ADMINISTRATION OF CLEVELAND (SECOND), 1893-1897.
Repeal of the Purchase Clause of the Sherman Bill--The World's Columbian
Exposition at Chicago--The Hawaiian Imbroglio--The Great Railroad Strike
of 1894--Coxey's Commonweal Army--Admission of Utah--Harnessing of
Niagara--Dispute with England Over Venezuela's Boundary--Presidential
Election of 1896.
REPEAL OF THE PURCHASE CLAUSE OF THE SHERMAN BILL.
[Illustration: HENRY MOORE TELLER. Senator from Colorado. The most
prominent among the "Silver Senators."]
Grover Cleveland was the first President of the United States who had an
interval between his two terms. His inauguration was succeeded by a
financial stringency, which appeared in the summer and autumn of 1893.
There seemed to be a weakening of general confidence in all parts of the
country, and much suffering followed, especially in the large cities,
greatly relieved, however, by the well-ordered system of charity. Many
people thought that one cause of the trouble was the Sherman Bill, which
provided for a large monthly coinage of silver. Congress was convened in
extraordinary session August 7th by the President, who recommended that
body to repeal the purchase clause of the Sherman act. Such a repeal was
promptly passed by the House, but met with strong opposition in the
Senate. There is less curb to debate in that branch of Congress, and the
senators from the silver States, like Colorado, Idaho and Nevada, where
the mining of silver is one of the most important industries, did what
they could to delay legislation. Some of the speeches were spun out for
days, with no other purpose than to discourage the friends of the
measure by delaying legislation. Finally, however, a vote was reached
October 30th, when the bill passed and was immediately signed by the
President.
THE WORLD'S COLUMBIAN EXPOSITION.
The most notable event of Cleveland's second administration was the
World's Columbian Exposition, held in Chicago. Properly the four
hundredth anniversary of the discovery of America should have taken
place in 1892, but the preparations were on so grand a scale that they
could not be completed in time.
[Illustration: Model of U.S. Man of War Built for exhibit at Worlds
Fair.]
The part of the government in this memorable celebration was opened by a
striking naval parade or review of the leading war-ships of the world.
They assembled at Hampton Roads, Virginia, coming from points of the
globe thousands of miles apart. Steaming northward to New York, the
review took place April 27, 1893. In addition to the thirty-five
war-ships, there were the three Columbian caravels sent by Spain and
presented to the United States. When ranged in two lines on the Hudson,
these ships extended for three miles, and represented, besides our own
country, Great Britain, France, Germany, Russia, Italy, Spain, Brazil,
Holland, and Argentina. The steel-clad yacht _Dolphin_ steamed between
these two lines, bearing President Cleveland and his cabinet, while each
ship as she came opposite thundered her salute. No conqueror of ancient
or modern times ever received so magnificent a tribute.
Chicago, having won the prize of the location of the World's Fair,
selected the site on the 2d of July, 1890. This covered nearly 700
acres of beautiful laid-out grounds and parks, extending from the point
nearest the city, two and a half miles, to the southern extremity of
Jackson Park. The site selected by the directors was the section known
as Jackson Park and the Midway Plaisance. The park has a frontage of one
and a half miles on Lake Michigan and contains 600 acres, while the
Midway Plaisance, connecting Jackson and Washington Parks, afforded
eighty-five acres more. It is 600 feet wide and a mile in length. Since
world's fairs have become a favorite among nations, the following
statistics will give a correct idea of the vastness of the one held in
Chicago, from May 1 to November 1, 1893:
London, 1857, 21-1/2 acres occupied; 17,000 exhibitors;
total receipts, $1,780,000
Paris, 1855, 24-1/2 " " 22,000 exhibitors;
total receipts, 6,441,200
London, 1862, 23-1/2 " " 28,633 exhibitors;
total receipts, 1,644,260
Paris, 1867, 37 " " 52,000 exhibitors;
total receipts, 2,103,675
Vienna, 1873, 280 " " 142,000 exhibitors;
total receipts, 6,971,832
Philadelphia, 1876, 236 " " 30,864 exhibitors;
total receipts, 3,813,724
Paris, 1878, 100 " " 40,366 exhibitors;
total receipts, 2,531,650
Paris, 1889, 173 " " 55,000 exhibitors;
total receipts, 8,300,000
Chicago, 1893, 645 " " 65,422 exhibitors;
total receipts, 33,290,065
The countries which made generous appropriations for exhibits were:
Argentine Republic, Austria, Belgium, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Costa
Rica, Denmark, Danish West Indies, Ecuador, France, Germany, Great
Britain, Barbadoes, British Guiana, British Honduras, Canada, Cape
Colony, Ceylon, India, Jamaica, Leeward Islands, New South Wales, New
Zealand, Trinidad, Greece, Guatemala, Hawaii, Honduras, Haiti, Japan,
Liberia, Mexico, Morocco, Netherlands, Dutch Guiana, Dutch West Indies,
Nicaragua, Norway, Orange Free State, Paraguay, Peru, Russia, Salvador,
San Domingo, Spain, Cuba, Sweden, Uruguay.
All the States in the Union entered heartily into the scheme, their
total appropriations amounting to $6,000,000. The original plan called
for ten main buildings: Manufactures, Administration, Machinery,
Agriculture, Electricity, Mines, Transportation, Horticulture,
Fisheries, and the Venetian Village; but there were added: the Art
Galleries, the Woman's Building, the Forestry, Dairy, Stock, Pavilion,
Terminal Station, Music Hall, Peristyle, Casino, Choral,
Anthropological, and many others.
OPENING OF THE GROUNDS AND BUILDINGS.
The grounds and buildings were opened October 21, 1892, with appropriate
ceremonies by Vice-President Morton and other distinguished citizens.
The most important exhibits were as follows:
The Transportation Building displayed about everything that could be
possibly used in transportation, from the little baby-carriage to the
ponderous locomotive. The progress of ship-building from its infancy to
the present was shown, among the exhibits being an accurate model of the
_Santa Maria_, the principal ship of Columbus, which was wrecked in the
West Indies, on his first voyage. The Bethlehem steam hammer, the
largest in the world, was ninety-one feet high and weighed 125 tons.
Among the locomotives were the "Mississippi," built in England in 1834;
a model of Stephenson's "Rocket;" a steam carriage, used in France in
1759; and a model of Trevithick's locomotive of 1803. There were also
the first cable car built, the boat and steam fixtures made and
navigated by Captain John Stevens in 1804, and the "John Bull," used on
the Camden and Amboy Railroad, and which, it is claimed, is the oldest
locomotive in America.
[Illustration: MACHINERY HALL.]
The exhibit in the Mines and Mining Building were divided into 123
classes, including cement from Heidelberg, mosaics in Carlsbad stone,
French asphalt specimens, French work in gold, platinum, and aluminum,
silver and ores from nearly every part of the world, and ores from
different sections of our own country.
The Government Building was specially attractive, with its exhibits of
the several departments of the United States government. A case of
humming birds contained 133 varieties, and in another case were
represented 106 families of American birds. There were stuffed fowls,
flamingoes, nests, Rocky Mountain goats and sheep, armadilloes from
Texas, sea otters, American bisons, a Pacific walrus, 300 crocodiles of
the Nile, crocodile birds, fishes and reptiles, and an almost endless
display of coins and metals.
[Illustration]
The Department of Ethnology contained figures of Eskemos and specimens
of their industry, Canadian Indians, Indian wigwam, ancient pottery,
models of ruins found in Arizona, a brass lamp used at a feast 169 years
before Christ; scrolls of the law of Tarah, made in the tenth century in
Asia; silver spice-box of the time of Christ; phylacteries, used by the
Jews at morning prayers, except on Saturday; knife used by priests in
slaying animals for sacrifice.
[Illustration]
In the State Department thousands of people gazed with awe upon what was
believed to be the original Declaration of Independence as it came from
the hand of Thomas Jefferson. It was, however, only a close copy, since
the government under no circumstances will permit the original to leave
the archives at Washington. But among the original papers were the
petition of the United Colonies to George III., presented by Benjamin
Franklin in 1774; the original journal of the Continental Congress;
Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation; an autograph letter of George III.;
and various proclamations issued by Presidents, with their autographs
and letters, by Washington, Franklin, the Adamses, Jefferson, Madison,
Polk, Van Buren, Monroe, Lincoln, Grant, Arthur, and Hayes.
WONDERFUL HISTORIC RELICS.
[Illustration]
The most interesting historic papers were letters penned by Napoleon,
Alexander of Russia, and other foreign potentates, the Webster-Ashburton
treaty signed by Queen Victoria, and a shark's tooth sent as a treaty by
the king of Samoa. Precious relics were Washington's commission as
commander-in-chief of the colonial forces, his sword, his diary, and his
account books and army reports; the sash with which Lafayette bound up
his wound at Brandywine; the calumet pipe which Washington smoked when
seventeen years old; Benjamin Franklin's cane; the sword of General
Jackson; a waistcoat embroidered by Marie Antoinette; wampum made before
the discovery of America; camp service of pewter used by Washington
throughout the Revolution; Bible brought over by John Alden in the
_Mayflower_; and a piece of torch carried by "Old Put" (General Israel
Putnam) into the den of the wolf which he killed.
A section of one of the big trees of California was 20 feet in diameter
at the top and 26 feet at the base.
The dreadful sufferings of persons imprisoned for debt in England, which
led to the founding of Georgia, were recalled by a warrant for the
arrest and imprisonment of one of the unfortunates, issued in 1721.
There also were to be seen a page from the Plymouth records of 1620 and
1621; a land patent of 1628; the royal commission creating the common
pleas court of Massachusetts in 1696; a page from the horrible
witchcraft trials in Salem in 1692; a door-knocker brought to this
country in the _Mayflower_; and portraits of many historical persons.
In the War Department were shown a six-pounder bronze gun presented by
Lafayette to the colonial forces; the four-pounder gun that fired the
first shot in the Civil War; the rifled gun that fired the last shot;
cannon used in the Mexican War; cast-iron cannon found in the Hudson
River; Chinese cannon captured at Corea; cannon captured at Yorktown;
boot-legs from which the starving members of the Greely Arctic
expedition made soup; relics of Sir John Franklin; a wagon used by
General Sherman throughout all his marches; the sacred shirt worn by
Sitting Bull at the time of the massacre of Custer and his command on
the Little Big Horn.
EXHIBITS OF THE TREASURY AND POSTOFFICE DEPARTMENTS.
In the Treasury Department was represented the United States Mint in
operation, besides historic medals, ancient and modern coins, including
those of foreign countries, a ten-thousand gold dollar certificate and a
silver certificate of the same denomination.
The eyes of the philatelists sparkled at the treasures in the Postoffice
Department, which included all the issues of stamps from 1847 to 1893.
Some of the single stamps were worth thousands of dollars, and it would
have required a fortune to purchase the whole collection, had it been
for sale. The methods of carrying the mail were illustrated by a
representation of dogs drawing a sled over the snow and a Rocky Mountain
stage-coach. It would require volumes to convey an intelligent idea of
the display in the Patent Office, Interior Department, Geological
Survey, Agricultural Department, and the United States Commission.
[Illustration: THOMAS A. EDISON.
(1847-.)]
Everybody knows that wonderful discoveries have been made in
electricity, and no doubt we are close upon still greater ones. The name
of Edison is connected with the marvelous achievements in this field,
and there was much food for thought and speculation in the exhibits of
the Electricity Building. These, while profoundly interesting, were
mainly so in their hints of what are coming in the near future.
Machinery Hall was a favorite with thousands of the visitors. The
exhibits were so numerous that they were divided into eighty-six
classes, grouped into:
1. Motors and apparatus for the generation and transmission of power,
hydraulic and pneumatic apparatus.
2. Fire-engines, apparatus and appliances for extinguishing fire.
3. Machine tools and machines for working metals.
4. Machinery for the manufacture of textile fabrics and clothing.
5. Machines for working wood.
6. Machines and apparatus for type-setting, printing, stamping and
embossing, and for making books and paper making.
7. Lithography, zincography, and color painting.
8. Photo-mechanical and other mechanical processes for illustrating,
etc.
9. Miscellaneous hand-tools, machines and apparatus used in various
arts.
10. Machines for working stones, clay, and other minerals.
11. Machinery used in the preparation of foods, etc.
OTHER NOTABLE EXHIBITS.
The cost of the model of the Convent of Santa Maria de la Rabida, where
the wearied Columbus stopped to crave food for himself and boy, was
$50,000. The relics of the great explorer were numerous and of vivid
interest.
Hardly less interesting was the reproduction of the Viking ship
unearthed in a burial mound in Norway in 1880, the model being precisely
that of the vessels in which the hardy Norsemen navigators crossed the
Atlantic a thousand years ago. It was seventy-six feet in length, the
bow ornamented with a large and finely carved dragon's head and the
stern with a dragon's tail. Rows of embellished shields ran along the
outside of the bulwarks, and all was open except a small deck fore and
aft, while two water-tight compartments gave protection to the men in
stormy weather. The rigging consisted of one mast with a single yard,
that could be readily taken down, but there were places for immense
oars, whose handling must have required tremendous muscular power.
The Agricultural Building had an almost endless variety of articles,
such as cocoa, chocolate, and drugs from the Netherlands; wood pulp from
Sweden; odd-looking shoes and agricultural products from Denmark and
from France, the most striking of which was the Menier chocolate tower
that weighed fifty tons; fertilizers and products from Uruguay; an
elephant tusk seven and a half feet long; woods, wools, and feathers
from the Cape of Good Hope; a Zulu six feet and seven and a half inches
tall; a Canadian cheese weighing eleven tons, with other exhibits from
various countries, and specimens of what are grown in most of our own
States. The articles were so numerous that a list is too lengthy to be
inserted in these pages.
[Illustration: THE VIKING SHIP.
1. Appearance when discovered. 2. After restoration. 3. Rudder, shield,
and dragon-head.]
The Manufactures and Liberal Arts Building was of such unprecedented
size that its ground area was more than thirty acres, and its gallery
space forty-four acres. Its roof structure surpassed any ever made, and
it was the largest building in the world. So vast indeed was it that it
is worth our while to impress it upon our minds by several comparisons.
Any church in Chicago, which contains numerous large ones, can be placed
in the vestibule of St. Peter's at Rome, but the latter is only
one-third of the size of the Manufactures and Liberal Arts Building. The
Coliseum of ancient Rome would seat 80,000 persons, but in the central
hall of the Chicago building, which is a single room without a
supporting column, 75,000 people could be comfortably seated, while the
building itself would seat 300,000 persons. The iron and steel in the
roof would build two Brooklyn bridges, and it required eleven acres of
glass to provide for the skylights. In its construction 17,000,000 feet
of lumber, 13,000,000 pounds of steel, and 2,000,000 pounds of iron were
used, with a total cost of $1,700,000. The ground plan was twice the
size of the pyramid of Cheops.
[Illustration]
We have recorded enough, however, to give some idea of the wealth of
treasures exhibited at Chicago in 1893, and which drew visitors from all
parts of the world. It is not worth while to refer at length to the
display of the foreign countries, for those who had the pleasure of
looking upon them will always carry their pleasant memory, while those
who were deprived of the privilege can gain no adequate idea from the
most extended description. The Midway Plaisance was a unique feature,
with its Hungarian Orpheum, Lapland Village, Dahomey Village, the
captive balloon, Chinese Village, Austrian Village, Cyclorama of the
volcano of Kilauea, the Algerian and Tunisian Village, the Ferris Wheel,
the never-to-be-forgotten street in Cairo, the numerous natives, and
other scenes that were not always on the highest plane of morality.
[Illustration]
THE GRAND WORK BY THE STATES.
We as Americans are prone to forget some of the important events in our
history. The memory of them fades too soon. A hundred, years must pass
before our country will look upon another Columbian Exposition. That, in
the nature of things, will surpass the one in 1893, as far as that
surpassed the ordinary country fairs of our grandparents. When that
great year--1992--comes around, none of us will be here to look upon its
wonders. It seems proper, therefore, that, in dismissing the subject, we
should place on record the amount contributed by each State, without
which the grand success of the enterprise could never have been
attained.
Alabama.................. $38,000 Nebraska................. $85,000
Arizona.................. 30,000 Nevada................... 10,000
Arkansas................. 55,000 New Hampshire............ 25,000
California............... 550,000 New Jersey............... 130,000
Colorado................. 167,000 New Mexico............... 35,000
Connecticut.............. 75,000 New York................. 600,000
Delaware................. 20,000 North Carolina........... 45,000
Florida.................. 50,000 North Dakota............. 70,000
Georgia.................. 100,000 Ohio..................... 200,000
Idaho.................... 100,000 Oklahoma................. 17,500
Illinois................. 800,000 Oregon................... 60,000
Indiana.................. 135,000 Pennsylvania............. 360,000
Iowa..................... 130,000 Rhode Island............. 57,500
Kansas................... 165,000 South Carolina........... 50,000
Kentucky................. 175,000 South Dakota............. 85,000
Louisiana................ 36,000 Tennessee................ 25,000
Maine.................... 57,000 Texas.................... 40,000
Maryland................. 60,000 Utah..................... 50,600
Massachusetts............ 175,000 Vermont.................. 39,750
Michigan................. 275,000 Virginia................. 75,000
Minnesota................ 150,000 Washington............... 100,000
Mississippi.............. 25,000 West Virginia............ 40,000
Missouri................. 150,000 Wisconsin................ 212,000
Montana.................. 100,000 Wyoming.................. 30,000
----------
Total................$6,060,350
The islands composing the group known under the general name of Hawaii
have long been of interest to different nations, and especially to our
country. A treaty was made in 1849 between Hawaii and the United States,
which provided for commerce and the extradition of criminals, and in
1875 a reciprocity treaty was concluded. This gave a marked impetus to
the sugar industry, which was almost wholly in the hands of foreigners.
Further treaty rights were confirmed by Congress in 1891.
David Kalakaua became king of Hawaii in 1874. He had slight ability, and
was fonder of the pleasures of life than of measures for the good of his
country and subjects. He was displeased to see the hold gained by
foreigners in his country and their rapidly growing power. He joined
with the native Legislature in its cry of "Hawaii for the Hawaiians,"
and did all he could to check the material progress of the islands.
Progressive men, however, gained control, and in 1887 Kalakaua was
compelled to sign a new constitution which deprived him of all but a
shadow of authority. The white residents were granted the right of
suffrage and closer relations were established with the United States.
While engaged in negotiating a treaty with our country Kalakaua died, in
1891, in San Francisco, and his sister, Liliuokalani, succeeded him as
queen. She was much of the same mould as her brother, but of a more
revengeful nature. She was angered against the foreigners and the
progressive party, and alert for an opportunity to strike them a fatal
blow. She thought the time had come in January, 1893, when the leading
party was bitterly divided over important measures. She summoned the
Legislature and urged it to adopt a new constitution, which took away
the right of suffrage from the white residents and restored to the crown
the many privileges that had been taken from it. She was so radical in
her policy that her friends induced her to modify it in several
respects. She was thoroughly distrusted by the white residents, who did
not doubt that she would break all her promises the moment the pretext
offered. Nor would they have been surprised if a general massacre of the
white inhabitants were ordered.
So deep-seated was the alarm that the American residents appealed for
protection to the United States man-of-war _Boston_, which was lying in
the harbor of Honolulu. The commander landed a company of marines,
against the protest of the queen's minister of foreign affairs and the
governor of the island, although they were assured that no attempt would
be made to interfere with their rights. In the face of this assurance, a
revolt took place, the monarchy was declared at an end, and a
provisional government was organized, to continue until terms of union
with the United States could be agreed upon.
More decided steps followed. On February 1, 1894, the government was
formally placed under the protectorate of the United States, and the
Stars and Stripes was hoisted over the government building by a party of
marines. There was a strong sentiment in favor of annexation, and the
American minister was highly pleased.
President Harrison was of the same mind, and authorized the presence on
the island of troops that might be needed to protect the lives and
property of Americans there, but he disavowed the protectorate. No
doubt, however, he favored the movement, but thought it wise to "make
haste slowly."
In a short time, a treaty was framed which was acceptable to the
President. It provided that the government of Hawaii should remain as it
was, the supreme power to be vested in a commissioner of the United
States, with the right to veto any of the acts of the local government.
The public debt was to be assumed by the United States, while
Liliuokalani was to be pensioned at the rate of $20,000 a year, and her
daughter was to receive $150,000. President Harrison urged upon the
Senate the ratification of the treaty, fearing that delay would induce
some other power to step in and take the prize.
[Illustration: JAMES G. BLAINE.
(1830-1893.)
Secretary of State under Harrison's administration.]
PRESIDENT CLEVELAND'S CHANGE OF POLICY.
Such was the status when President Cleveland came into office on the 4th
of March, 1893. His views were the very opposite of his predecessor's,
and he took steps to enforce them. He maintained there would have been
no revolution in Hawaii had not the force of marines landed from the
_Boston_. He withdrew the proposed treaty from the Senate, and sent
James H. Blount, of Georgia, to Hawaii as special commissioner to make
an investigation of all that had occurred, and to act in harmony with
the views of the President. On the 1st of April, Blount caused the
American flag to be hauled down, and formally dissolved the
protectorate. Minister Stevens was recalled and succeeded by Mr. Blount
as minister plenipotentiary. Steps were taken to restore Liliuokalani,
and her own brutal stubbornness was all that prevented. She was
determined to have the lives of the leaders who had deposed her, and to
banish their families. This could not be permitted, and the Dole
government refused the request to yield its authority to the queen.
The situation brought President Cleveland to a standstill, for he had
first to obtain the authority of Congress in order to use force, and
that body was so opposed to his course that it would never consent to
aid him. The provisional government grew stronger, and speedily
suppressed a rebellion that was set on foot by the queen. It won the
respect of its enemies by showing clemency to the plotters, when it
would have been legally justified in putting the leaders to death. The
queen was arrested, whereupon she solemnly renounced for herself and
heirs all claim to the throne, urged her subjects to do the same, and
declared her allegiance to the republic.
ANNEXATION OF HAWAII.
Let us anticipate a few events. In May, 1898, Representative Newlands
introduced into the House a resolution providing for the annexation of
Hawaii. Considerable opposition developed in the Senate, but the final
vote was carried, July 6th, by 42 to 21. The President appointed as
members of the commission, Senators Shelby M. Cullom, of Illinois; John
T. Morgan, of Alabama; Representative Robert R. Hitt, of Illinois; and
President Dole and Chief Justice Judd, of the Hawaiian Republic. All the
congressmen named were members of the Committee on Foreign Relations and
Foreign Affairs.
The news of the admission of Hawaii to the Union was received in the
islands with great rejoicing. A salute of one hundred guns was fired on
the Executive Building grounds at Honolulu, and the formal transfer,
August 12th, was attended with appropriate ceremonies. A full
description of these interesting islands, their history and their
products, will be found in Chapter XXVI. of this volume.
THE GREAT RAILROAD STRIKE OF 1894.
One of the greatest railroad strikes in this country occurred in the
summer of 1894. Early in the spring of that year, the Pullman Car
Company, whose works are near Chicago, notified their employes that they
had to choose between accepting a reduction in their wages or having the
works closed. They accepted the cut, although the reduction was from
twenty-five to fifty per cent. of what they had been receiving.
When May came, the distressed workmen declared it impossible for them
and their families to live on their meagre pay. They demanded a
restoration of the old rates; but the company refused, affirming that
they were running the business at a loss and solely with a view of
keeping the men at work. On the 11th of May, 3,000 workmen, a majority
of the whole number, quit labor and the company closed their works.
The American Railway Union assumed charge of the strike and ordered a
boycott of all Pullman cars. Eugene V. Debs was the president of the
Union, and his sweeping order forbade all engineers, brakemen, and
switchmen to handle the Pullman cars on every road that used them. This
was far-reaching, since the Pullman cars are used on almost every line
in the country.
A demand was made upon the Pullman Company to submit the question to
arbitration, but the directors refused on the ground that there was
nothing to arbitrate, the question being whether or not they were to be
permitted to operate their own works for themselves. A boycott was
declared on all roads running out of Chicago, beginning on the Illinois
Central. Warning was given to every road handling the Pullman cars that
its employes would be called out, and, if that did not prove effective,
every trade in the country would be ordered to strike.
[Illustration: ON THE BALTIMORE AND OHIO RAILWAY.]
The railroad companies were under heavy bonds to draw the Pullman cars,
and it would have cost large sums of money to break their contracts.
They refused to boycott, and, on June 26th, President Debs declared a
boycott on twenty-two roads running out of Chicago, and ordered the
committees representing the employes to call out the workmen without an
hour's unnecessary delay.
The strike rapidly spread. Debs urged the employes to refrain from
injuring the property of their employers, but such advice is always
thrown away. Very soon rioting broke out, trains were derailed, and men
who attempted to take the strikers' places were savagely maltreated.
There was such a general block of freight that prices of the necessaries
of life rose in Chicago and actual suffering impended. So much property
was destroyed that the companies called on the city and county
authorities for protection. The men sent to cope with the strikers were
too few, and when Governor Altgeld forwarded troops to the scenes of the
outbreaks, they also were too weak, and many of the militia openly
showed their sympathy with the mob.
Growing bolder, the strikers checked the mails and postal service and
resisted deputy marshals. This brought the national government into the
quarrel, since it is bound to provide for the safe transmission of the
mails. On July 2d a Federal writ was issued covering the judicial
district of northern Illinois, forbidding all interference with the
United States mails and with interstate railway commerce. Several
leaders of the strike were arrested, whereat the mob became more
threatening than ever. The government having been notified that Federal
troops were necessary to enforce the orders of the courts in Chicago, a
strong force of cavalry, artillery, and infantry was sent thither.
Governor Altgeld protested, and President Cleveland told him in effect
to attend to his own business and sent more troops to the Lake City.
There were several collisions between the mob and military, in which a
number of the former were killed. Buildings were fired, trains ditched,
and the violence increased, whereupon the President dispatched more
troops thither, with the warning that if necessary he would call out the
whole United States army to put down the law-breakers.
The strike, which was pressed almost wholly by foreigners, was not
confined to Chicago. A strong antipathy is felt toward railroads in
California, owing to what some believe have been the wrongful means
employed by such corporations on the Pacific coast.
There were ugly outbreaks in Los Angeles, Oakland, and Sacramento, the
difficulty being intensified by the refusal of the militia to act
against the strikers. A force of regular soldiers, while hurrying over
the railroad to the scene of the disturbance, was ditched by the
strikers and several killed and badly hurt. The incensed soldiers were
eager for a chance to reach the strikers, but they were under fine
discipline and their officers showed great self-restraint.
END OF THE STRIKE.
The course of all violent strikes is short. The savage acts repel
whatever sympathy may have been felt for the workingmen at first. Few of
the real sufferers took part in the turbulent acts. It was the
foreigners and the desperate men who used the grievances as a pretext
for their outlawry, in which they were afraid to indulge at other times.
Then, too, the stern, repressive measures of President Cleveland had a
salutary effect. Many labor organizations when called upon to strike
replied with expressions of sympathy, but decided to keep at work.
President Debs, Vice-President Howard, and other prominent members of
the American Railway Union were arrested, July 10th, on the charge of
obstructing the United States mails and interfering with the execution
of the laws of the United States. A number--forty-three in all--was
indicted by the Federal grand jury, July 19th, and the bonds were fixed
at $10,000 each. Bail was offered, but they declined to accept it and
went to jail. On December 14th, Debs was sentenced to six months'
imprisonment for contempt, the terms of the others being fixed at three
months.
On August 5th, the general committee of strikers officially declared the
strike at an end in Chicago, and their action was speedily imitated
elsewhere.
COXEY'S COMMONWEAL ARMY.
One of the most remarkable appeals made directly to the law-making
powers by the unemployed was that of Coxey's "Commonweal Army." Despite
some of its grotesque features, it was deserving of more sympathy than
it received, for it represented a pitiful phase of human poverty and
suffering.
The scheme was that of J.S. Coxey, of Massillon, Ohio, who left that
town on the 25th of March, 1894, with some seventy-five men. They
carried no weapons, and believed they would gather enough recruits on
the road to number 100,000 by the time they reached Washington, where
their demands made directly upon Congress would be so imposing that that
body would not dare refuse them. They intended to ask for the passage of
two acts: the first to provide for the issue of $500,000,000 in
legal-tender notes, to be expended under the direction of the secretary
of war at the rate of $20,000,000 monthly, in the construction of roads
in different parts of the country; the second to authorize any State,
city, or village to deposit in the United States treasury
non-interest-bearing bonds, not exceeding in amount one-half the
assessed valuation of its property, on which the secretary of the
treasury should issue legal-tender notes.
This unique enterprise caused some misgiving, for it was feared that
such an immense aggregation of the unemployed would result in turbulence
and serious acts of violence. Few could restrain sympathy for the object
of the "army," while condemning the means adopted to make its purpose
effective.
The result, however, was a dismal fiasco. The trampers committed no
depredations, and when they approached a town and camped near it the
authorities and citizens were quite willing to supply their immediate
wants in order to get rid of them. But, while a good many recruits were
added, fully as many deserted. At no time did Coxey's army number more
than 500 men, and when it reached Washington on the 1st of May it
included precisely 336 persons, who paraded through the streets. Upon
attempting to enter the Capitol grounds they were excluded by the
police. Coxey and two of his friends disregarded the commands, and were
arrested and fined five dollars apiece and sentenced to twenty days'
imprisonment for violating the statute against carrying a banner on the
grounds and in not "keeping off the grass." The army quickly dissolved
and was heard of no more.
Similar organizations started from Oregon, Montana, Colorado, Wyoming,
and different points for Washington. In some instances disreputable
characters joined them and committed disorderly acts. In the State of
Washington they seized a railroad train, had a vicious fight with deputy
marshals, and it was necessary to call out the militia to subdue them.
Trouble occurred in Kansas, Illinois, and Pennsylvania. The total
strength of the six industrial armies never reached 6,000.
ADMISSION OF UTAH.
On the 4th of January, 1896, Utah became the forty-fifth member of the
Federal Union. The symbolical star on the flag is at the extreme right
of the fourth row from the top. The size of the national flag was also
changed from 6 by 5 feet to 5 feet 6 inches by 4 feet 4 inches.
Utah has been made chiefly famous through the Mormons, who emigrated
thither before the discovery of gold in California. Its size is about
double that of the State of New York, and its chief resources are
mineral and agricultural. It forms a part of the Mexican cession of
1848, and its name is derived from the Ute or Utah Indians. Salt Lake
City was founded, and Utah asked for admission into the Union in 1849,
but was refused. A territorial government was organized in 1860, with
Brigham Young as governor. It has been shown elsewhere that in 1857 it
was necessary to send Federal troops to Utah to enforce obedience to the
laws. Polygamy debarred its admission to the Union for many years.
The constitution of the State allows women to vote, hold office, and sit
on juries, and a trial jury numbers eight instead of twelve persons,
three-fourths of whom may render a verdict in civil cases, but unanimity
is required to convict of crime. The constitution also forbids polygamy,
and the Mormon authorities maintain that it is not practiced except
where plural marriages were contracted before the passage of the United
States law prohibiting such unions.
It has been said by scientists that the power which goes to waste at
Niagara Falls would, if properly utilized, operate all the machinery in
the world. The discoveries made in electricity have turned attention to
this inconceivable storage of power, with the result that Niagara has
been practically "harnessed."
In 1886, the Niagara Falls Power Company was incorporated, followed
three years later by that of the Cataract Construction Company. Work
began in October, 1890, and three more years were required to complete
the tunnel, the surface-canal, and the preliminary wheel-pits.
The first distribution of power was made in August, 1895, to the works
of the Pittsburg Reduction Company, near the canal. Other companies were
added, and the city of Buffalo, in December, 1895, granted a franchise
to the company to supply power to that city. The first customer was the
Buffalo Railway Company. November 15, 1896, at midnight, the current was
transmitted by a pole line, consisting of three continuous cables of
uninsulated copper, whose total length was seventy-eight miles. Since
that date, the street cars have been operated by the same motor, with
more industrial points continually added.
[Illustration: A GOLD PROSPECTING PARTY ON DEBATABLE LAND IN BRITISH
GUIANA.]
While our past history shows that we have had only two wars with Great
Britain, yet it shows also that talk of war has been heard fully a score
of times. Long after 1812, we were extremely sensitive as regarded the
nation that the majority of Americans looked upon as our hereditary foe,
and the calls for war have been sounded in Congress and throughout the
land far oftener than most people suspect. That such a calamity to
mankind has been turned aside is due mainly to the good sense and mutual
forbearance of the majority of people in both countries. England and the
United States are the two great English-speaking nations. Together they
are stronger than all the world combined. With the same language, the
same literature, objects, aims, and religion, a war between them would
be the most awful catastrophe that could befall humanity.
The last flurry with the "mother country" occurred in the closing weeks
of 1895, and related to Venezuela, which had been at variance with
England for many years. Until 1810, the territory lying between the
mouths of the Orinoco and the Amazon was known as the Guianas. In the
year named Spain ceded a large part of the country to Venezuela, and in
1814 Holland ceded another to Great Britain. The boundary between the
Spanish and Dutch possessions had never been fixed by treaty, and the
dispute between England and Venezuela lasted until 1887, when diplomatic
relations were broken off between the two countries.
Venezuela asked that the dispute might be submitted to arbitration, but
England would not agree, though the territory in question was greater in
extent than the State of New York. The United States was naturally
interested, for the "Monroe Doctrine" was involved, and in February,
1895, Congress passed a joint resolution, approving the suggestion of
the President that the question should be submitted to arbitration, but
England still refused. A lengthy correspondence took place between Great
Britain and this country, and, on December 17, 1895, in submitting it to
Congress, President Cleveland asked for authority from that body to
appoint a commission to determine the merits of the boundary dispute, as
a guide to the government in deciding its line of action, insisting
further that, if England maintained her unwarrantable course, the United
States should resist "by every means in its power, as a willful
aggression upon its rights and interests, the appropriation by Great
Britain of any lands, or the exercise of governmental jurisdiction over
any territory, which after investigation we have determined of right
belongs to Venezuela."
There was no mistaking the warlike tone of these words. The country and
Congress instantly fired up and the land resounded with war talk.
Congress immediately appropriated the sum of $100,000 for the expense of
the commission of inquiry, and two days later the Senate passed the bill
without a vote in opposition. The committee was named on the 1st of the
following January and promptly began its work.
But the sober second thought of wise men in both countries soon made
itself felt. Without prolonging the story, it may be said that the
dispute finally went to arbitration, February 2, 1897, where it should
have gone in the first place, and it was settled to the full
satisfaction of Great Britain, the United States, and Venezuela. Another
fact may as well be conceded, without any reflection upon our
patriotism: Had England accepted our challenge to war, for which she was
fully prepared with her invincible navy, and we were in a state of
unreadiness, the United States would have been taught a lesson that she
would have remembered for centuries to come. Thank God, the trial was
spared to us and in truth can never come, while common sense reigns.
[Illustration: COUDERT. WHITE. BREWER. ALVEY. GILMAN. VENEZUELAN
COMMISSION. Appointed by President Cleveland, January, 1896, to
determine the true boundary between British Guiana and Venezuela.]
THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION OF 1896.
The presidential election in the fall of 1896 was a remarkable one. The
month of September had hardly opened when there were eight presidential
tickets in the field. Given in the order of their nominations they
were:
Prohibition (May 27th)--Joshua Levering, of Maryland; Hale Johnson, of
Illinois.
National Party, Free Silver, Woman-Suffrage offshoot of the regular
Prohibition (May 28th)--Charles E. Bentley, of Nebraska; James H.
Southgate, of North Carolina.
Republican (June 18th)--William McKinley, of Ohio; Garret A. Hobart, of
New Jersey.
Socialist-Labor (July 4th)--Charles H. Matchett, of New York; Matthew
Maguire, of New Jersey.
Democratic (July 10th to 11th)--William Jennings Bryan, of Nebraska;
Arthur Sewall, of Maine.
People's Party (July 24th to 25th)--William Jennings Bryan, of Nebraska;
Thomas E. Watson, of Georgia.
National Democratic Party (September 8th)--John McAuley Palmer, of
Illinois; Simon Boliver Buckner, of Kentucky.
[Illustration: WM. JENNINGS BRYAN. Democratic candidate for President,
1896.]
As usual, the real contest was between the Democrats and Republicans.
The platform of the former demanded the free coinage of silver, which
was opposed by the Republicans, who insisted upon preserving the
existing gold standard. This question caused a split in each of the
leading parties. When the Republican nominating convention inserted the
gold and silver plank in its platform, Senator Teller, of Colorado, led
thirty-two delegates in their formal withdrawal from the convention. A
large majority of those to the National Democratic Convention favored
the free coinage of silver in the face of an urgent appeal against it by
President Cleveland. They would accept no compromise, and, after
"jamming" through their platform and nominating Mr. Bryan, they made
Arthur Sewall their candidate for Vice-President, though he was
president of a national bank and a believer in the gold standard.
In consequence of this action, the Populists or People's Party refused
to accept the candidature of Mr. Sewall, and put in his place the name
of Thomas E. Watson, who was an uncompromising Populist.
There was also a revolt among the "Sound Money Democrats," as they were
termed. Although they knew they had no earthly chance of winning, they
were determined to place themselves on record, and, after all the other
tickets were in the field, they put Palmer and Buckner in nomination. In
their platform they condemned the platform adopted by the silver men and
the tariff policy of the Republicans. They favored tariff for revenue
only, the single gold standard, a bank currency under governmental
supervision, international arbitration, and the maintenance of the
independence and authority of the Supreme Court.
Mr. Bryan threw all his energies into the canvass and displayed
wonderful industry and vigor. He made whirlwind tours through the
country, speaking several times a day and in the evening, and won many
converts. Had the election taken place a few weeks earlier than the
regular date, it is quite probable he would have won. Mr. McKinley made
no speech-making tours, but talked many times to the crowds who called
upon him at his home in Canton, Ohio. The official vote in November was
as follows:
McKinley and Hobart, Republican, 7,101,401 popular votes; 271 electoral
votes.
Bryan and Sewall, Democrat and Populist, 6,470,656 popular votes; 176
electoral votes.
Levering and Johnson, Prohibition, 132,007 popular votes.
Palmer and Buckner, National Democrat, 133,148 popular votes.
Matchett and Maguire, Socialist-Labor, 36,274 popular votes.
Bentley and Southgate, Free Silver Prohibition, 13,969 popular votes.
Despite the political upheavals that periodically occur throughout our
country, it steadily advances in prosperity, progress and growth. Its
resources were limitless, and the settlement of the vast fertile areas
in the West and Northwest went on at an extraordinary rate. In no
section was this so strikingly the fact as in the Northwest. So great
indeed was the growth in that respect that the subject warrants the
special chapter that follows.
[Illustration: CORNER AT TOP OF STAIRWAY NEW CONGRESSIONAL LIBRARY,
WASHINGTON, D.C.]