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.