,000. Our Chinese Exclusion Law was extended to the islands,
and Chinese immigration thence to the continental republic prohibited.
The joint resolution passed 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 classified service 4,000 or
more positions, removed 3,500 from the class theretofore filled through
competitive 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 Wi