ard. The timid, and those
whose patriotism is in their purse, were making inroads on the gold
reserve, which fell below $100,000,000.

By the resumption act of 1875 the Secretary of the Treasury was
authorized, to enable him to pay United States notes on demand, to
sell either of three classes of bonds bearing respectively five,
four and a half and four per cent. interest, but the question arose,
in 1894, whether he could sell these bonds to meet current
expenditures. All of them were worth a premium in the market.
Bonds bearing three per cent. running a short period could then
have been sold at par. In common with many others I foresaw, in
February, 1893, that the tariff policy of the then incoming
administration would reduce our revenue below our expenditures,
and sought to have Congress authorize the sale of bonds bearing
three per cent. interest instead of those at a higher rate already
authorized. I saw plainly that the incoming administration would
enter on precisely the same course as that adopted by Buchanan, of
providing insufficient revenue for the support of the government,
resulting in the gradual increase of the public debt and the
disturbance of our financial system. During each year of Buchanan's
administration the public debt increased, as it has been steadily
increasing during Cleveland's administration, and great embarrassment
grows out of this fact. My friendly suggestion was defeated and
the result has been the sale of four per cent. bonds at a sacrifice.

The President recommended the removal of restrictions upon the
importation of the raw materials necessary to our manufactures.
The tariff bill, as it passed, imposed duties on nearly all raw
materials except wool. This important product of the farmer was
made duty free. I made every effort to prevent this injustice.
Free wool was the culminating atrocity of the tariff law. By it
a revenue of over eight millions a year was surrendered for the
benefit of woolen manufacturers. I appealed to the Senate to give
some protection to this great industry of our country. It was
generally classed as the fifth of the industries of the United
States, including the manufacture of woolens, and I have no doubt
it fully came up to that grade. Over a million farmers were engaged
in the growth of wool. It involved an annual product estimated at
$125,000,000 under the former prices, but probably under the prices
after the passage of the Wilson bill it w