The Daily Morning Astorian

THE REPUBLICAN POSITION.

The president and his advisers are said to be in a state of gloom bordering very close onto utter despondency regarding the rapidly approaching crisis in the financial affairs of the government. That this alarming condition is due to the mistake of the present Democratic reform tariff goes without saying, but the point is to devise some remedy. In his despair at the hopeless confusion, incapacity, and conflict of ideas pervading his own party majority, it is reported that the president has turned to the Republicans in congress—as he did in the repeal of the Sherman act—and is imploring their assistance in formulating some plan for the relief of the country.

The answer and probable attitude of the Republicans may be summed up from a Washington press dispatch as follows: They take the position that there is not sufficient time to enter into the construction of a currency system before this congress adjourns, nor is there even time enough to patch it up decently. While this gives their opponents to understand that they must expect no help from the Republicans on any currency measure, the Republicans state that they are willing to aid the Democrats in giving to the treasury sufficient revenue to meet the expenditures of the government, and will, while so doing, emphasize the fact that this is more a question of revenue than of currency. If the Democrats desire to prevent the steadily increasing deficiency Republicans will suggest a plan, as follows:

Let the tax on beer be increased $1 a barrel if revenue is needed, and they argue that by this method something more than $30,000,000 of additional revenue can be collected speedily and easily for the last internal revenue report shows that this amount was collected under the present tax of $1 per barrel. If Democrats believe this will not be sufficient to meet the deficiency, Republicans will also suggest the advisability of a horizontal increase in existing tariff rates of between 15 and 20 per cent. This increase, they say, can be made to continue in operation for a definite period only. Precedents will be quoted to show that such an increase has been made in the past to provide for an emergency, once in particular in 1872. The fact that the Democrats attempted to decrease the revenue in the horizontal manner would be quoted to show that they would be justified in increasing it in the same way. This and nothing more will be agreed to by the Republicans, and any attempt to do more will meet with opposition on the part of a vigorous minority. There is nothing in the situation to warrant the belief that any kind of financial or currency scheme may pass the senate.