People's Pilot, Volume 3, Number 9, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 18 August 1893 — CLEVELAND'S SILVER MESSAGE. [ARTICLE]

CLEVELAND'S SILVER MESSAGE.

ComoMBU of the Leading Papers oa the Auspicious Document. President Cleveland's message to congress is not a long document, and mat be described as ■ meaty one.—Chicago Tribune (Rep). This message is dear, impregnable, and indisputable in insisting on the first step. That is to stop silver purchases st onoe and then settle the other questions in aooordsnoe with sound snd conservative principles.—Pittsburgh Dispatch (lad. Rep). In the main President Cleveland's message to congress is clear, sound and praiseworthy. He tells the story of financial trouble In a simple, straightforward manner, and his recommendation for the unconditional repeal of the purchase clause of the Sherman act will meet the approval of the best people and a majority of all the people, north, east, south snd west— Pittsburgh Commercial Gazette (Rep). President Cleveland, in his message, well says: “The matter rises above the plane of party politics. ” He will find the majority .of republican statesmen with him upon that Another of his remarks, that “it be done at onoe,* ‘ is worth more than a passing notice. The country is in no mood to listen to long-winded speeches. —Chicago Inter Ocean (Rep). The message iaj s clear statement of the oase against silver purchase, as nearly nonpartisan as It could be, conciliatory in spirit, and wall calculated to unite the sound money men of , both parties. The president very adroitly calls I the Sherman law a truoe, agreed to after a long contest, with neither party pledged to it j as a finality.—Cleveland Leader (Rep). The gold monometalllsts may oonstrue * “money" in the concluding sentenoe of the meal sage as meaning gold, but it Is proper for a j democratic congress to plaoe on an expression in the message of a democratic president the construction furnished by the democratic platform upon which both congress and president were elected. If it does this it will, while repealing the Sherman law, take “other legislative action," placing gold and silver money on an equality. It ought to do so. We believe it will. —Cleveland Plaindeoler (Dem). President Cleveland's message is brief, clear, and decidedly to the point. He lays the present { disturbed financial condition of the oountry to ; the Sherman taw, and advises its prompt rei peaL Congress should aot at once. The presl- : dent states the facts of the situation, and shows , they are clearly and unmistakably attributable | l l * tfcg Sherman law with great clearness and 1 force But his strongest presentation is of the possibilities and, in fact, certainties of the fu- • ture unless that law shall be promptly repealed, j —N. Y. Post (Dem.). I Mr Cleveland hopes to have congress next month ripping up the tariff. The fear and apprehension of the country caused him to call his congress together to repeal a law whloh has about as much to do with the present distrust and uneasiness as the name of the private car he was hauled to Washington in last Saturday. ! He has simply proposed tariff tinkering. If the | silver business is disposed of at Inis special i session he will set congress to work in December on the tariff.—N. Y. Advertiser (Rep.). The message itself is a gold standard document without a word as to any substitute for j existing legislation, it is not the Chicago platj form, but the Wall street platform, pure and simple. The session is oalied to make war to the death on silver and let the tariff go. The country, even in the opinion of Mr. Cleveland, cannot stand two such blows.—Kansas City Journal (Rep.). Mr. Cleveland's method of dealing witp the situation is on the same line as his celebrated | tariff message, which is now generally admlt- | ted to have been a state paper of extraordinary ability. He proceeds os the theory that "it is a condition und not a theory that confronts us." He cuts away from all side issues and possible problems of the future in order to deal with 1 the great problem of .to-day. It is to bs hoped that congress will follow his example.— Indianapolis Sentinel. (Dem.) President Cleveland’s message has hardly satisfied the country. It was restricted to ths i question of silver, while the public looked for a broader treatment of the monetary Issue. It is evident the president believes the chief remedy for our financial and commercial ills is the repeal of the purchase provision of the existing law. Ho has pointed out the evil fully and fearlessly, but the country may not be entirely satisfied regarding tho adequacy of the counteractive and the cure he recommends. However, congress will not shirk or evade its obligations in this respect, but may be relied on to provide the legislation the situation may demand.— St. Louis Globe-Democrat (Itep) While the president's message contains no recommendation or general proposition for which the public mind was not fully prepared, it will be read by most people with great satisfaction. The president earnestly recommends the prompt repeal of so much of the Sherman act as provides for the purchase of silver bullion, and such further action as will “put beyond all doubt or mistake the Intention and ability of the government to fulfill its pecuniary obligations in money universally recogr ized by all civilized countries.” For the prnsent he recommends nothing more.—Chicago Herald (Dem.). It is a characteristic document plain spoken, honest, terse and patriotic The president places the chief responsibility for the financial troubles just where the business men of all parties have fixed it, upon the Sherman law. His statements of facts are undeniable, his conclusions are Irresistible to all open and candid minds. The president does well to emphasize one phase of the trouble which has received less attention than it merits. This is the bad effect of a depreciated or a suspected currency upon the wage-earner. The president's meaning in the last sentence doubtless is that power should be explicitly given to the administration to reenforce the supply of gold when necessary. Such authority is needed and should be given.— N. Y. World (Dem.). There is not a trace of partisanship or of that much more subtle temptation for men in high place—the pride of opinion. There is nothing in it that can offend any section, any class, oi »»en any faction The legislation which is *o farithe cause of our troubles that its removal is essential to recovery is not denounced in any angry spirit, and no reflection is made upon the motives of those who brought it about There is no harsh criticism of conflicting theories or theorists, while there is the most moving appeal to the sense, the patriotism, and the fairness of all. it is a message that every American must respect, and in which all may feel not only satisfaction, but pride—N. Y. Times (Dent) President Cleveland's message is important on account of ita source, but It throws no new light on the problems that have brought con- ' gross together. There is nothing in the message to offend the friends of silver. The president points out the undeniable fact that the price of that metal has been steadily falling ever since tbe passage of the Sherman act. Certainly, under such circumstances, a recommendation to repeal the law cannot be considered in itself an indication of hostility to silver Mr. Cleveland is careful to say nothing against ‘Ae principle of bimetallism. On the contrary, me points out the fact that the repeal of the Sherman act is a necessary -prelimfhary to the establishment of a bimetallic system. If any member of congress expected the president io do their work for them they were oversanguine. All he suggests with regard to the silver question is the repeal of the Sherman law. No possible substitute is described. The task of devising a satisfactory measure of that nature will have to be undertaken by congressmen themselves.—San Francisco Examiner (Dem.). President Cleveland sends just such a message to congress as the Press feared he would. He dilates on the existence of an alarming and extraordinary business situation, but makes the fatal and most criminal blunder of attributing it largely to con gressional legislation touching the purchase and coinage of silver. Instead of broad s tatesmanshtp we find this document a commonplace summary of foolish ideas tangled with the usual amount of Cleve land egotism Instead of the force rt a great leader, we find the echo of the me.e partisan free trader. Instead of a masterly view of tbe entire situation, the country is treated to a brief argument-for unconditional repeal of the silver act and a hint that if congress heeds this obj pet lesson on tbe Installment plan it may bs followed iu September by another on tariff reform—N. Y. Press (Hep.).