The Hastings Standard Published Daily. TUESDAY, MARCH 9, 1897. A MILLIONAIRE CABINET.

Hastings Standard, Issue 266, 9 March 1897, Page 2

The Hastings Standard Published Daily.

TUESDAY, MARCH 9, 1897. A MILLIONAIRE CABINET.

For the cause that lacks assistance, For the wrongs that need resistance. For the future in the distance. And the good that we can do.

President Gkoyf.r Cleveland has been returned to store and President M'Kinley has made his triumphal entry into Washington and assumed control of the destinies of a nation numbering over seventy-five million souls. The new President is the protege of the class which have grown out of the policy of extreme protection, which is the shibboleth of the new President. The millionaire is a direct product of protection,and there are more millionaires in America to the square mile than any other country. There are six millionaires in the new Cabinet, so that in gold value they are collectively greater than the Cabinet of any other country, but in point of intelligence, and governing capacity they are perhaps no better if as good as the statesmen of Europe. For good or ill Major M'Kinley and his millionaires will govern the Cnited States for the next four years, ami a glance at the policy of the cew men will be not without interest. Territorial aggression would Iw avoided, and this is equivalent to saying that t'uba will not be admitted into the I'ni'/ii ; tie r. is, however, a clear indication in tin- I're-ident * sj»ecb that an effort is to ii • made to bring the Cuban insurrection to a close Mr M'Kln!. v will oiler to act as mediator Ixtwetu Sp«ua ah 4 Cuba, ii

so their is ample evidence to justify the opinion that Spain will reject any such interference. Mr Olney, the late Secretary of State, offered the good services of the United States to bring about peace, but Mr Olney was told by the Spanish Legation that the Government of Spain preferred to settle the Cuban question in its own way and in its own time. Major M'Kinley will repeat the offer of Mr Olney, and Spain to be consistent will reject it. The conditions of Cuba are slightly better, or at any rate, no worse than they were when Mr Olney's intervention was courteously declined ; and the Spanish Government could not therefore accept any fresh offer of mediation. . The new President promises to exhaust every agency for the preservation of peace before resorting to war. The Arbitration Treaty with Great Britain, so successfully negotiated by his predecessor is commended, and the Senate is urged to take early action to confirm it. The financial side of the policy of the new President is the most interesting. Major M'Kinley though elected on the " sound money " principle is really a bimetallist, but he changed or modified his views to suit his party. The popular mandate with regard to the integrity of the currency, tariff reform and taxation would be enforced, and inter-national bimetallism would receive attention. It is necessary for the Republicans to placate the silver men to secure reciprocal advantages, and as a first step Senator Wolcott was sent some weeks ago to Europe to negotiate for an international silver conference. There is no hope 'of him making a success of his mission, and in that event, the M'Kinley government will use all means in its power to discourage the domestic use of gold, except as a measure of value. " The most favored plan of doing this " says a correspondent, is to deprive gold coins of less than lOdol., after a given date, of their legal tender, and to coin in future ODly 10 or perhaps even oflly 20 dol. pieces. As is believed, this would demonetise gold in America except for the settlement of international commerce, and since exchange is likely to be generally in favor of this country for many years to come, the embarassment would be on the side of the man who was forced to buy cotton or wheat —something he must have—and could only offer in payment either dispensable luxuries or a metal which the seller would only accept with reluctance and at a discount." This programme will not conflict with the pledge extracted from M'Kinley " That all parts of the currency should be maintained at parity with each other," but it does not conflict with the expectations of the extreme gold standard men. The most remarkable item in the new President's programme is that referring to trusts. The United States are the home of pools, trusts, and syndicates, scientific methods whereby men positively rob their fellows, grow rich and escape the stigma of being designated thieves. M'Kinley with six millionaries, the spawn of trusts, intends to pursue an anti-trust policy. It is marvellous, but not very wonderful when we seek for the reason. Anti-trust was the battle cry of the Bryan faction during the Presidential campaign, and had it not beeu that they were extreme silver men, there is very little doubt from the evidence now available that Bryan would have been successful. If the votes recorded in New York, Pennsylvania, and Massachusetts be omitted from the calculation, then in the forty-two remaining States Bryan had a majority of 110,000 votes, and if Illinois and Ohio be also omitted, then Bryan had a majority of nearly 400,000 in the other forty States. The commercial States went against him because of his views on the currency, but his general policy was acceptable, but more especially his anti-trust programme. The millionaire cabinet is obliged in its own interest, to take cognisance of the popular will, and it may be that in seeking to outwit the Bryanites, M-Kinley and his millionaires may do more to break down trusts and monopolies and to restrict rights of ownership than even Bryan contemplated. The fact that monopoly loving millionaires are compelled to legislate against themselves is evidence that the grasp of the money power on the party machine is visibly geting weaker. Finally we have to recognise the Presidential statement that the revival of business will take time. With a programme full of explosives against trade, it would be surprising if there was auy immediate revival. The Yankees no more than other people, can expect to escape punishment for past misdeeds, and America must suffer very severely. Revising the tariff, settling the currency, meddling with taxation, breaking down trusts is just the sort of policy to disturb trade, and cause commercial paralysis, and with a dash of serious jingoism thrown in the prospect is - decidedly more gloomy. M'Kinley and his millionaires have stirring times to deul with, and it will be interesting to watch their progress.