History of the United States Volume V Part 17

John Sherman.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Working at desk.]

Lyman J. Gage, Secretary of the Treasury.

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John D. Long, Secretary of the Navy.

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Cornelius N. Bliss, Secretary of the Interior.

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Russell A. Alger, Secretary of War.

Fortunately for the new Chief Magistrate, who had been announced as the "advance agent of prosperity," the year 1897 brought a revival of business. This was due in part to the end, at least for the time, of political suspense and agitation, in part to the confidence which capitalists felt in the new Administration.

The money stringency, too, now began to abate. The annual output of the world's gold mines, which had for some years been increasing, appeared to have terminated the fall of general prices, prevalent almost incessantly since 1873. Moreover, continued increase seemed a.s.sured, not only by the invention of new processes, which made it lucrative to work tailings and worn-out mines, but also by the discovery of several rich auriferous tracts. .h.i.therto unknown.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Working at desk.]

James Wilson, Secretary of Agriculture.

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Postmaster-General Gary.

From a copyrighted photo by Clinedinst.

The valley of the Yukon, in Alaska and the adjacent British territory, had long been known to contain gold, but none suspected there a bonanza like the South African Rand. In the six months' night of 1896-1897 an old squaw-man made an unprecedented strike upon the Klondike (Thron-Duick or Tondak) River, 2,000 miles up the Yukon. By spring all his neighbors had staked rich claims. Next July $2,000,000 worth of gold came south by one s.h.i.+pment, precipitating a rush to the inhospitable mining regions hardly second to the California migration of 1849.

Latter-day Argonauts, not dismayed by the untold dangers and hards.h.i.+ps in store, toiled up the Yukon, or, swarming over the precipitous Chilcoot Pa.s.s, braved, too often at cost of life, the boiling rapids to be pa.s.sed in descending the Upper Yukon to the gold fields. Later the easier and well-wooded White Pa.s.s was found, traversed, at length, by a railroad. In October, 1898, the Cape Nome coast, north of the Yukon mouth, uncovered its riches, whereupon treasure-seekers turned thither their attention, even from the Yukon.

Little lawlessness pestered the gold settlements. The Dominion promptly despatched to Dawson a body of her famous mounted police. Our Government, more tardily, made its authority felt from St. Michaels, near the Yukon mouth, all the way to the Canadian border. On June 6, 1900, Alaska was const.i.tuted a civil and judicial district, with a governor, whose functions were those of a territorial governor. When necessary the miners themselves formed tribunals and meted out a rough-and-ready justice.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Men with huge piles of supplies.]

Rush of Miners to the Yukon.

The City of Caches at the Summit of Chilcoot Pa.s.s.

The rush of miners to the middle Yukon gold region, which, together with certain ports and waters on the way thither, were claimed by both the United States and Great Britain, made acute the question of the true boundary between Alaskan and British territory.

In 1825 Great Britain and Russia, the latter then owning Alaska, agreed by treaty to separate their respective possessions by a line commencing at the southernmost point of Prince of Wales Island and running along Portland Channel to the continental coast at 56 degrees north lat.i.tude.

North of that degree the boundary was to run along mountain summits parallel to the coast until it intersected the 141st meridian west longitude, which was then to be followed to the frozen ocean. In case any of the summits mentioned should be more than ten marine leagues from the ocean, the line was to parallel the coast, and be never more than ten marine leagues therefrom.

When it became important to determine and mark the boundary in a more exact manner, Great Britain advanced two new claims; first, that the "Portland Channel" mentioned in the Rus...o...b..itish treaty was not the channel now known by that name, but rather Behm Channel, next west, or Clarence Straits; and, secondly, that the ten-league limit should be measured from the outer rim of the archipelago skirting Alaska, and not from the mainland coast. If conceded, these claims would add to the Canadian Dominion about 29,000 square miles, including 100 miles of sea-coast, with harbors like Lynn Channel and Tahko Inlet, several islands, vast mining, fishery, and timber resources, as well as Juneau City, Revilla, and Fort Tonga.s.s, theretofore undisputably American.

In September, 1898, a joint high commission sat at Quebec and canva.s.sed all moot matters between the two countries, among them that of the Alaska boundary. It adjourned, however, without settling the question, though a temporary and provisional understanding was reached and signed October 20, 1899.

The commissioners gave earnest attention to the sealing question, which had been plaguing the United States ever since the Paris arbitration tribunal upset Secretary Blaine's contention that Bering Sea was mare clausum. Upon that tribunal's decision the modus vivendi touching seals lapsed, and Canadians, with renewed and ruthless zeal, plied seal-killing upon the high seas. Dr. David S. Jordan, American delegate to the 1896-1897 Conference of Fur-Seal Experts, estimated that the American seal herd had shrunken 15 per cent. in 1896, and that a full third of that year's pups, orphaned by pelagic sealing, had starved.

Reckoning from the beginning of the industry and in round numbers, he estimated that 400,000 breeding females had been slaughtered, that 300,000 pups had perished for want of nourishment, and that 400,000 unborn pups had died with their dams. This estimate disregarded the mult.i.tude of females lost after being speared or shot. Dr. Jordan predicted the not distant extinction of the fur-seal trade unless protective measures should be forthwith devised. British experts questioned some of his conclusions, but admitted the need of restriction upon pelagic sealing.

The McKinley Administration besought Great Britain for a suspension of seal-killing during 1897. After a delay of four months the Foreign Office replied that it was too late to stop the sealers that year. In a rather undiplomatic note, dated May 10, 1897, Secretary Sherman charged dilatory and evasive conduct upon this question. The retort was that the American Government was seeking to embarra.s.s British subjects in pursuing lawful vocations.

Moved by Canada, Great Britain recanted her offer to join the United States, Russia, and j.a.pan in a complete system of sealing regulations.

The three countries last named thereupon agreed with each other to suspend pelagic sealing so long as expert opinion declared it necessary to the continued existence of the seals. The Canadians declined to consider suspension save on the condition that the owners of sealing vessels should receive compensation. In December, the same year (1897), our Government ordered confiscated and destroyed all sealskins brought to our ports not accompanied with invoices signed by the United States Consul at the place of exportation, certifying that they were not taken at sea. This cut off the Canadians' best market and so far diminished their activity; but pelagic sealing still continued, under the inefficient Paris regulations, and the herd went on diminis.h.i.+ng.

That these Canadian controversies left so little sting, but were followed by closer and closer rapprochement between the United States and Great Britain, was fortunate in view of the failure of the Anglo-American Arbitration Treaty. This had been negotiated by Mr.

Cleveland's able Secretary of State, Hon. Richard Olney, and represented the best ethical thought of both nations. President McKinley endorsed it, but it fell short of a two-thirds Senatorial vote.

On June 16, 1897, a treaty was signed annexing the Hawaiian Republic to the United States. The Government of Hawaii speedily ratified this, but it encountered in the United States Senate such buffets that after a year it was withdrawn, and a resolution to the same end introduced in both Houses. A majority in each chamber would annex, while the treaty method would require a two-thirds vote in the Senate. The resolution provided for the a.s.sumption by the United States of the Hawaiian debt up to $4,000,000. Our Chinese Exclusion Law was extended to the islands, and Chinese immigration thence to the continental republic prohibited.

The joint resolution pa.s.sed July 6, 1898, a majority of the Democrats and several Republicans, among these Speaker Reed, opposing. Shelby M.

Cullom, John T. Morgan, Robert R. Hitt, Sanford B. Dole, and Walter F.

Frear, made commissioners by its authority, drafted a territorial form of government, which became law April 30, 1900.

Pursuant to the platform pledge of his party President McKinley early in his term appointed Edward O. Wolcott, Adlai E. Stevenson, and Charles J.

Paine special envoys to the Powers in the interest of international bi-metallism. The mission was mentioned with smiles by gold men and with sneers by silver men, yet the cordial cooperation of France made it for a time seem hopeful. The British Cabinet, too, were not ill-disposed, pointing out that while Great Britain herself must retain the gold standard, they earnestly wished a stable ratio between silver and gold on British India's account. Sir Michael Hicks-Beach, Chancellor of the Exchequer, had little doubt that if a solid international agreement could be reached India would reopen her mints to silver. But the Indian Council unanimously declined to do this. The Bank of England was at first disposed to accept silver as part of its reserve, a course which the law permitted; but a storm of protests from the "city banks"

dismayed the directors into withdrawal. Lacking England's cooperation the mission, like its numerous predecessors, came to naught.

In Civil Service administration Mr. McKinley took one long and unfortunate step backward. The Republican platform, adopted after Mr.

Cleveland's extension of the merit system, emphatically endorsed this, as did Mr. McKinley himself. Against extreme pressure, particularly in the War Department, the President bravely stood out till May 29, 1899.

His order of that date withdrew from the cla.s.sified service 4,000 or more positions, removed 3,500 from the cla.s.s theretofore filled through compet.i.tive examination or an orderly practice of promotion, and placed 6,416 more under a system drafted by the Secretary of War. The order declared regular a large number of temporary appointments made without examination, besides rendering eligible, as emergency appointees, without examination, thousands who had served during the Spanish War.

Republicans pointed to the deficit under the Wilson Law with much the same concern manifested by President Cleveland in 1888 over the surplus.

A new tariff law must be pa.s.sed, and, if possible, before a new Congressional election. An extra session of Congress was therefore summoned for March 15, 1897. The Ways and Means Committee, which had been at work for three months, forthwith reported through Chairman Nelson Dingley the bill which bore his name. With equal promptness the Committee on Rules brought in a rule, at once adopted by the House, whereby the new bill, spite of Democratic pleas for time to examine, discuss, and propose amendments, reached the Senate the last day of March. More deliberation marked procedure in the Senate. This body pa.s.sed the bill after toning up its schedules with some 870 amendments, most of which pleased the Conference Committee and became law. The Act was signed by the President July 24, 1897.

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Nelson Dingley.

The Dingley Act was estimated by its author to advance the average rate from the 40 per cent. of the Wilson Bill to approximately 50 per cent., or a shade higher than the McKinley rate. As proportioned to consumption the tax imposed by it was probably heavier than that under either of its predecessors.

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Wars.h.i.+ps in the Hudson River Celebrating the Dedication of Grant's Tomb, April 27, 1897.

Reciprocity, a feature of the McKinley Tariff Act, was suspended by the Wilson Act. The Republican platform of 1896 declared protection and reciprocity twin measures of Republican policy. Clauses graced the Dingley Act allowing reciprocity treaties to be made, "duly ratified" by the Senate and "approved" by Congress; yet, of the twins, protection proved stout and l.u.s.ty, while the weaker sister languished. Under the third section of the Act some concessions were given and received, but the treaties negotiated under the fourth section, which involved lowering of strictly protective duties, met summary defeat when submitted to the Senate.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Cone shaped dome, atop a cylinder of columns, atop a rectangular base.]

Grant's Tomb, Riverside Drive, New York.

Copyright, 1901, by Detroit Photographic Co.