During the war between Russia and Japan the sympathies of the American people were very largely with Japan, partly because her resources were more limited, and partly because the underhand methods of Russian diplomacy had created an unfavorable impression. But no sooner had the Russian plenipotentiaries set foot on American soil than Count Witte drew to himself the sympathetic interest of the public. This was due in part to his striking personality, and in part to the realization that the odds were greatly against him. Public opinion undoubtedly helped the Russian negotiations. The result was that the Japanese envoys went home somewhat disgruntled, and with at least an outward resentment, because they had failed to get any indemnity, and had been forced to relinquish their claims to half of the island of Saghalien. With the great prestige derived from this war, and an absorbing ambition to dominate China, Japan will undoubtedly be a formidable rival of the United States for commercial and naval supremacy in the Pacific.

CHAPTER VII

FREE SILVER VERSUS IMPERIALISM

(1900)

HEN the presidential campaign of 1900 opened,

W the Republican party had been in undisputed

control of all branches of the federal government for over three years. During that time it had passed a new tariff, conducted a war with Spain resulting in the annexation of vast insular dependencies, and passed a gold-standard act. The Dingley tariff was enacted July 24, 1897, by a special session of Congress convened by President McKinley shortly after his inauguration. The duties thus imposed were excessive, but were accompanied by a provision through which it was claimed that many of the higher rates would be greatly reduced and our commerce at the same time proportionately extended: limited reciprocity agreements were authorized with foreign powers, to be entered into by the president and proclaimed without the action of the Senate. Several such agreements were made. In addition, the act provided for reciprocity of a more extended nature: it gave the president power for a period of two years to enter into treaties with

foreign countries, providing for a reduction of not more than twenty per cent. of the Dingley rates, in return for concessions in favor of American commerce; or to transfer to the free list articles which were the natural products of such countries, but not of the United States. The reduction offered was no real concession, for the tariff had been raised to a point where with the twenty per cent. off the rates were about normal. Under this provision seven treaties were negotiated within the next two years by John A. Kasson, and submitted by the president to the Senate for ratification; but that body, controlled by special interests, failed to act upon them.' This was an act of bad faith to say the least, for the House had agreed to the bill and the president had signed it with the distinct understanding that the rates were to be reduced by reciprocity agreements.

The financial measure known as the gold-standard act was passed by the Fifty-sixth Congress, and signed by the president March 14, 1900.3 By this act the dollar consisting of 25.8 grains of gold, nine-tenths fine, was made the standard of value, and the duty was imposed on the secretary of the treasury of maintaining at a parity with that standard all forms of money issued or coined. For this purpose the secretary was authorized to set aside

1 Senate Com. on For. Rels., Compilation of Reports, VIII., 474-635. "U. S. Statutes at Large, XXXI., 45. Cf. Dewey, National Problems (Am. Nation, XXIV.), chap. xx.

$150,000,000 in gold coin and bullion from the general funds of the treasury as a reserve fund with which to redeem United States notes and treasury notes issued under the act of 1890. If at any time this fund falls below $100,000,000 and the secretary is unable to replenish it in the usual manner, he is authorized to borrow money by the issue of bonds until the fund is restored to $150,000,000. The act did not affect the legal-tender quality of the silver dollar, but provided for the retirement of the treasury notes of 1890 as fast as silver bullion should be coined into dollars and silver certificates issued in amounts equal to the treasury notes so retired. The act also amended the national banking law by providing for the organization of banks in places of three thousand inhabitants or less with a capital of $25,000 instead of $50,000, as formerly; and by allowing banks to issue circulation on the bonds. deposited up to the par value of the bonds, instead of to ninety per cent. of their face value, as before.

This act was received with great satisfaction by the financial world, and was regarded generally as settling for some time to core the financial policy of the government. The Dingley tariff, however, was by no means satisfactory to the country at large, and the dissatisfaction which it occasioned deepened when it became evident that the Republican majorities in Congress had no intention of carrying out in good faith its reciprocity features. However vital and important the tariff policy of

the government, in the campaign of 1900 it was side-tracked for other issues.

At one time it seemed that the questions growing out of the war with Spain would be the leading issues of the campaign: the Democratic national convention did, indeed, declare that it regarded imperialism as the "paramount issue," but it also adopted a silver plank and again nominated William J. Bryan as its candidate. Many of the thoughtful and conservative men of the country, who were opposed to the military and colonial policies of the Republican party, were even more strongly opposed to the silver tenets of Mr. Bryan. Instead of a clean-cut campaign on the single issue of imperialism, which was new and of transcendent importance, attention was diverted to a discussion of monetary standards, so that to the conservative men of the country it seemed a choice between free silver and imperialism.

Before the campaign opened it was evident that McKinley would be renominated by the Republican party, and it was almost equally certain that Bryan would be the Democratic candidate. For a time Admiral Dewey was a force to be reckoned with; but when he returned to this country in September, 1899, he said emphatically that he would not be a candidate for the presidency, and the American people took him at his word. Nevertheless, on April 4, 1900, he issued a statement, in which he said. that he had "reached a different conclusion, inas