Part 14 (1/2)
Levi P. Morton, of New York, was nominated for Vice-President on the first ballot, receiving 591 votes to 119 for Wm. W. Phelps and 103 for Wm. O. Bradley, of Kentucky. Blanch K. Bruce, of Mississippi, and Walter F. Thomas, of Texas, also received votes.
The campaign of 1888 was fought with earnestness and vigor on both sides. The tariff question overshadowed all others at this period and was made the great issue of the canva.s.s. Like those of 1880 and 1884, this campaign was not without a striking incident that had its influence on the vote. On October 25, 1888, occurred the publication of the Murchison correspondence, in which the British Minister, Lord Sackville-West, in a letter dated September 13th, indiscreetly answered a letter purporting to come from one Charles F. Murchison, of Pomona, Cal., a naturalized Englishman, asking advice how to vote. Lord Sackville-West's reply, while not direct, was that a vote for the Democratic Party would be more friendly to England than one for the Republican Party, a declaration which was immediately seized upon by the Republicans and made much of to influence the votes of those who were undecided on the tariff issue.
At the election on November 6th Harrison and Morton carried twenty States, with their 233 electoral votes, and Cleveland and Thurman carried eighteen States, with 123 electoral votes. The popular vote was:
Harrison ............. 5,439,853 Cleveland ............ 5,540,329 Fisk ................. 249,505 Streeter ............. 146,935
The Republicans also gained control of both branches of Congress.
President Harrison's term, reaching from March, 1889, to March, 1893, was one of political turmoil. The first session of the Fifty-first Congress convened on December 2, 1889, and Thomas B. Reed, of Maine, was elected Speaker of the House. The majority of the Republicans being so small, he soon announced his intention of ignoring the usual rule of not counting a member as present unless he voted, and stated a new rule, of counting those who were present as present, even though they did not vote. This and other rulings were adopted by a party vote, and Mr. Reed was called the ”Czar” by the Democrats.
The most important work of this Congress and the great political event of Harrison's administration was the enactment of the McKinley Tariff Bill, which was reported to the House of Representatives on April 16, 1890, by William McKinley, Chairman of the Committee on Ways and Means.
After considerable debate, it was pa.s.sed by the House on May 21st, and by the Senate in September, and became a law October 1, 1890. The continued efforts of the Democrats brought the McKinley Tariff law into much public disfavor, and resulted in overwhelming Democratic victories in the Congressional elections in November, 1890, by which the Democrats regained control of the House, and their minority of 18 in the Fifty-first Congress was changed to a majority of 129 in the Fifty-second.
A new party, the People's Party, which will be considered later, appeared in politics with success for the first time at the elections in 1890. Other important measures advocated and adopted by the Republicans in the Fifty-first Congress were more liberal Pension Laws (June 27, 1890), and the Sherman Anti-Trust Bill (June 26, 1890). The so-called Sherman Silver Act of July 14, 1890, was in reality a concession to the strong silver element which was appearing in both the great parties at this time, and which was to have so momentous an influence on political history in later presidential campaigns. This Act provided for the purchase of 4,500,000 ounces of silver bullion each month, to be paid for in paper money called Treasury Notes, redeemable on demand in gold or silver, and for the coinage of 2,000,000 ounces per month in dollars; after July 1, 1891, the silver was not to be coined, but might be stored in the Treasury and silver certificates issued. The purchasing clause of the Bland-Allison Act of 1878 was repealed.
As the time approached for the presidential campaign of 1892 the political situation was peculiar. President Harrison was openly a candidate for re-election, but he was unpopular with many of the strong Republican leaders, who, as a matter of course, turned to Mr. Blaine, then Secretary of State. Mr. Blaine, however, on February 6, 1892, wrote Mr. Clarkson, Chairman of the National Republican Committee, declining to be a candidate, but his friends, notwithstanding, persisted in booming him. The country was astonished on June 4th, three days before the Convention, to learn that Mr. Blaine had resigned from the Cabinet.
Did it mean that he was desirous of returning to private life, or of withdrawing his declination and entering actively into the fight for the nomination? Mr. Blaine did not explain, and the uncertainty was perplexing as the day for the Convention approached.
In the Democratic Party the situation at first was equally uncertain as to who might be the nominee, but as the State Delegations were chosen, it was seen that Mr. Cleveland would again be nominated in spite of the opposition of Gov. Hill and the New York delegation. Public attention centered, in June, 1892, on Minneapolis and Chicago, where the Republican and Democratic Conventions were to be held.
CHAPTER XVIII.
CLEVELAND'S SECOND TERM.
”Cleveland's (second) election created the disturbances that followed it. The fear of radical changes in the Tariff Law was the basis of them.
That law caused the falling of prices, the stagnation of some industries, and the suspension of others. No doubt the fall in the value of silver and the increased demand for gold largely precipitated and added to the other evils.”
_John Sherman's Recollections._
The delegates for the Tenth Republican National Convention a.s.sembled at Minneapolis, Minn., in the opening days of June, 1892. The friends of Mr. Blaine were booming his candidacy, although no direct expression had come from him as to whether or not he actively desired the nomination.
His sudden and unexpected resignation from President Harrison's Cabinet had created a situation difficult to a.n.a.lyze, but the general opinion was that he had hurt his prospects by his action. The anti-Harrison sentiment was strong, however, and there was much talk of the possible nomination of a ”dark horse,” and the name of William McKinley, of Ohio, ”the Napoleon of Tariff,” was most spoken of in this respect. As the day of the Convention drew near both the Blaine and Harrison men expressed the utmost confidence in their certain success, and the first occasion in the Convention that would call for a test of strength was looked for with great interest.
About 12:24 p. m., Tuesday, June 7, 1892, Chairman James S. Clarkson, of the Republican National Committee, called the Tenth Convention to order, and announced the selection, by the National Committee, of J. Sloat Fa.s.sett, of New York, as temporary Chairman. At the close of Mr.
Fa.s.sett's speech of acceptance the Convention called for Thomas B. Reed, who reluctantly came forward and addressed the Convention briefly. The roll-call of States for the selection of members of the various committees consumed the time until almost two o'clock, when the convention adjourned to meet the next morning. On rea.s.sembling the Committee on Credentials was granted further time; the Committee on Permanent Organization reported the name of William McKinley, of Ohio, for Permanent President of the Convention, who took the gavel amid great applause and enthusiasm, and delivered a short, pithy speech. The Committee on Rules reported, and further time was granted the Committee on Resolutions. After calling the roll of States for names of the new National Committeemen, the Convention adjourned for the day. On Thursday morning, June 9th, the Committee on Credentials was still not ready to report, and as nothing could be done until they did report, the Convention took a recess at 11:45 a. m. to 8 p. m. At the opening of the evening session Mr. Depew, of New York, congratulated Col. d.i.c.k Thompson, of Indiana, who had voted for every President of the United States for the past sixty years, on reaching on that day his eighty-third birthday, and the Convention listened to a short speech of thanks from Col. Thompson. The Committee on Credentials now reported, and the majority were in favor of the seating of enough administration delegates to make a net gain of 12 votes for Harrison, and the first contest of strength between the Blaine and the Harrison forces came on a motion to subst.i.tute the minority report in favor of seating the Blaine delegates. The vote on this motion was taken amid intense excitement, and resulted in a victory for the Harrison forces by a close vote of 462 to 423. Joseph B. Foraker, of Ohio, Chairman of the Committee on Resolutions, now reported the platform, which was in the following words:
REPUBLICAN PLATFORM, 1892.
The representatives of the Republicans of the United States, a.s.sembled in general convention on the sh.o.r.es of the Mississippi River, the everlasting bond of an indestructible republic, whose most glorious chapter of history is the record of the Republican Party, congratulate their countrymen on the majestic march of the nation under the banners inscribed with the principles of our platform of 1888, vindicated by victory at the polls and prosperity in our fields, workshops and mines, and make the following declaration of principles:
THE PRINCIPLE OF PROTECTION.
We reaffirm the American doctrine of protection. We call attention to its growth abroad. We maintain that the prosperous condition of our country is largely due to the wise revenue legislation of the last Republican Congress. We believe that all articles which cannot be produced in the United States, except luxuries, should be admitted free of duty, and that on all imports coming into compet.i.tion with the products of American labor there should be levied duties equal to the difference between wages abroad and at home.
We a.s.sert that the prices of manufactured articles of general consumption have been reduced under the operations of the Tariff Act of 1890.