The totals given on the popular vote vary some in different statistical publications. The above aggregate is computed from the highest vote given an Elector in each State. During Harrison's Administration Congress was divided politically as follows: Fifty-first Congress. Senate Republicans, 47; Democrats, 37. Fifty-second Congress. Senate Republicans, 47; Democrats, 39; Farmers' Alliance, 2. In the Fifty-first Congress the Republican vote, given above, was afterwards increased as the result of decisions on contested election cases. The vote of Michigan for President was as follows: The Presidential Electors chosen were as follows: At Large-Russell A. Alger, Isaac Cappon. By Districts-(1) Edward Burk; (2) Junius E. Beal; (3) Richmond Kingman; (4) Joseph W. French; (5) Don J. Leathers; (6) James M. Turner; (7) John S. Thomson; (8) Elliott F. Grabill; (9) Wellington W. Cummer; (10) Henry P. Merrill; (11) Perry Hannah. The vote for Governor, at the same election was as follows: The Congressional delegation was all Republican except the members from the First and Seventh Districts and was as follows in the order of the Districts: (1) J. Logan Chipman; (2) Edward P. Allen; (3) James O'Donnell; (4) Julius C. Burrows; (5) Charles E Belknap; (6) Mark S. Brewer; (7) Justin R. Whiting; (8) Aaron T. Bliss: (9) Byron M. Cutcheon; (10) Frank W. Wheeler; (11) Samuel M. Steph enson. XXXII. PRESIDENT HARRISON'S ADMINISTRATION. A Close House in Congress-Prospect of Little Legislation—The Device of Speaker Reed-A Small Majority Made Effective-Obstructive Tactics Baffled The Silver Question Made Prominent-Passage of the Sherman Silver Act-The Republicans Not in Control on This Subject-The Bargain Under Which the Passage of the McKinley Tariff Act Became Possible-Effects of That Act on Trade-The Political Whirlwind of 1890. The Fifty-first Congress had not been long in session when it began to appear as if no important legislation could be accomplished on account of the closeness of the House. The Republicans had there a majority of only eight, and could not often have enough of those present to constitute a quorum. The Democrats, by refraining from voting, could generally break a quorum, and by dilatory motions could harass the Republicans. But the new Speaker, Thomas B. Reed, of Maine, was equal to the emergency. He was a man of strong will, ready wit, great resourcefulness, and utterly fearless. He facilitated business by refusing to entertain dilatory motions, and established the practice of counting a quorum, even when the roll call did not show one present. The House had power to compel the attendance of a member, but no power to make him vote, after it had secured his attendance. Speaker Reed took the ground that if a member was visible on the floor of the House, he was present, whether he voted or not, and on a number of occasions ordered the Clerk, in order to make up a quorum, to record as present certain non-voting members whom he saw in the Hall. This "counting a quorum," as it was called, was bitterly denounced by the Democrats, who gave to the Speaker the title of "Czar Reed." Then they began to use various devices to escape being counted, hiding behind the seats, or making for the doors On one occasion Representative Kilgore, of Texas, made himself famous by kicking down a door which he found locked at one of the exits. Mr. Reed was sustained in his course by the Republicans, as well as by that broad common sense and sense of justice which requires that, in a parliamentary body, the majority shall, at least, have the means of bringing a measure to a vote. The Speaker, not wishing to depend upon his individual rulings, devised a system of rules to enable the majority, which was always held responsible for legislation, to exercise more control under the proceedings than was possible under the old rules. These rules, after a long contest, were adopted by a party vote of 161 to 144, with 23 members not voting Their main principles have been applied in the House ever since, even Speaker Crisp taking advantage of them in the next House, which had nearly a three-fourths Democratic majority. With the new methods of facilitating business, this Congress transacted more business that was of serious moment than almost any other Congress since the war. The first of the important measures to pass, though not the first to be introduced, was the Coinage Act of July 14, 1890, commonly called the Sherman Silver Act. The Bland-Allison Act of 1878 had not accomplished the purpose designed, of getting silver into circulation in any large amount, nor of bringing it to par with gold. On the contrary the white metal had suffered a material decline in value. In 1877, the average value of the silver contained in a standard dollar was .92958. In 1878, the year in which the Bland-Allison Bill passed, it was .89222. In 1889 it had fallen to .72325. Not only did the compulsory purchase of $2,000,000 worth of bullion a month not bring silver to par with gold, but the silver dollars themselves would not circulate to any great extent. The Govern ment had purchased, under the Bland-Allison Act 12,136 tons of silver at a cost of $308,199,262, and had coined out of this 378,166,793 standard silver dollars, at a mintage cost of $5,000,000. These dollars were legal tender for most purposes, and the Government, at one time took pains to get them into use by shipping them to remote points yet not more than one-eighth of them found their way into circulation. The Government might have saved the cost of minting by stor ing the bullion, and issuing certificates against it. Still the cry was for more silver, coupled with the demand for the free coinage of that metal. Upon this subject the President said in his first annual message to Congress December 3, 1889: "The Act of February 28, 1878, requiring the purchase by the Treasury of $2,000,000 of silver bullion each month, to be coined into silver dollars, has been observed by the Department, but neither the present Secretary, nor any of his predecessors, has deemed it safe to exercise the discre tion given by law to increase the monthly purchase to $4,000,000. He further said he thought it was clear that "if we should make the coin age of silver at the present ratio free, we must expect that the difference in the bullion value of the gold and silver dollars will be taken account of in commercial transactions;" in other words, that gold would disappear, and that business would be conducted on the basis of the bullion value of the depreciated silver dollar. However, he favored the use of silver in the currency, and approved a plan, submitted by Secretary Windom, providing for the issue of notes against the deposits of American silver bullion at the market price of bullion on the day of deposit. These notes were to be redeemed, either in gold or silver bullion, at its then market value, at the option of the Government, or in silver dollars at the option of the holder. It would seem as if this measure was likely to produce a currency of fluctuating and uncertain value, but the experiment contained in it was never tried. As a substitute for this, E. H. Conger, of Iowa, introduced a bill providing for the purchase of $4,500,000 worth of silver bullion a month, and the issue of Treasury notes against it; providing also for free coinage when the market price of silver reached $1.00 for 3714 grains of the pure metal. This Bill passed the House but in the Senate a clause was inserted providing for the free and unlimited coinage of silver. This was done, June 17, 1890, on motion of Senator Plumb, of Kansas, by an affirmative vote of 29 Democrats and 14 Republicans, to a negative vote of 22 Republicans and 2 Democrats. The House, by a vote of 152 to 135, rejected the free coinage amendment, and the Bill went to a Committee of Conference. A compromise measure was the result. It repealed the Bland-Allison Act, and directed the Secretary of the Treasury to purchase 4,500,000 ounces of silver each month, at the market price, and to issue in payment for it Treasury notes, these notes to be a legal tender for all debts, public and private, except where otherwise provided in the contract, the notes to be redeemable in gold or silver coin, at the option of the Secretary. After the legal tender clause was one which read: "It being the established policy of the United States to maintain the two metals on a parity with each other, upon the present legal ratio, or such ratio as may be provided by law." The Act also provided for the actual coinage of 2,000,000 silver dollars a month up to July 1, 1891. After that date no dollars were to be coined, but the bullion purchased was to be held in the form of fine silver bars. This Bill passed the Senate by a vote of 39 to 26, and the House by a vote of 122 to 90, the yeas in both Houses being all Republican except one Independent, and the nays all Democratic. Under this Act 28,298,455 silver dollars were coined, and up to April 1, 1891, $89,602, 198 in Treasury notes had been issued to pay for bullion deposited and of this sum $77,605,000 was in circulation. November 1, 1891, the total of silver dollars coined, and in existence in the United States under all the Acts, was $409,475,368, of which $347,339,907 was in the Treasury, and only $62,135,461 was in circulation. The 54,000,000 ounces of silver bullion which, under this Act. the Treasury was required to purchase, represented just about the output of the mines in this country in 1890. It was thought that by furnishing so large a sure cash customer for the whole American product of the white metal, its market price would very materially appreciate, perhaps come even to par with gold. This result did not follow, for though there was a temporary appreciation, a rapid decline followed. In 1889, the year preceding the passage of the Sherman Act, the average value of a silver dollar, as compared with gold, was .72325. In 1890, during about half of which that law was in operation, it was .80927. In 1891 it was .76416; the next year .67401, and in 1893, the year of the panic, and of the repeal of the Sherman Act, it was .60351. The year following that, 1894, it fell to .49097 and since then it has had some fluctuations, the lowest average being in 1898, when it was .45640. Although the Republicans were in a numerical majority in both Houses of the Fifty-first Congress, and in the Senate of the Fiftysecond, they could not control that majority on all questions. The admission of North and South Dakota and Washington as States, in time to be represented in the Fifty-first Congress, and of Montana and Idaho in time for representation in the Fifty-second, seemed to give them control of the Senate for a long time to come. But it turned out that upon the silver question, the Senators from those States, as well as those from Colorado and Nevada, and Senator Plumb, of Kansas, were as much against the majority of the Republicans as were the Democrats themselves. Whatever legislation was accomplished, therefore, was necessarily the result of compromise, if not of bargain. Of the passage of this Act, Senator Sherman says in his "Recollections of Forty Years:" "The situation at that time was critical. A large majority of the Senate favored free silver, and it was feared that the small majority in the other House might yield |