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the cleveland era-第35章

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s 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。〃

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:

〃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。〃

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。

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。〃

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。

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 det
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