at that time was a man of + exceptionally high character and ability. William L. Wilson was President + of the University of West Virginia when he was elected to Congress in + 1882, and he had subsequently retained his seat more by the personal + respect he inspired than through the normal strength of his party in his + district. The ordinary rule of seniority was by consent set aside to make + him chairman of the Ways and Means Committee. He aimed to produce a + measure which would treat existing interests with some consideration for + their needs. In the opinion of F. W. Taussig, an expert economist, the + bill as passed by the House on February 1, 1894, "was simply a moderation + of the protective duties" with the one exception of the removal of the + duty on wool. Ever since 1887, it had been a settled Democratic policy to + put wool on the free list, in order to give American manufacturers the + same advantage in the way of raw material which those of every other + country enjoyed, even in quarters where a protective tariff was stiffly + applied. + </p> + <p> + The scenes that now ensued in the Senate showed that arbitrary rule may be + readily exercised under the forms of popular government. Senator Matthew + S. Quay of Pennsylvania, a genial, scholarly cynic who sought his ends by + any available means and who disdained hypocritical pretenses, made it + known that he was in a position to block all legislation unless his + demands were conceded. He prepared an everlasting speech, which he + proceeded to deliver by installments in an effort to consume the time of + the Senate until it would become necessary to yield to him in order to + proceed with the consideration of the bill. His method was to read matter + to the Senate until he was tired and then to have some friend act for him + while he rested. According to the "Washington Star," Senator Gallinger was + "his favorite helper in this, for he has a good round voice that never + tires, and he likes to read aloud." The thousands of pages of material + which Senator Quay had collected for use, and the apparently inexhaustible + stores upon which he was drawing, were the subject of numerous descriptive + articles in the newspapers of the day. Senator Quay's tactics were so + successful, indeed, that he received numerous congratulatory telegrams + from those whose interests he was championing. They had been defeated at + the polls in their attempt to control legislation, and defeated in the + House of Representatives, but now they were victorious in the Senate. + </p> + <p> + The methods of Senator Quay were tried by other Senators on both sides, + though they were less frank in their avowal. After the struggle was over, + Senator Vest of Missouri, who had been in charge of the bill, declared: + </p> + <p> + "I have not an enemy in the world whom I would place in the position that + I have occupied as a member of the Finance Committee under the rules of + the Senate. I would put no man where I have been, to be blackmailed and + driven in order to pass a bill that I believe is necessary to the welfare + of the country, by Senators who desired to force amendments upon me + against my better judgment and compel me to decide the question whether I + will take any bill at all or a bill which had been distorted by their + views and objects. Sir, the Senate 'lags superfluous on the stage' today + with the American people, because in an age of progress, advance, and + aggressive reform, we sit here day after day and week after week, while + copies of the census reports, almanacs, and even novels are read to us, + and under our rules there is no help for the majority except to listen or + leave the chamber." + </p> + <p> + The passage of the bill in anything like the form in which it reached the + Senate was plainly impossible without a radical change in the rules, and + on neither side of the chamber was there any real desire for an amendment + of procedure. A number of the Democratic Senators who believed that it was + desirable to keep on good terms with business interests were, in reality, + opposed to the House bill. Their efforts to control the situation were + favored by the habitual disposition of the Senate, when dealing with + business interests, to decide questions by private conference and personal + agreements, while maintaining a surface show of party controversy. Hence, + Senator Gorman of Maryland was able to make arrangements for the passage + of what became known as the Gorman Compromise Bill, which radically + altered the character of the original measure by the adoption of 634 + amendments. It passed the Senate on the 3rd of July by a vote of + thirty-nine to thirty-four. + </p> + <p> + The next step was the appointment of a committee of conference between the + two Houses, but the members for the House showed an unusual determination + to resist the will of the Senate, and on the 19th of July, the conferees + reported that they had failed to reach an agreement. When President + Cleveland permitted the publication of a letter which he had written to + Chairman Wilson condemning the Senate bill, the fact was disclosed that + the influence of the Administration had been used to stiffen the + opposition of the House. Senator Gorman and other Democratic Senators made + sharp replies, and the party quarrel became so bitter that it was soon + evident that no sort of tariff bill could pass the Senate. + </p> + <p> + The House leaders now reaped a great advantage from the Reed rules to the + adoption of which they had been so bitterly opposed. Availing themselves + of the effective means of crushing obstruction provided by the powers of + the Rules Committee, in one day they passed the Tariff Bill as amended by + the Senate, which eventually became law, and then passed separate bills + putting on the free list coal, barbed wire, and sugar. These bills had no + effect other than to put on record the opinion of the House, as they were + of course subsequently held up in the Senate. This unwonted + insubordination on the part of the House excited much angry comment from + dissatisfied Senators. President Cleveland was accused of unconstitutional + interference in the proceedings of Congress; and the House was blamed for + submitting to the Senate and passing the amended bill without going + through the usual form of conference and adjustment of differences. + Senator Sherman of Ohio remarked that "there are many cases in the bill + where enactment was not intended by the Senate. For instance, innumerable + amendments were put on by Senators on both sides of the chamber... to give + the Committee of Conference a chance to think of the matter, and they are + all adopted, whatever may be their language or the incongruity with other + parts of the bill." + </p> + <p> + The bitter feeling, excited by the summary mode of enactment on the part + of the House, was intensified by President Cleveland's treatment of the + measure. While he did not veto it, he would not sign it but allowed it to + become law by expiration of the ten days in which he could reject it. He + set forth his reasons in a letter on August 27, 1894, to Representative + Catchings of Missouri, in which he sharply commented upon the incidents + accompanying the passage of the bill and in which he declared: + </p> + <p> + "I take my place with the rank and file of the Democratic party who + believe in tariff reform, and who know what it is; who refuse to accept + the result embodied in this bill as the close of the war; who are not + blinded to the fact that the livery of Democratic tariff reform has been + stolen and used in the service of Republican protection; and who have + marked the places where the deadly blight of treason has blasted the + counsels of the brave in their hour of might." + </p> + <p> + The letter was written throughout with a fervor rare in President + Cleveland's papers, and it had a scorching effect. Senator Gorman and some + other Democratic Senators lost their seats as soon as the people had a + chance to express their will. + </p> + <p> + The circumstances of the tariff struggle greatly increased popular + discontent with the way in which the government of the country was being + conducted at Washington. It became a common belief that the actual system + of government was that the trusts paid the campaign expenses of the + politicians and in return the politicians allowed the trusts to frame the + tariff schedules. Evidence in support of this view was furnished by + testimony taken in the investigation of the sugar scandal in the summer of + 1894. Charges had been made in the newspapers that some Senators had + speculated in sugar stocks during the time when they were engaged in + legislation affecting the value of those stocks. Some of them admitted the + fact of stock purchases, but denied that their legislative action had been + guided by their investments. In the course of the investigation, H. O. + Havemeyer, the head of the Sugar Trust, admitted that it was the practice + to subsidize party management. "It is my impression," he said, "that + whenever there is a dominant party, wherever the majority is large, that + is the party that gets the contribution because that is the party which + controls the local matters." He explained that this system was carried on + because the company had large interests which needed protection, and he + declared "every individual and corporation and firm, trust, or whatever + you call it, does these things and we do them." + </p> + <p> + During the tariff struggle, a movement took place which was an evidence of + popular discontent of another sort. At first it caused great uneasiness, + but eventually the manifestation became more grotesque than alarming. + Jacob S. Coxey of Massillon, Ohio, a smart specimen of the American type + of handy business man, announced that he intended to send a petition to + Washington wearing boots so that it could not be conveniently shelved by + being stuck away in a pigeonhole. He thereupon proceeded to lead a march + of the unemployed, which started from Massillon on March 25, 1894, with + about one hundred men in the ranks. These crusaders Coxey described as the + "Army of the Commonweal of Christ," and their purpose was to proclaim the + wants of the people on the steps of the Capitol on the 1st of May. The + leader of this band called upon the honest working classes to join him, + and he gained recruits as he advanced. Similar movements started in the + Western States. "The United States Industrial Army," headed by one Frye, + started from Los Angeles and at one time numbered from six to eight + hundred men; they reached St. Louis by swarming on the freight trains of + the Southern Pacific road and thereafter continued on foot. A band under a + leader named Kelly started from San Francisco on the 4th of April and by + commandeering freight trains reached Council Bluffs, Iowa, whence they + marched to Des Moines. There, they went into camp with at one time as many + as twelve hundred men. They eventually obtained flatboats, on which they + floated down the Mississippi and then pushed up the Ohio to a point in + Kentucky whence they proceeded on foot. Attempts on the part of such bands + to seize trains brought them into conflict with the authorities at some + points. For instance, a detachment of regular troops in Montana captured a + band coming East on a stolen Northern Pacific train, and militia had to be + called out to rescue a train from a band at Mount Sterling, Ohio. + </p> + <p> + Coxey's own army never amounted to more than a few hundred, but it was + more in the public eye. It had a large escort of newspaper correspondents + who gave picturesque accounts of the march to Washington; and Coxey + himself took advantage of this gratuitous publicity to express his views. + Among other measures, he urged that since good roads and money were both + greatly needed by the country at large, the Government should issue + $500,000,000 in "non-interest bearing bonds" to be used in employing + workers in the improvement of the roads. After an orderly march through + parts of Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Maryland, in the course of which his men + received many donations of supplies from places through which they passed, + Coxey and his army arrived at Washington on the 1st of May and were + allowed to parade to the Capitol under police escort along a designated + route. When Coxey left the ranks, however, to cut across the grass to the + Capitol, he was arrested on the technical charge of trespassing. The army + went into camp, but on the 12th of May the authorities forced the men to + move out of the District. They thereupon took up quarters in Maryland and + shifted about from time to time. Detachments from the Western bands + arrived during June and July, but the total number encamped about + Washington probably never exceeded a thousand. Difficulties in obtaining + supplies and inevitable collisions with the authorities caused the band + gradually to disperse. Coxey, after his short term in jail, traveled about + the country trying to stir up interest in his aims and to obtain supplies. + The novelty of his movement, however, had worn off, and results were so + poor that on the 26th of July he issued a statement saying he could do no + more and that what was left of the army would have to shift for itself. In + Maryland, the authorities arrested a number of Coxey's "soldiers" as + vagrants. On the 11th of August, a detachment of Virginia militia drove + across the Potomac the remnants of the Kelly and Frye armies, which were + then taken in charge by the district authorities. They were eventually + supplied by the Government with free transportation to their homes. + </p> + <p> + Of more serious import than these marchings and campings, as evidence of + popular unrest, were the activities of organized labor which now began to + attract public attention. The Knights of Labor were declining in numbers + and influence. The attempt, which their national officers made in January, + 1894, to get out an injunction to restrain the Secretary of the Treasury + from making bond sales really facilitated Carlisle's effort by obtaining + judicial sanction for the issue. Labor disturbances now followed in quick + succession. In April, there was a strike on the Great Northern Railroad, + which for a long time almost stopped traffic between St. Paul and Seattle. + Local strikes in the mining regions of West Virginia and Colorado, and in + the coke fields of Western Pennsylvania, were attended by conflicts with + the authorities and some loss of life. A general strike of the bituminous + coal miners of the whole country was ordered by the United Mine Workers on + the 21st of April, and called out numbers variously estimated at from one + hundred and twenty-five thousand to two hundred thousand; but by the end + of July the strike had ended in a total failure. + </p> + <p> + All the disturbances that abounded throughout the country were + overshadowed, however, by a tremendous struggle which centered in Chicago + and which brought about new and most impressive developments of national + authority. In June, 1893, Eugene V. Debs, the secretary-treasurer of the + Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen, resigned his office and set about + organizing a new general union of railroad employees in antagonism to the + Brotherhoods, which were separate unions of particular classes of workers. + He formed the American Railway Union and succeeded in instituting 465 + local lodges which claimed a membership of one hundred and fifty thousand. + In March, 1894, Pullman Company employees joined the new union. On the + 11th of May, a class of workers in this company's shops at Pullman, + Illinois, struck for an increase of wages, and on the 21st of June the + officers of the American Railway Union ordered its members to refuse to + handle trains containing Pullman cars unless the demands of the strikers + were granted. Although neither the American Federation of Labor nor the + Brotherhoods endorsed this sympathetic strike, it soon spread over a vast + territory and was accompanied by savage rioting and bloody conflicts. In + the suburbs of Chicago the mobs burned numerous cars and did much damage + to other property. The losses inflicted on property throughout the country + by this strike have been estimated at $80,000,000. + </p> + <p> + The strikers were undoubtedly encouraged in resorting to force by the + sympathetic attitude which Governor Altgeld of Illinois showed towards the + cause of labor. The Knights of Labor and other organizations of workingmen + had passed resolutions complimenting the Governor on his pardon of the + Chicago anarchists, and the American Railway Union counted unduly upon his + support in obtaining their ends. The situation was such as to cause the + greatest consternation throughout the country, as there was a widespread + though erroneous belief that there was no way in which national Government + could take action to suppress disorder unless it was called upon by the + Legislature, if it happened to be in session, or by the Governor. But at + this critical moment, the Illinois Legislature was not in session, and + Governor Altgeld refused to call for aid. For a time, it therefore seemed + that the strikers were masters of the situation and that law and order + were powerless before the mob. + </p> + <p> + There was an unusual feeling of relief throughout the country when word + came from Washington on the 1st of July that President Cleveland had + called out the regular troops. Governor Altgeld sent a long telegram + protesting against sending federal troops into Illinois without any + request from the authority of the State. But President Cleveland replied + briefly that the troops were not sent to interfere with state authority + but to enforce the laws of the United States, upon the demand of the Post + Office Department that obstruction to the mails be removed, and upon the + representations of judicial officers of the United States that processes + of federal courts could not be executed through the ordinary means. In the + face of what was regarded as federal interference, riot for the moment + blazed out more fiercely than ever, but the firm stand taken by the + President soon had its effect. On the 6th of July, Governor Altgeld + ordered out the state militia which soon engaged in some sharp encounters + with the strikers. On the next day, a force of regular troops dispersed a + mob at Hammond, Indiana, with some loss of life. On the 8th of July, + President Cleveland issued a proclamation to the people of Illinois and of + Chicago in particular, notifying them that those "taking part with a + riotous mob in forcibly resisting and obstructing the execution of the + laws of the United States... cannot be regarded otherwise than as public + enemies," and that "while there will be no hesitation or vacillation in + the decisive treatment of the guilty, this warning is especially intended + to protect and save the innocent." The next day, he issued as energetic a + proclamation against "unlawful obstructions, combinations and assemblages + of persons" in North Dakota, Montana, Idaho, Washington, Wyoming, + Colorado, California, Utah, and New Mexico. + </p> + <p> + At the request of the American Railway Union, delegates from twenty-five + unions connected with the American Federation of Labor met in Chicago on + the 12th of July, and Debs made an ardent appeal to them to call a general + strike of all labor organizations. But the conference decided that "it + would be unwise and disastrous to the interests of labor to extend the + strike any further than it had already gone" and advised the strikers to + return to work. Thereafter, the strike rapidly collapsed, although martial + law had to be proclaimed and, before quiet was restored, some sharp + conflicts still took place between federal troops and mobs at Sacramento + and other points in California. On the 3rd of August, the American Railway + Union acknowledged its defeat and called off the strike. Meanwhile, Debs + and other leaders had been under arrest for disobedience to injunctions + issued by the federal courts. Eventually, Debs was sentenced to jail for + six months,* and the others for three months. The cases were the occasion + of much litigation in which the authority of the courts to intervene in + labor disputes by issuing injunctions was on the whole sustained. The + failure and collapse of the American Railway Union appears to have ended + the career of Debs as a labor organizer, but he has since been active and + prominent as a Socialist party leader. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + * Under Section IV of the Anti-Trust Law of 1890. +</pre> + <p> + Public approval of the energy and decision which President Cleveland + displayed in handling the situation was so strong and general that it + momentarily quelled the factional spirit in Congress. Judge Thomas M. + Cooley, then, probably the most eminent authority on constitutional law, + wrote a letter expressing "unqualified satisfaction with every step" taken + by the President "in vindication of the national authority." Both the + Senate and the House adopted resolutions endorsing the prompt and vigorous + measures of the Administration. The newspapers, too, joined in the chorus + of approval. A newspaper ditty which was widely circulated and was read by + the President with pleasure and amusement ended a string of verses with + the lines: + </p> + <p> + The railroad strike played merry hob, The land was set aflame; Could + Grover order out the troops To block the striker's game? One Altgeld + yelled excitedly, "Such tactics I forbid; You can't trot out those + soldiers," yet That's just what Grover did. + </p> + <p> + In after years when people talk Of present stirring times, And of the + action needful to Sit down on public crimes, They'll all of them + acknowledge then (The fact cannot be hid) That whatever was the best to do + Is just what Grover did. + </p> + <p> + This brief period of acclamation was, however, only a gleam of sunshine + through the clouds before the night set in with utter darkness. Relations + between President Cleveland and his party in the Senate had long been + disturbed by his refusal to submit to the Senate rule that nominations to + office should be subject to the approval of the Senators from the State to + which the nominees belonged. On January 15, 1894, eleven Democrats voted + with Senator David B. Hill to defeat a New York nominee for justice of the + Supreme Court. President Cleveland then nominated another New York jurist + against whom no objection could be urged regarding reputation or + experience; but as this candidate was not Senator Hill's choice, the + nomination was rejected, fourteen Democrats voting with him against it. + President Cleveland now availed himself of a common Senate practice to + discomfit Senator Hill. He nominated Senator White of Louisiana, who was + immediately confirmed as is the custom of the Senate when one of its own + members is nominated to office. Senator Hill was thus left with the + doubtful credit of having prevented the appointment of a New Yorker to + fill the vacancy in the Supreme Court. But this incident did not seriously + affect his control of the Democratic party organization in New York. His + adherents extolled him as a New York candidate for the Presidency who + would restore and maintain the regular party system without which, it was + contended, no administration could be successful in framing and carrying + out a definite policy. Hill's action, in again presenting himself as a + candidate for Governor in the fall of 1894, is intelligible only in the + light of this ambition. He had already served two terms as Governor and + was now only midway in his senatorial term; but if he again showed that he + could carry New York he would have demonstrated, so it was thought, that + he was the most eligible Democratic candidate for the Presidency. But he + was defeated by a plurality of about 156,000. + </p> + <p> + The fall elections of 1894, indeed, made havoc in the Democratic party. In + twenty-four States, the Democrats failed to return a single member, and in + each of six others, only a single district failed to elect a Republican. + The Republican majority in the House was 140, and the Republican party + also gained control of the Senate. The Democrats who had swept the country + two years before were now completely routed. + </p> + <p> + Under the peculiar American system which allows a defeated party to carry + on its work for another session of Congress as if nothing had happened, + the Democratic party remained in actual possession of Congress for some + months but could do nothing to better its record. The leading occupation + of its members now seemed to be the advocacy of free silver and the + denunciation of President Cleveland. William J. Bryan of Nebraska was then + displaying in the House the oratorical accomplishments and dauntless + energy of character which soon thereafter gained him the party leadership. + With prolific rhetoric, he likened President Cleveland to a guardian who + had squandered the estate of a confiding ward and to a trainman who opened + a switch and caused a wreck, and he declared that the President in trying + to inoculate the Democratic party with Republican virus had poisoned its + blood. + </p> + <p> + Shortly after the last Democratic Congress—the last for many years—the + Supreme Court undid one of the few successful achievements of this party + when it was in power. The Tariff Bill contained a section imposing a tax + of two per cent on incomes in excess of $4000. A case was framed attacking + the constitutionality of the tax,* the parties on both sides aiming to + defeat the law and framing the issues with that purpose in view. On April + 8, 1895, the Supreme Court rendered a judgment which showed that the Court + was evenly divided on some points. A rehearing was ordered and a final + decision was rendered on the 20th of May. By a vote of five to four it was + held that the income tax was a direct tax, that as such it could be + imposed only by apportionment among the States according to population, + and that as the law made no such provision the tax was therefore invalid. + This reversed the previous position of the Court** that an income tax was + not a direct tax within the meaning of the Constitution, but that it was + an excise. This decision was the subject of much bitter comment which, + however, scarcely exceeded in severity the expressions used by members of + the Supreme Court who filed dissenting opinions. Justice White was of the + opinion that the effect of this judgment was "to overthrow a long and + consistent line of decisions and to deny to the legislative department of + the Government the possession of a power conceded to it by universal + consensus for one hundred years." Justice Harlan declared that it struck + "at the very foundation of national authority" and that it gave "to + certain kinds of property a position of favoritism and advantage + inconsistent with the fundamental principles of our social organization." + Justice Brown hoped that "it may not prove the first step towards the + submergence of the liberties of the people in a sordid despotism of + wealth." Justice Jackson said it was "such as no free and enlightened + people can ever possibly sanction or approve." The comments of law + journals were also severe, and on the whole, the criticism of legal + experts was more outspoken than that of the politicians. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + * Pollock vs. Farmers' Loan and Trust Company, 157 U.S. 429. +</pre> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + * * Springer vs. United States, 102 U.S. 586. +</pre> + <p> + Public distrust of legislative procedure in the United States is so great + that powers of judicial interference are valued to a degree not usual in + any other country. The Democratic platform of 1896 did not venture to go + farther in the way of censure than to declare that "it is the duty of + Congress to use all the constitutional power which remains after that + decision, or which may come from its reversal by the court as it may + hereafter be constituted, so that the burdens of taxation may be equally + and impartially laid, to the end that wealth may bear its due proportion + of the expenses of the government." Even this suggestion of possible + future interference with the court turned out to be a heavy party load in + the campaign. + </p> + <p> + With the elimination of the income tax, the revenues of the country became + insufficient to meet the demands upon the Treasury, and Carlisle was + obliged to report a deficit of $42,805,223 for 1895. The change of party + control in Congress brought no relief. The House, under the able direction + of Speaker Reed, passed a bill to augment the revenue by increasing + customs duties and also a bill authorizing the Secretary of the Treasury + to sell bonds or issue certificates of indebtedness bearing interest at + three per cent. Both measures, however, were held up in the Senate, in + which the silver faction held the balance of power.* On February 1, 1896, + a free silver substitute for the House bond bill passed the Senate by a + vote of forty-two to thirty-five, but the minority represented over eight + million more people than the majority. The House refused, by 215 to 90, to + concur in the Senate's amendment, and the whole subject was then dropped. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + * The distribution of party strength in the Senate was: +Republicans, 43; Democrats, 39; Populists, 6. Republicans made +concessions to the Populists which caused them to refrain from voting +when the question of organisation was pending, and the Republicans were +thus able to elect the officers and rearrange the committees, which +they did in such a way as to put the free silver men in control of the +committee on finance. The bills passed by the house were referred to +this committee, which thereupon substituted bills providing for free +coinage of silver. +</pre> + <p> + President Cleveland had to carry on the battle to maintain the gold + standard and to sustain the public credit without any aid from Congress. + The one thing he did accomplish by his efforts, and it was at that moment + the thing of chief importance, was to put an end to party duplicity on the + silver question. On that point, at least, national party platforms + abandoned their customary practice of trickery and deceit. Compelled to + choose between the support of the commercial centers and that of the + mining camps, the Republican convention came out squarely for the gold + standard and nominated William McKinley for President. Thirty-four members + of the convention, including four United States Senators and two + Representatives, bolted. It was a year of bolts, the only party convention + that escaped being that of the Socialist Labor party, which ignored the + monetary issue save for a vague declaration that "the United States have + the exclusive right to issue money." The silver men swept the Democratic + convention, which then nominated William Jennings Bryan for President. + Later on, the Gold Democrats held a convention and nominated John M. + Palmer of Illinois. The Populists and the National Silver party also + nominated Bryan for President, but each made its own separate nomination + for Vice-President. Even the Prohibitionists split on the issue, and a + seceding faction organized the National party and inserted a free silver + plank in their platform. + </p> + <p> + In the canvass which followed, calumny and misrepresentation were for once + discarded in favor of genuine discussion. This new attitude was largely + due to organizations for spreading information quite apart from regular + party management. In this way, many able pamphlets were issued and widely + circulated. The Republicans had ample campaign funds; but though the + Democrats were poorly supplied, this deficiency did not abate the energy + of Bryan's campaign. He traveled over eighteen thousand miles, speaking at + nearly every stopping place to great assemblages. McKinley, on the + contrary, stayed at home, although he delivered an effective series of + speeches to visiting delegations. The outcome seemed doubtful, but the + intense anxiety which was prevalent was promptly dispelled when the + election returns began to arrive. By going over to free silver, the + Democrats wrested from the Republicans all the mining States, except + California, together with Kansas and Nebraska, but the electoral votes + which they thus secured were a poor compensation for losses elsewhere. + Such old Democratic strongholds as Delaware, Maryland, and West Virginia + gave McKinley substantial majorities, and Kentucky gave him twelve of her + thirteen electoral votes. McKinley's popular plurality was over six + hundred thousand, and he had a majority of ninety-five in the electoral + college. + </p> + <p> + The nation approved the position which Cleveland had maintained, but the + Republican party reaped the benefit by going over to that position while + the Democratic party was ruined by forsaking it. Party experience during + the Cleveland era contained many lessons, but none clearer than that + presidential leadership is essential both to legislative achievement and + to party success. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0012" id="link2H_4_0012"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTE + </h2> + <p> + Among general histories dealing with this period, the leading authority is + D. R. Dewey, "National Problems," 1885-97 (1907) in "The American Nation"; + but suggestive accounts may be found in E. B. Andrews, "History of the + Last Quarter of a Century in the United States" (1896); in H. T. Peck, + "Twenty Years of the Republic" (1913); and in C. A. Beard, "Contemporary + American History" (1914). + </p> + <p> + The following works dealing especially with party management and + congressional procedure will be found serviceable: E. Stanwood, "History + of the Presidency" (1898); M. P. Follett, "The Speaker of the House of + Representatives" (1896); H. J. Ford, "The Rise and Growth of American + Politics" (1898); H. J. Ford, "The Cost of our National Government" + (1910); S. W. McCall, "The Business of Congress" (1911); D. S. Alexander, + "History and Procedure of the House of Representatives" (1916); C. R. + Atkinson, "The Committee on Rules and the Overthrow of Speaker" Cannon + (1911). The debate of 1885-86 on revision of the rules is contained in the + "Congressional Record," 49th Congress, 1st session, vol. 17, part I, pp. + 39, 71, 87, 102 129, 182, 9,16, 216, 239, 304. + </p> + <p> + Of special importance from the light they throw upon the springs of action + are the following works: Grover Cleveland, "Presidential Problems" (1904); + F. E. Goodrich, "The Life and Public Services of Grover Cleveland" (1884); + G. F. Parker, "The Writings and Speeches of Grover Cleveland" (1890); J. + L. Whittle, "Grover Cleveland" (1896); J. G. Blaine, "Political + Discussions" (1887); E. Stanwood, "James Gillespie Blaine" (1905); A. R. + Conkling, "Life and Letters of Roscoe Conkling" (1889); John Sherman, + "Recollections of Forty Years in the House, Senate, and Cabinet" (1895); + G. F. Hoar, "Autobiography of Seventy Years" (1903); S. M. Cullom, "Fifty + Years of Public Service" (1911); L. A. Coolidge, "An Old-fashioned + Senator: Orville H. Platt of Connecticut" (1910); S. W. McCall, "The Life + of Thomas Brackett Reed" (1914); A. E. Stevenson, "Something of Men I Have + Known" (1909). + </p> + <p> + For the financial history of the period, see J. L. Laughlin, "The History + of Bimetallism in the United States" (1897); A. D. Noyes, "Forty Years of + American Finance" (1909); Horace White, "Money and Banking, Illustrated by + American History" (1904). + </p> + <p> + The history of tariff legislation is recorded by F. W. Taussig, "The + Tariff History of the United States" (1914), and E. Stanwood, "American + Tariff Controversies in the Nineteenth Century" (1903). + </p> + <p> + On the trust problem there is much valuable information in W. Z. Ripley, + "Trusts, Pools, and Corporations" (1905); K. Coman, "Industrial History of + the United States" (1905); J. W. Jenks, "The Trust Problem" (1905). + </p> + <p> + The conditions which prompted the creation of the Interstate Commerce + Commission are exhibited in the report of the Senate Select Committee on + Interstate Commerce, "Senate Reports," No. 46, 49th Congress, 1st session. + </p> + <p> + Useful special treatises on the railroad problem are E. R. Johnson, + "American Railway Transportation" (1903); B. H. Meyer, "Railway + Legislation in the United States" (1903); and W. Z. Ripley, "Railway + Problems" (1907). + </p> + <p> + The history of labor movements may be followed in J. R. Commons, "History + of Labor in the United States" (1918); M. Hillquit, "History of Socialism + in the United States" (1903); "Report of the Industrial Commission," vol. + XVII (1901); and in the Annual Reports of the United States Commissioner + of Labor. Congressional investigations of particular disturbances produced + the House Reports No. 4174, 49th Congress, 2d session, 1887, on the + Southwestern Railway Strike, and No. 2447, 52d Congress, 2d session, 1893, + on the Homestead Strike. + </p> + <p> + On the subject of pensions the most comprehensive study is that by W. H. + Glasson, "History of Military Pension Legislation in the United States, + Columbia University Studies," vol. XII, No. 3 (1900). Of special interest + is the speech by J. H. Gallinger, "Congressional Record," 65th Congress, + 2d session, vol. 56, No. 42, p. 1937. + </p> + <p> + Other public documents of special importance are "Senate Report," No. 606, + 53d Congress, concerning the sugar scandal, and "Senate Documents," No. + 187, 54th Congress, 2d session, concerning the bond sales. "The + Congressional Record" is at all times a mine of information. Valuable + historical material is contained in the "New Princeton Review," vols. I-VI + (1886-88), the New York "Nation," the "Political Science Quarterly," and + other contemporary periodicals. + </p> + <p> + A vivid picture of political conditions on the personal side is given in + Slason Thompson, "Eugene Field" (1901), vol. I, chap. 10; vol. II, chap. + 8. + </p> + <div style="height: 6em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Cleveland Era, by Henry Jones Ford + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE CLEVELAND ERA *** + +***** This file should be named 3041-h.htm or 3041-h.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/3/0/4/3041/ + +Produced by The James J. Kelly Library Of St. Gregory's +University, Alev Akman, and David Widger + + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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