and Stevenson received 277 electoral votes, to 145 for Harrison and Morton, and 22 for the People's candidates, Weaver and Field. The popular vote was: Cleveland, 5,556,928; Harrison, 5,176,106; Weaver, 1,041,021; Bidwell, 262,034; Wing, 21,164.

The great surprise of this election, to the members of both of the old parties, was the unexpected strength shown by the candidates of the People's Party. By fusing with the Democrats they received the electoral votes of Colorado, Idaho, Nevada and Kansas, and split the vote in North Dakota and Oregon. This fusion of the People's Party and the Democrats in the West portended serious effects on the destiny of the Democratic Party in subsequent campaigns.

President Cleveland was inaugurated March 4, 1893, and begun his second term of four years, which was marked by the worst financial and industrial disasters, affecting thousands upon thousands of the American people, ever known in the history of the country. Before he was inaugurated, a Treaty of Annexation of Hawaii had been signed (February 14, 1893), and was being considered by the Senate, but almost his first act of importance was to withdraw the Treaty from the consideration of the Senate on March 9, 1893.

Fear of Democratic tinkering with the tariff began almost immediately with Cleveland's inauguration, and manifested itself in a lack of confidence and general business uncertainty; in addition, the currency was in bad shape, and the business interests feared strongly that the Silver Act of 1890 might result in the adoption of the sil

ver standard for the United States. The evils of the Greenback system were now felt with full force; they could be redeemed in specie, but were not cancelled, and were put in circulation again, thus causing a continuous drain on the gold reserve of the country. The amount of greenbacks in circulation was about $350,000,000, and the Treasury notes issued under the Silver Act of 1890, exchangeable in gold, made a total gold obligation close to $500,000,000. The threatening state of affairs now resulted in a general withdrawal and hoarding of gold, and foreign capital, beginning to lose its confidence in the stability of American affairs, withdrew investments, resulting in a heavy drain on the gold reserve, which now, for the first time, fell below $100,000,000 in April, 1893. The general climax of all of these conditions reached its height in the Summer and Fall of 1893, and a panic of fearful proportions set in, resulting in the collapse of hundreds of banks and involving and ruining business enterprises all over the country. Never before had a panic reached so far or affected so many people as that of this year.

With the hope of benefiting the situation by the repeal of the Silver Act of 1890, President Cleveland called an extraordinary session of the Fifty-third Congress, which met August 7, 1893. In the Senate were 44 Democrats and 38 Republicans, one Independent and two Farmers' Alliance; the House was composed of 220 Democrats and 128 Republicans and eight Populists, and organized by electing Chas. F. Crisp, of Georgia, Speaker. On November 1, 1893, a Bill was passed repealing the Silver pur

chase law of 1890, but in both branches of Congress there was a majority in favor of free coinage, and this fact, notwithstanding that nothing was or could be done in the way of legislation, on this subject, although it was attempted several times, continued to disturb the nation's financial and commercial interests. Business conditions gradually continued to grow worse, and this situation confronted the second session of the Fifty-third Congress, which met on December 3, 1893. The Democratic Party in the House immediately took up the proposition of repealing the McKinley tariff law, and on December 19th, Mr. Wm. L. Wilson, Chairman of the Committee on Ways and Means, presented the Wilson Tariff Bill to the House, and it was passed by that body February 1, 1894. In the Senate it met with Democratic opposition, which joined with the Republicans in amending the bill so as to protect certain industries. A compromise was effected with the House, and the mutilated and unsatisfactory bill became a law on August 27, 1894, without President Cleveland's signature.

One alarming feature of the panic of 1893 was that, as the industrial conditions continued to grow worse, a lawless and frenzied element made itself felt in alarming strikes in many parts of the country, in some instances making necessary the calling out of the Regular Army. Another manifestation of alarming and revolutionary tendency was the marching on Washington of two armies of men to demand action from the Government, relieving their distress; their number and character, however, did not represent the best spirit of the American people, but that conditions were

so alarming as to cause such a movement is indeed a matter for serious reflection.

Two years of Democratic failure in the management of the affairs of the country had its effect on the Congressional elections in 1894, and the Democrats experienced an overwhelming and crushing defeat, and the Fifty-fourth Congress to meet in December, 1895, would be composed of 39 Democrats, 44 Republicans and six Alliance Senators; and 104 Democrats, 245 Republicans, one Silverite and seven Populists in the House. The continued drain on the gold reserve made necessary the issuance of bonds to obtain gold, and the bonded debt of the country was increased during Cleveland's term $262,000,000. The Wilson tariff bill, it was felt, would be insufficient to produce enough revenue to meet the expenditures of the Government, and an attempt was made to meet the deficit by imposing a tax of two percent on all incomes over $4,000, but this was subsequently declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court. Only one bright spot seems to appear in all this disastrous period, and it was the vigorous policy of interference by the President in the dispute between Great Britain and Venezuela. A bold and decided stand was taken for the Monroe Doctrine, but even this had its evil effect, for the business interests were agitated by the fear of war with Great Britain.

Such was the disastrous story of four years of Democratic control of the Government, and the Republicans, in the early months of 1896, looked forward with the utmost confidence to the elections of their candidates, who would be named in a convention to be held at St. Louis, Mo., in June.

CHAPTER XIX.

M'KINLEY.

"We have been moving in untried paths, but our steps have been guided by honor and duty. There will be no turning aside, no wavering, no retreating. No blow has been struck except for liberty and humanity, and none will be. We will perform without fear every national and international obligation. The Republican Party was dedicated to freedom forty-four years ago. It has been the party of liberty and emancipation from that hour, not of profession, but of performance. It broke the shackles of 4,000,000 of slaves and made them free, and to the party of Lincoln has come another supreme opportunity which it has bravely met in the liberation of 10,000,000 of the human family from the yoke of imperialism.”

William McKinley, Canton, Ohio, July 12, 1900.

The opening months of 1896 were marked by a great struggle in both of the old political parties; in the Democratic Party the struggle was one of principle; in the Republican-of men. The silver question, which had been a disturbing and unsettled factor in the politics of both of the great parties for many years, dominated the Democratic Party in 1896 entirely, notwithstanding the strenuous ef forts of the Cleveland administration and the Eastern Democrats to have the party declare against it. The instruction of the Democratic State delegations was overwhelmingly in favor of the free coinage of silver at the ratio of 16 to 1, and the matter was decided long before the Democratic Convention met. But how would the Gold