e to the responsibility
incurred and keenly realize all the consequences that may follow." The
possibility of conflict, thus hinted, was averted when Great Britain
agreed to arbitration, but meanwhile, American securities in great
numbers were thrown upon the market through sales of European account
and added to the financial strain.

* See "The Path of Empire," by Carl Russell Fish (in "The
Chronicles of America").

The invincible determination which President Cleveland showed in this
memorable struggle to maintain the gold standard will always remain his
securest title to renown, but the admiration due to his constancy of
soul cannot be extended to his handling of the financial problem. It
appears, from his own account, that he was not well advised as to the
extent and nature of his financial resources. He did not know until
February 7, 1895, when Mr. J. P. Morgan called his attention to the
fact, that among the general powers of the Secretary of the Treasury is
the provision that he "may purchase coin with any of the bonds or notes
of the United States authorized by law, at such rates and upon such
terms as he may deem most advantageous to the public interest." The
President was urged to proceed under this law to buy $100,000,000 in
gold at a fixed price, paying for it in bonds. This advice Cleveland did
not accept at the time, but in later years he said that it was "a wise
suggestion," and that he had "always regretted that it was not adopted."

But apart from any particular error in the management of the Treasury,
the general policy of the Administration was much below the requirements
of the situation. The panic came to an end in the fall of 1893, much as
a great conflagration expires through having reached all the material on
which it can feed, but leaving a scene of desolation behind it. Thirteen
commercial houses out of every thousand doing business had failed.
Within two years, nearly one fourth of the total railway capitalization
of the country had gone into bankruptcy, involving an exposure of
falsified accounts sufficient to shatter public confidence in the
methods of corporations. Industrial stagnation and unemployment were
prevalent throughout the land. Meanwhile, the congressional situation
was plainly such that only a great uprising of public opinion could
break the hold of the silver faction. The standing committee system,
which controls the gateways of legislation, is made up on a system o