any other country. The Democratic platform of 1896 did not
venture to go farther in the way of censure than to declare that "it is
the duty of Congress to use all the constitutional power which remains
after that decision, or which may come from its reversal by the court as
it may hereafter be constituted, so that the burdens of taxation may be
equally and impartially laid, to the end that wealth may bear its due
proportion of the expenses of the government." Even this suggestion of
possible future interference with the court turned out to be a heavy
party load in the campaign.

With the elimination of the income tax, the revenues of the country
became insufficient to meet the demands upon the Treasury, and Carlisle
was obliged to report a deficit of $42,805,223 for 1895. The change of
party control in Congress brought no relief. The House, under the able
direction of Speaker Reed, passed a bill to augment the revenue by
increasing customs duties and also a bill authorizing the Secretary of
the Treasury to sell bonds or issue certificates of indebtedness bearing
interest at three per cent. Both measures, however, were held up in
the Senate, in which the silver faction held the balance of power.*
On February 1, 1896, a free silver substitute for the House bond
bill passed the Senate by a vote of forty-two to thirty-five, but the
minority represented over eight million more people than the majority.
The House refused, by 215 to 90, to concur in the Senate's amendment,
and the whole subject was then dropped.

* The distribution of party strength in the Senate was:
Republicans, 43; Democrats, 39; Populists, 6. Republicans made
concessions to the Populists which caused them to refrain from voting
when the question of organisation was pending, and the Republicans were
thus able to elect the officers and rearrange the committees, which
they did in such a way as to put the free silver men in control of the
committee on finance. The bills passed by the house were referred to
this committee, which thereupon substituted bills providing for free
coinage of silver.

President Cleveland had to carry on the battle to maintain the gold
standard and to sustain the public credit without any aid from Congress.
The one thing he did accomplish by his efforts, and it was at that
moment the thing of chief importance, was to put an end to party
duplicity on the silver question. On that point, at least, national
party platforms ab