1885. CONGRESSIONAL RECORD-SE~ATE. 1279 ~· . .. . . 

By Mr. W. W. CULBERTSON: Of163voters of Ashland, Ky. · By Mr. CUTCHEON: Of citizens of Chase, of Lake, and of Newaygo 

· Counties, Mich. . By Mt. EATON: Of citizens of Hartford, Conn., and others. · By Mr. ELDREDGE: Of J. M. Bransonand159others, ofTecumseh, 

Mich. . By Mr. ENGLISH: Of Adam L. Ogg and 126 ex-soldiers, of Hancock County, Indiana. . By Mr. FUNSTON: Of citizens of Urbanna, of Ochiltree, and of 

Hepler, Kans. · By Mr. FYAN: Of B. R. A. Jones and 370 otpers, of Carthage, of 

Charles Jacobsand others, ofR. M. Peckand38 citizens, ot:WebbCity, 

of James Spain and 27 citizens of Carthage, Jasper County; of D. T. 

Bruck and 56 others, of Lawrence Countyj of John V. Atterbury and 

56 others of Elkland, Webster County; of J. E. Hunt•and 50 others, 

of Ash Grove, Greene.County; and· of Thomas J. Newport a~d 123 

others, ofNeosho, Newton County, "Missouri. . By Mr. HANBACK: Of 149 citizens of Scottville, and of 143 citizens· 

of Bull's City, Kans. . · • By Mr. HAYNES: Of Alfred J. Crane and 41 others, of Deerfield; 

of AamnWhitimore, jr., and 37 others, of Pittsfield; of J. C. Hill and 

14 others, of Wakefieid; of John Kenney and 10 others, ex-soldiers, of 

Greenville; of Isaiah Tuckerand49 others, ex-soldiers, ofRockingham 

County, and of Charles T. Gilman and 79 others, of Belmont, N. H. 

By Mr. HISCOCK: Of citizens of Cortland County, and of Syracuse, 

N.Y. · . By ~Ir. RITT: Of 15 citizens of Winslow, .of 48 citizens of Polo, of 

63 citizens of 1\Iount Carroll, and of 120 citizens of Brookville, Ill. 

By Mr. HOUSEMAN: Of David Stockdale and 38 others, of ·Wayland; ofEnglishville, and ofBerlin, Mich. 

By Mr. LACEY: Of J. S. Willson and 87 others, of Leslie, Mich. · By ?!Ir. LAMB: Of citizens.ofClay, of Yigo and of Fountain Counties, Indiana. 

By Mr. McCOID: Of citizens of Salin·a Jefferson County; of Wapello, Loui~;a CouJ;,lty, of Louisa and Henry Counties, ·Iowa. 

By Mr. McCOMAS: Of 120 soldiers and citizens of Garrett County, 

Maryland. . . By Mr. !liA YBURY: Of citizens of Wayne County, of Plymouth1 and 

of Ecorse, "Mich. . By Ur. MILLARD: Of citizens of Broome; of Tompkins, and of 

Schuyler Counties; of Dryden, of Trumbull Corners, and of Groton, 

Tompkins Connty, New York~ 

By Mr. MORRILL: Of 52 citizens of Severance, Doniphan County, 

Kansas. · • By Mr. MOULTON: Of 100 citizens of Macoupin, of Moultrie, and 

of Shelby Counties; and of Colis, Uoultrie County, Illinois. ·By Ur. NUTTING: Of numerous citizens of South Valley, Otsego 

County, and of Oneida, Madison County, New York. 

By Mr. PARKER: Of citizens of nusseU and of Hewittville, N.Y. 

By MI;'. PAYNE: Of G6 citizens of 'Yaterloo, of 38 citizens of Port 

Bvron, of S. E: Bulloch and 120 others,. citizens of Wolcott; of C. A. 

PUlver and 62 others, citizens of Sod'US; of 59 citizens of Moravia, and 

of 40 citizens of Owasco, N. Y, . By Mr. POLAND: Of Charles P. Coy and 300 others, of Bethel, and 

of Arthur S. Byam and 200 others, of Chester, Vt. 

By Mr. W. F . .ROGERS: Of ex-soldiers of Buffalo, and of citizens of 

Angola, Erie County, New York. 

By Mr. SPRINGER: Of citizens of Jacksonville, and of200 citizens 

of Forest City, Ill. 

By Mr. STEPHENSON: Of H. R. Allen and 35 ·others, of Merrill; 

of John Garty and 77 others, of Waupaca County, and of David Dicks 

and 55 others, of Langlade Cotinty, Wisconsin. _ . By Mr. J. W. STEWART: Of citizens of Lamoille, of Addison, of 

C4_ittenden, of Franklin, of Rutland, and of Bennington Counties, 

Vermont. 

! By Mr. STORM: Of citizens and soldiers of Carbo.J?. County, ~d of 

Nanticoke, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania. 

By Mr. STRAIT: Of James Hartt and 37 others, of Winsted Lake, 

McLeod County; of S. Harnden and 64 others, of Farmington, :Qakota 

County; of·w. J. Ives and 15 othern, of Hutchinson, McLeod County;. 

of J. R. ButleJ; and 76 others, of Glencoe, McLeod County; of George 

Botham and 45 others, of Murdock, Swift County: Minnesota, and of 

Fred. A. Hobbs and 42 others, of South Norridgewock, Somerset 

County, Maine. 

By Mr. WAKEFIELD: Of 125 citizens of Kasota, of 94 cj.tizens of 

Eagle Lalte, and of 45 citizens of Balaton, Minn. · By Mr. WEAVER: Of George Little and 80 others, citizens of Odell; 

of P. Sherman and 328 others, citizens -of Tecumseh; of William G. 

Stone and 83 others, _citizens of Crab Orchardi of C. F. Came and 59 

others, citizens of Louisville, and of John McCaig and 88 others, citizens of Elmwood, Nebr. . By Mr. WEUPLE: Of citizensofEdinburg, of Gl<?versville, of Ballston, of Duanesburg, of Schuylerville, and of Amsterdam, N .. Y. 

By Mr. W. L. WILSON: Of64citizens of Preston County, of62citizens of Morgan's Glade, Preston County, and of 42 citizens of Randolph County, West Virginia. . . 

By "l!r. JOHN WINANS~ Of Edward Rogers and 64 others, mem..: bers of L. E. Curtin Po~t, No. 34, of W}litewater1 and of N. G. Parks 

and 23 others, of Woodworth, Wis. · ByMr. WOODWARD: Of170 citizens of Vernon, and of64 citizens 

of Sank Counties, Wisconsin. 

·SENATE. 

THURSDAY, February 5, 1885. 

Prayer by Rev. J. G. BuTLER, D. D., of the city of Washington. 

The Journal of yesterday's proceedings was rend and approved. 

PETITIONS AND MEMORIALS. 

The PRESIDENT pro tempore presented a petition of the Legislative 

Assembly of Idaho Territory, praying that so much of the lands in that 

Territory as are not actuallyrequired for the useand occupancy of the 

Shoshone and ·Bannock Indians may be restored to the pu))lic domain 

and opened to settlement; which was referred to the Committee on Indian Affairs. · 

He· also presented. a petition of the Legislative Assembly of Idaho 

Territory, praying that so much of the lands set apart in that Territory 

for the Nez Perce Indians as is not actually needed for their use .may 

be opened to_ settlement; which was referred to the Committee on illdian .Affairs. · 

Mr. WILSON presented the peti~ion o~ Joseph Qunningham and other 

citizens of Iowa, praying that a pension be granted to John Q. Deakins, late a 59ldier in the Black Hawk .war; which was referred to the 

Committee on Pensions. 

Mr. HARRISON presented the petition of Satnuel Barr and 45 other 

citizens of Tippecanoe County, Indiana, praying that an appropriation 

of$100,000 be made for the improvement of the Wabash River between 

La Fayette and Terre Haute, and Pitt.sburg, Ind.; which was referred 

to the CQmmittee on Commerce. 

Mr. S'!BIN presented a concurrent resolution of· the Legislature of 

Minnesota; which was read, and referred to the Committee on Commerce, as follows: · . 

Whereas the Senate of the United States paSsed certain resoiutions of date of 

April22, A. D.l884,directing the honorable Secretary of War to have examined 

and to procure information as to cost, condition, and value of the Portage Lake 

an.d Lake Superior Ship Canal Company's canal and the Portage Lake and 

River Improvement Company's canal (canals tha.t cut a channel across the base 

of Point Keweenaw, making an open passage from Keweena.w Bay to Lake 

Superior), said examination· to be made with a view to determining a fair value 

of said canals; and . · · 'Vhereas the honorable Secretary of War designated Col. 0. M. Poe, of the 

United States Army, to make full examination of these improvements and re· port all the fact.-., in accord.'lllce with the terms of said Senate resolution ; and 

Whereas the honorable Secretary of War, after Feceiving a full and careful re- port made by Colonel Poe, did submit his report to the Senate of the United 

States on January 5, A. D.l885, wherein the purchase of these two canals is rec- ommended at a.. fair and reasonable price, a.nd that they be made free water .ways to the commerce of the Northwest and the great !a.kes; and, · Whereas the t()lls and tonnage dues collected by these companies are a serl· . ous burden to important industries and a large number of people who are mainly supplied by these canals, and also a serious tax to the vessel interest and 

the commerce passing through them to the Northwest; and . Whereas these canals, form important channels. that should be made free to the 

great commerce of the Northwest a.nd that is tributary to La.ke Superior; and 

Whereas the general use of these canals shortens the distance through La.ke 

Superior via these canals over two hundred miles in going east and west, and 

permits of a quiet and safe passage, avoiding the most turbulent and unsafe por- tions of Lake Superior; and · Whereas these rona.ls may be made harbors of refuge where Lake Superior is the-most dangerous in navigating, and where these canals may be made the most available shelter from the storms that occasion serious disaster in this lake 

and .in the vicinity of these canals: And therefore, 

Be it resolved by the house of representatives (the senate concurring therein), That our Senators and Representatives in Congress be urged to use their influence in procuring such legislation as will result in acquiring the title to these canals .to the United States for the -purpose of making them free water ways to the com- merCe of Lake Superior and the Northwest. 

Resolved, That the clerk of the house be instructed to furnish duly certified 

copies of the foregoing resolutions to each Senator and Representative in Con· gress from the State of Minnesota. · Adopted by the house of representatives January 15, A. D.l885, and concw-red 

in by the senate Janua1·y 23, A. D.l885. . J. R. HOWARD, 

Chief Clerk of the House of Representativ~. 

Mr. CONGER presented the petition of James Moffat and 21 other 

citizens of Michigan, praying for the passage of the bill providing for 

the purchase by the Government of the two canals acrosS Keweenaw 

Point, Lake Supe1ior, State of Michigan; ·which was referred to the 

Committee on Commerce. · 

REPORT OF COIIIMITTEES; 

Mr. PIKE, from the Committee on Claims, to whom was referred the 

bill (H. R. 4382) for the relief of William H. Davis, ~eported it without amendment, and submitted a report thereon. 

Mr. CULLOM, from· the Committee on Pensions, to whom was re- ferred the bill (H. R. 5207) granting a pension to Adalbert Stickney, 

reported it without amendment, and submitted a report thereon • 

.1\fr. JACKSON. On behalf of the minority of the committee I present their views upon that bill, which I move be printed and laid on the table. 

The motion was agreed to. 
1280 CONGRESSIONAL. REOORD-SENATE. FEBRUARY . 5, 

Mr. MAHONE, from the Committee on Public Buildings and 

Grounds, to whom the s~bjeet was referred, reported a bill (S. 2617) 

to authorize the acquisition of certain parcels of real estate embraced 

in square No. 40~ of the city of Washington, ·for the enlargement of the 

Post-Office Department b~ding, and to provide accommodations for 

the city post-office; which was read twice by its title. 

Mr. VEST. I am instructed by the Conimittee on Commerce, to 

whom was referred the bill (H. R. 2799) to authorize the construction 

of a bridge across the Mississippi Rive.r at Memphi13, Tenn., to report it 

with amendments. 

_fMr. JACKSQN. I ask the consent of the Senate to take the b~ up 

for present consideration. 'It is identical with one previously passed · by the Senate. ··-t.'l'he PRESIDENT pro. tempore. Is there objection to the present 

consideration of the bill? 

tMr. SHERMAN. Ifthe Senator is willing to let it stand over until 

after th~ morning business, I shall have no objection. • Mr. JACKSON. Very w.ell. . The PRESIDENT pro tempore. The bill will be placed on the Calendar. · · 

EULOGIES ON R~PRESE~TATIVE D1JNCAN. 

Mr. MANDERSON. I am directed by the Committee .on Printilig, 

to whom was referred" the joint resolution (H. Res .. 323) for the print- ing of certain eulogies delivered in Congress upon the late Willia]Jl A. 

Duncan, to report it favorably ,and without amendment. It provides 

for the usual number under such circumstances, and I ask for the present consideration ofthejoint resolution. • By unanimous consent, the Senate, a.'3 in Committee of the Whole, 

proceeded to consider the joilit resolution. 

The joint resolution was reported to the Senate without amendment, or~ered to a third reading, read the third time, and passed. 

PUBLICATION OF TREATIES. 

1\Ir. MANDERSON. There was referred to the Committee on Printing a message of the President of the United States of January 23, 1885, 

transmitting, in compliance with a resolution of .the Senate, copies of an treaties and conventions, except postal conventions, entered into by 

the United States and now in force. I am ·directed by the Committee on Printing to report back the message, with the aecompanying documents, with a resolution providing that the usual number shall .be 

printed. · The PRESIDENT pro ternpore. The resolution will be read. 

:rhe Chief Clerk read as follo~s: 

.Ruolved, Thab the copies of treaties and <;onventions called for by a resolution 

of the Senate dated January 5,1885, and transmitted by the Prtsident of the 

United Sta~ on the_23d of January, 1885, be printed. 

Mr.MA.....···~·IJERSON. I ask for the immediate consideration of the 

I'esolution. 

The PRESIDENT pro tempore. Is there objection·to its presen~ con- sideration? 

Jtlr. COCKRELL. I should like to ask the Senator from Nebraska 

·why not print some copies for distribution: It is au exceedingly valll:tble document, ~nd it will be required and called for by a number of 

persons. Simply to print th.e usual number will give us, I believe, but 

two copies apiece unbound. 

The PR:&giDENT pro tempore. Is there objection to the · present 

consideration of the resolution? . Ml'. COCKRELL. Until I get some information I shall object to it. 

The PRESIDENT pro tempore. It is objected to. 

Mr. COCKRELL. No; I should like to have some information on tbe su~ject before insisting OJ;l the objection. . · The PRESIDENT pro tempore. If there be no objection, debate will 

proceed by-unanimous consent on the question of present consideration. 

Mr. COCKRELL. I think this is a document which should be printed, so that we can have some copies in addition to the ordinary and usual 

number that is printed simply for storing in the libraries and committee-rooms. 

Mr. L.~GALLS. What is the usual number? 

Mr. 1\IANDERSON. Nineteen hundred. I ask consent to reply to 

the inquiry of the Senator from Missouri. 

The PRESIDENT pro tempore. If there be no objection, the Sen_ator 

from Nebraskawill proceed. . · 1\Ir. 1\I.ANDERSON. To print the usual number will require simply 

the Senate resolution I have presented. It is proposed to stereotype 

the work, so that other copies can be ordered at any time. The cost is 

ascertained, and after the usual number, 1,900, is supplied, by a con- current,Tesolution any number that may be required may be ordered. 

Mr. COCKRELL. This is simply a Senate resolution? . · 

Mr. MANDERSON. It is simply a Senate resolution for printing 

the usual number of a Senate-document. 

Mr. COCKRELL. I withdraw objection to its consideration. 

The PRESIDENT pro temp01·e. Is there ·objection to the present 

consideration of the resolution? 

Mr. MILLER, of Cali1ornia. I wa& just going to say that it is my 

:intention to bring in a concurrent resolution for publishing a large 

number. Fiv~ thousand copies of the document will propably be nec· eSsa.ry. . Mr. COCKRELL. This being a Senate resolution, it is all right. 

The PRESIDENT p1·o tempore. Is there objection to the present con- sideration ofthe resolution? The Chair hears none, and the question 

is on agreeing to it. 

:Mr. PLATT. Let it be read again. . The PRESI_DENT pro tempore. It will be again reported. 

The Chief Clerk read the resolution. "The resolution was agreed to. 

WAR DEPARTMENT EMPLOYEs. 

l\Ir. MANDERSON. I ask consent that the letter of the Secretary 

of War, communicating a list of clerks and employes, &c., in that De· 

partment dnri11g the year ended November .30, 1884, with the accom- panying list, being Order of Business 1070, heretofore reported to the 

Senate by the Committee on Printing adversely to the printing of the , 

same, be recommitted to the committee for further investigation and 

report. . The PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from Nebraska asks 

unanimous consent that Order of Business 1019, being a letter from the 

Secretary of War, communicating list of clerks and employes, &c., during the year ended November 30, 1884, be taken 1i·om the Calendar and 

recommitted to the Committee on Printing. That order will be en- tered, if there be no objection. 

1~ E TIGATIO~ OF NAVAL TABLISiil\IENT. 

Mr. CAl\IERON; of Pebnsyhauia. I am directed by the Committee oli Naval Affairs to repqrt a resolution and a k for its present con- sideration. 

The resolution was read, considered l;ly unanimous co~ent, and 

agreed to, as follows: . 

Resolvecr, That the Committee on Naval Affairs, or any subcommittee thereof 

appointed by its chairman, is here by instructed to inquil·e into the condition of 

the naval establishment of the United State!!, including all veS!!els embraced in 

said establishment-, the navy-yards of the United States, and to investigate ali 

questions touching- the organization of the Navy, the line and staff corps of the same, and all ranks and grades in said establishment, together with the pay (If 

the same, and the question of p1·omotion o.tfecting;such ranks and grades, and 

all other questions pertaining thereto; and for that purpose may sit dm.:ing the recess of the Senate , at su h times and places as the committee may determine, 

-a.nd shall ha.vo power to send for persons and papers, examine witnesses, ~mploy a stenograpller, and shall report their proceedings and such recommendations as they may see fit to make at the next, se!lsion. · . That all actual and necess:uy expenses of said committee, or subcommittee 

thereof, be paid on the approval of·the cho.iJ·man of said committee out of the 

continge?t fund of the Senate. < 

BJ;LJ, INTRODUCED. • 

1\Ir. SHERMAN· introduced a biil" (S. 2615) to authorize-medals to 

commemorate. the completion and dedication of the Washington .Monu·· ment; which was read twice by its .title, and referred to the Committee on Finance. · 

1\ir. HILL introduced a bill (S. 2616) to authorize the readjustment 

of the compensation of postmaste~ at certain fourth·class post-offices; 

which was read twice by its title, ;tnd referred to the Committee on PostOffices-and Post-Roads. 

.Mr. SABIN introduced a, joiut resolution (S. R: 118) for the l'elief of 

actual settlers on the" lands of the late Sioux Indian reservation il;l Dakota; which w~s read twice by its title, and, with the accompanying . papers, l'efe.rred to the Committee on Public Lands. · 

.A.l\IEND:U:ENT TO NAVAL APPROPRIATION BILL. 

:Air. CAUERON, of Pennsylvania, fro~ the Committee on Naval Affairs, reported an amendment intended to be proposed to the naval appropriation bill; which was referred to the Committee on Appropriations, and ordered to be printed. : · · 

UNION PACIFIC "RAILROAD DEBT. 

1\lr. VAN WYCK submitted the following r~olution; which was considered by unanimous con ent, and agreed to: 

Rdolved, That the Secretary of· the Interior is directed to inform the Senate 

what amounts were due the United States on December31,1882, from the Union 

Pacific Railroad; also, what amounts have become due from that date until De- cember 31, 1884., according to the rQle established in a decision lately made In the Court of Claims be we~n the United States and said road; also, whether the 

annual settlement was made February 1, 188-5, as pro~ded ~n the Thorman act. 

ADJUSTMENT OF POSTJ.\I.ASTERS' SALARIES. 

Mr. SHERMAN submitted the following resolution; which was con- sidered by unanimous consent, and agreed to: 

Resolved, That the Postmaster-General be directed to inform the Senate what 

number of clerks have been employed in adjusting postma ters' salaries during the present fiscal year under the act of March 3, 1883; the amount found due 

such postmasters in the adjustments now completed; the probable approximate amount that will be found due in adjustments tl;lat will be made within the 

present fiscal year with the present clerical force, and the probable approximate amount that will be fouml due dm·ing the next fiscal year with the increased 

clerical force asked for. 

A.Rl\IY COURTS·l\IARTI.A.J-. 

Mr. SHERMAN submitted the following resolution; which was con~ 

sidered by, unanimous consent, and agreed to: 

Resolved, That the CQm.mittee on the Judiciary be directed to inquire and re- port to the Senate as to whether any legislation is required, and; if so, what, in 

regard to the appointment of courts-martial and the regulation of proceedings 
1885. CONGRESSIONAL ,RECORD- . SENATE. 1281 

and pro.~ice in trials before such courts in time of peace; and whether under ex- isting law an oftlcer.may be tried before a court-martial appointed by the President in cases where the commander of the accused officer to be fried is :QOt the accuser. 

REPORT OF COIDIISSIO:NER OF EDUCATION. 

Mr. BLAIR submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was read: . · 

Be i t resolved by the United States Senate (the Bouse of &preseltlatwesconcurring), That of the report of the Commissioner of Education for 1883-'84 there be printed 6,000 copies for the use of the Senate, 12,000 copies for the use of the House of 

Representatives_, and 20,000 copies for disttibution by the Commissioner. 

1\Ir. BLAIR. That is the ordinary number p-rinted. I move that the r~olution, with the -accompanying paper, be referred to the Committee 

on Printing. · The motion was agreed to. 

MOQUELDIOS GRANT. 

Mr. MILLER, of California, submitted thefoliowing resolution; which was considered by unanimous consent, and agreed 'to: 

Resolvea, That the ~cretary of the Int~rior be, and he is hereby, directed to furnish and transmit to the Senate copies of all correspondence, aftldB.vits, peti- tions, arguments, reports, and decisions on tile in the Department of the Interior, or rendered by any of the officers of that Department, With reference to or in con- nection with the Moquelemos grant in the State of California, and the surveys thereof, and the status of settlers thereon. · 

RULE AS TO A:YEND::\IE:NTS TO APPROPRIATION . BILLS. 

Mr. INGALLS. I give notice that I shall to-morrow move to amend 

the third paragraph of Rnle XVI bystriki,ng out that part thereof which forbi~ amendments proposing general legislation on general appropriati~n bills. This notice is given under the p~· · ons of Rule XL. The 

amendment that I sha.ll propose is as follows: 

Strike out the words ''no amendment w c proposes general legislation shall be received to any general appropriation bill, norshall~y" 

and insert before" amendment," in line 2 of saidclau8e, the word "no:" 

In line 3 strike out the word ''the," before "bill," and insert "any 

general appropriation;" and insert after the word "bill" the wQrd 

''shall;" so that when amended the clause would read: 

o amendment not germane nor relevant to th~s b~ect.-matter contained in 

ny general a~propriation bill spall be recei-ved, &c. . · 

The PRESIDENT pro tempore. Will the enator send the notice to 

the desk? The rnle requires that the notice shall be in writing. 

Mr. COCKRELL. I shall also ask that it be printed. 

Mr. INGALlS. It will be printed in the RE<JORD. 

The PRESIDENT pro tempore. If there be no objection, the notice 

of the intended amendment will be printed. • 

Mr. HOAR. I think the Senator's proposed amendment to the rule 

had better be printed in the usual form also: 

The PRESIDENT pro tempore. Tliat orde.r }las been made. 

PENSION BILLS. 

Mr. MITCHELL. I desire to state that to-morrow moriling, immediately after the disposal of the strictly morning business, I intend to 

ask the Senate to take up the private pension bills on the Calendar and 

pass them. 

PRIN:rL'1G OF INTERSTATE CO:llMERCE BILL. 

Mr. CULLOM. I move that the bill (H. R. 546i) to regulate inter- s~ate co~erce and to-prohibit unjust discriminations by commoncar- ne!s, wh1ch was passed by the Senate yesterday, be printed for the use of the Senate as passed. . · 

• The motion was agreed to. 

MESSAGE FROM THE HOUSE. 

A message from the House of Representatives, by Mr. CLARK its 

Clerk, am;o~n~ that t~e ~ouse ha~ ~d.thejoint resol~tion (S. R. 

1.04) proVIding for the pnnting and distribution of the Descriptive Catalogue of Government Publications. · 

The message also announced that the House had agreed to the con- current resolution of the Senate for the printing of. 16,060 extra copies 

of the Annual Report of the Smithsonian Institution and National Mu- seum for the year 1884. · 

The message further announced that the House had concurred in the 

report of the committee of conference on the disagreeing votes of the 

two Houses on the amendments of the Senate to the bill (H. R. 8121) 

to enable the commissioners of the District of Columbia to maintain 

public order during the ceremonies of the inauguration of the President 

and for ot~er purposes. . ' 

ENROLLED lULLS SIGNED. 

The m~e also annoU?ced that the Speaker of the Ho~had signed 

the followmg enrolled bills; and they were thereupon signed by the 

President pro t~mpor . · · 

A bill (S. 468) granting an increase of pension to Mrs. Mary K. S. 

Eaton; , . 

A bill (S. 1111) granting an increase of. pension to Sally Rodman 

widow of General I~c P. Rodman: ' 

A bill (S. 1~42) to reimburse Eliz3.beth Comstock customs dues paid 

by her on articles donated for the relief of oolored emigrants· and 

A bill (S. 2278) correcting the military record of Wickliff~ Cooper, 

XVI-81 

deceased, late major Seventh Cavalry, brevet colonel, United States 

Army. 

MISSISSIPPI RivER BRIDGE AT :lliD.IPIDS. 

Mr. JACKSON. I now renew my request that the Senate-proceed 

to the .consideration of the bill (H. R. 2799) to authorize the cbnstructioiJ of a bridge across the Mississippi River at Memphis, 'l'enn., which was reported this morning by the Senator from :Missouri [Mr. VEST]. 

By unanimous consent the Senate, as in Committee of the Whole, 

proceeded to consider the bill. 

The bill was reported from the Committee onCommercewithamendments. · 

The first amendment was, in section 3, line 21, to strike out "district" and insert "circuit;" so as to read: "circuit court oft.he United 

States." 

The amendment was agreed to. 

The .next amendment was, in section 7, line 5, after the word "maintained," to strike out the words "at the time of erection of said bridge." 

The amendment was agreed to. 

The next amendment was, in section 7, line 16, to strike out "district '' and insert ''circuit;'' so as to read '' circuit court of the United 

States.'' 

The amendment was agreed to. 

The PRESIDING OFFIGER (Mr. HoAR in the chair). The Chief 

Clerk calls attention to a mistake in the print in the last line but one of section 7. The words ''of the'' are repeated. They will be stricken 

out in the second"place if there be no objection. In the first line of · section 6 there is a typographical error, which will be corrected at the 

Clerk's desk. . , Mr. SAULSBURY. I should like to have the last section of the bill 

read. If I understand it correcily it provides for the building of· the 

bridge by the Government of the United ·States in a certain contingency. · . 

The PRESIDING OFFICER. The last section, section 7, will be 

read as amended, at-the request of the Senator from Delaware. 

The Chief·Clerk read as follows: 

SEc. 7. That it shall be the duty o!t.he Secretary of War, on satisfactory proof that a. necessity exists therefor, to require the companies or persons owning said bridge to cause such aids t-o the passage of said bridge to be constructed, 

placed, and maintained, at their own cost and expense, in the form o·r booms, 

dikes, piers, or other suitable and proper structures for the guidin_g of rafts, 

steamboats, and other water craft safely through the passage-way, as sha.ll be specified in his order in that behalf; Wld ori failure of the company or persons aforesaid to make and establish such additional structures within a. reasonable 

time, the said Secretary shall proce¢ to cause the 'same to be built or made at the expense of the United States.~.. and shall refer the matter without delay to the 

Attorney-General of the United ~tates, whose duty it shall be to institute, \n the name of the United States, proceedings in any circuit court of the United States 

in which such bridge, or any part thereof, is located, for the recovery of the cost thereof; and all moneys accruing from such proceedings shall be covered into 

the Treasury of the United States. 

The bill was reported to the Senate as amended, and · the amendments were concurred in. · . 

The amenaments were ordered to be engrossed and -the bill to be read •a. third time. 

The b~ll was :t:ead the third time, and passed. 

CHANGE OF REFERENCE. 

Mr. MORRILL. I ask unanimous oonsent at this. time to have 

changed the reference of the petition, presented by my colleague [Mr. 

EDMUNDS] a few days ago, from Amos A. Lawrence and 15 other citi- zens of Boston, Mass., praying that they may be made a corporation, 

for the purpose of promoting immigration to the Territory of Utah and 

developing its agricnltural and mineral resources, with·such privileges 

and immunities and subject to such restrictions as Congress may grant or impose. It was r~ferred to the Committee on. Territories, ~nd it 

shonld have been referred to the CoJ41.IDittee on Public Lands. 

The PRESIDENT Jn'O tempor:e. The Senator from Vermont asks that 

the reference of the petition be changed from the Committee on Territories to the Committee on Public Lands. · The request was agreed to. · 

DES MOINES RIVER LANDS. 

Mr. PLUMB. I move that the Senate proceed to tl;te consideration 

of the bill (S. 1886) to quiet title of settlers on the De8 1\Ioines River 

lands, in the State of Iowa, and for other purposes. It is the second 

bill on the Calendar under Rule VIII. 

The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. HoABinthechafr). Thequestion 

is on agreeing to the motion of the Senator from Kansas. 

:Mr. GARLAND. · Mr. PresidentThe PRESIDING OFFICER. The motion is not debatable. 

Mr. GARLAND. I know it is not, but I wish to ask a· question, 

with the consent of the Senate. · · . · 

The PRESIDING OFFICER. If there be no objection, the Senator 

from Arkansas will proceed. 

:Mr. GARLAND. Does the Senator from Kansas expect to get the 

bill through fu the morning hour? 

Mr. PLUMB. I hope to have the Senate decide it some way. I hope 

the Senate will :finally pass the bill, but we shall have to take the 

chances of debate on that, I suppose. 

Mr. GARLAND. I should like to say that there is no possible chance 
1282 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD-SENATE. FEBRUARY 5, 

of getting the bill through to-day if all day be devoted to it. I make 

that statement now for what it is worth. 1 

!itr. PLUMB. That condition of things will be no more aggravated 

to-day tlian it would be to-morrow or next day. Certainly I think it 

is proper, and I feel sure the Senator from .¥kansas himself will agree 

that it is enti,rely proper, that the Senate should at an early day say 

"yes" or "no" upon the bill . The PRESIDING OFFICER, The question is on agreeing to the 

.motion of the Senator from Kansas to proceed to the consideration o( 

the bill. . The motion was agreed to; and the Senate, as in Committee of the 

Whole, resumed the consideration of the bill (S. 1886) to quiet title_ of . settlers on the Des Moines. River lands, in the State of Iowa, and for 

other purposes. · 

:Mr. GARLAND. Let the report be read. 

The PRESIDING OFFICER. The report will be read. . The Secretary ~egan to -read t)le report submitted by-1\Ir. PLmrn 

April 8, 1884, fro~ the Committee on Public Lands. 

Mr . .MORGAN. I desire to ·suggestthat by some mistake a different 

bill has found its way into the report from that reported . by the com- mittee. It was a mistake in compiling the report, I suppose. The bill 

contained and recited in the report is not the bill reported·bythecommittee. · · . • . The PRESIDING OFFICER. The bill reported by the committee 

has been read. It will be unnecessary, therefore, to read the bill in the 

report. 

The Secretary resumed the reading of the report. 

:Mr. ALLISON. I ask unanimous consent that the documents, letters, statutes, &c., may be omitted in the reading of' this report. I 

think it will facilitate time to omit them. 

Mr. GARLAND. What is the request? · 

The PRESIDENT pro ternpore. The Senator from Iowa asks unani· mons consent that the further reading--

Mr. ALLISON. No; there are a number of statutes quot.ed in the 

report and a number of letters from the Departments, &c.; recited. I 

ask unanimous consent that they may be omitted by the Secretary in 

reading. 

The PRl;SIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from Iowa asks unanimous consent that in reading the report the statutes and letters be 

omitted. ·. . Mr. LAPHAM. I desire to have them read. There can not be an understanding of the question involved unless everything is.read. 

.M:r. ALLISON. Very. well. 

The Secretary resumed the rea-ding of the report and continued till 

2 o'clock 'without concluding. · . · 

COINAGE OF .SILVER DOLLARS. 

The PRESIDENT pro tempore. The hour of 2 o'clock having arrived, 

it becomes the duty of the Chair to lay before the Senate the unfinished 

business of yesterday, being House ·bill No. 4976. 

The Senate, as in Committee of the Whole, resumed the cons~dera~ 

tion of the bill (H. R. 4976) for ~e retirement and. recoin~ge of the 

trade-d{)llar, tb,e pending question being on the motion of Mr. ll{GALLS 

to strike out section 5 of the. substitute reported from the Committee on Finance. 

Mr. BOWEN. Mr. President, this is the first occasion since I have 

been a member of this body that any legislation touching the great· 

question of silver coinage has been brought up for consideration here, 

and I regret that it is being pressed now, because it is too great a subject to be considered in the short time which the Senate-in view of 

other pressing business-can aiford to devote to it, because it can not 

be fairly and justly co~dered as an abstract proposition, but must be 

looked into in connection with many other questions which c~;>ver the 

entire range of the general financial and monetary policy of the Government in a direct way, to say nothing of the incidental bypaths into 

which we must of necessity extend our researches before we shall be 

prepared to arrive at conclusions satisfactory to our own intelligence or that of the ·people of this conn try. _ 

The issue' is ditectly presented by the amendment of the Senator from 

Vermont (1tir. MORRILL] to the House bill which we are now considering. The amendmentr if it shall become a law, stops the coinage of standardsilverd~llars, while the House bill simply retires the trade-dollars, without at all interfering With the coinage of silver as now being 

carried on by the Government. It is, I believ-e, generally conced~d that 

the trade-dollars should be retired, and in this general opinion I most 

fully coincide; but while doi.ngso I am utterly opposed to injecting into . the consideration Of this one piece of legislation· the many questions 

necessarily involved in any and every discussion of the question of 

bimetallism. · 

And right here and now, :Mr. President, I desire to disaouse the minds 

of all who suppose that we view this question solely from a standpoint 

of local self-interest. Nothing can be further from the truth; for while we plainly confess that the silver interest is one in which the mountain 

States and Territories are most vitally and directly interested, we at the same time believe that the whole nation, with all its varied resources, 

industries, and interests, is affeeted:_although not so directly-as much 

as our people at home. No, sir; the views of those of us who represent 

upon this floor the people of those S~tes are .neither blinded nor circum8cribed by the narrow abstractions with which we are accredited. 

If we were, why do we sit here and give our votes and lend our co-operation to those who advocate the protection of industries domiciled in 

the great Atlantic States? 

Sir, in the State of Colorado we p~oduce-without limit as to quantity-the material, and from it manufacture the finest Bessemer steel 

rails in the world; and yet we need no protection by law for that great 

industry. Still we are protectionists, believing that pQlicy to be for 

the best interestofthe whole country. ·We are protected in this regard 

naturally and absolutely by over a thousand miles of railway trans· 

portation. We are protectionists, not that our immediate. constituents 

need any protection for the interests I hav.e just alluded to, but be- cause we believe generally in the protection of all American industries and all American labor, fully satisfied as we are that the ~x:tensi ve area within our borders has resources varied and boundless beyond 

human comprehension, whic-h can make this nation of people self-sustaining in every regard, and that we should lCooislate not for the world 

at large, ~ but for the p~ple of this country. 

Sir, we should not commit the fundamental error, either in reason or act, of basing our action here upon the theory that we have no natural 

advantages superior to any or all of the older countries across the sea; 

because the moment we do we commit an error so fatal, so elementary, 

that we shall stumble at the ·beginning and find ourselves floundering 

to the end. Let us, therefore, begin right, by realizing that-it is unfair 

to this co}l.Iltry for us to reason or act upon the hypothesis that our capabilities, resources, and natural advantages ~e equa-l only to those 

of the old countries. It is sufficiently humanitarian that we ~o in the 

future .as in the past, and keep our porjtl open wide to the oppressed 

of all lands, limi~ed only by our unquestioned right to exclude all 

contract criminal and pau-per labor. 

Bimetallism can not be discussed iu,telligently without touching ex- tensively upon the many questions so directly connected with it. Our 

entire monetary and financial system and policy is necessarily involved 

in such a discussion, including our legal-tender acts, banking acts, loan 

acts, resumption acts, &c., to say nothing of the great questions.of labor 

and the prqtection of home industries and productions. -Therefore we deprecate all at\.empts to open up these general questions at a time 

when Congress can not, for want of time, give them the consideration 

which their importance deserves. · I shall therefore offer but few suggestions at this time. 

lli. President, I have p.lready suggested reasons for favoring a protective policy. I have also ~timated why we need no protection for our own iron industry; to show that while co.nSidering our own immediate interests and realizing the natural protection afforded us by distance and the cost of transportation, we are not _unmindful of the interests of other States, and not unwilling to give them our support when 

the general good is best subseFved thereby. Standing upon t)le apex 

of the American continent, and looking.from the door of my own mountain home, I can see nearly the whole of my own State, and in the distance can see into_the greatTerritoriesofUtah, Arizona, and New Mexico, the whole covering an area greater than a dozen of the Atlantic 

States-its· mountains, gold and silver ribbed, teeming with millions 

in value of the precious metals awaiting only the hardy. pioneer to dis- . covet and the necessary capital to mine and reduce the ores. Shall that 

great and extensive country be excluded from the Po.licy which favors 

home products and home labor? · Have we no part or lot in the grand 

scheme of American aggra~dizement? Shall we join in the protection.of 

all American industries save our oWii? . · 

This question is djrected more particular~y to members of my own party. We do not ask for a tariff by which silver shall be protected; 

but we have a right to expect that it will be protect-ed· by the coinage 

acts of Congress in new of the undisputed fact that silver coin wa.s em- braced in the money contemplated ·by the Constitution. 

Sir, it is. worse than idle to say that because certain European gevernments have demonetized silver that we must perforce do the same. The reasons which aetuateathem may have been sufficient for their 

purpose. It is a long story, and will be told in full wh_en this whole 

question comes up for discussion; but not now. Even then it should 

only be interesting to us as a matter of history, and should not in the 

least govern our action here. · This is a great country, and can not afford t-o treat as equals in natural resources the old nations with their overcrowded populations, 

parts of which populations, beginning centuries before Christ, have 

been migrating from east to west in search of new homes in new lands, 

making more room in their retreat for those they left behind, and thus 

constituting themselves the safety-valves of countries too narrow to 

hold 5o many souls. 

The problem of population is one of stupendous.magnitude and bears 

directly upon us whenever we consider policies bearing upon the fi!ture as well as the present; but that problem must also be remitted to a future period, when with arqple time we can enter into the consideration of the great reform legislation which sooner or lat;er we will find 

it necessary_ to consider. · A few passing words can not, however, do any harm. In a country 
• 1885. CONGRESSIONAL RECORD-SENATE. 1283 

of vast expanse and boundless resources we see, we feel nothing of the 

difficulties which environ nations with limited tel'l#;ory and~ superabundant population. Up to this time there has been a path· of egress 

into broader fields for those who, crowded together in unwieldy masses beyond the sea., sought a breathing plaoo in this hospitable and libertyloving land; but how shall :we stand affec~ here when we begin to 

feel a like pressure? We oceupy the ultima Thule. From here there 

is no escape, no relief by emigration; and human wisdom and forethought must solve the problem. . Mr. Pesident, I beg pardon for this digression, if it be snch. Time 

may vindicate the wisdom of the thought. I find it impossible to think 

of our financial and monetary policy without entering into a field so wide that my mental vision aspires not now to see its other side. 

Errors, fundamental errol'S, mustexist in our financial monetary system, and, in my humble opinion, no lopping off of d£-.ad or useless 

branches will be of any avail; no tinkering can ever perfect a superstructure, the foundation of which is weak and imperfect. . The ax must 

be laid at the root of the tree in the one case and the foundation-stone 

must be well and truly set in the other before the situation can be fully 

relieved. 

Since t1i.e e8tablishment of the Bank of Venice-the first effort ever made to -create money-down to the present time every conceivable 

monetary theory has been promulgated; but as yet each has been marked 

with the seal of manifest failure. · The -cry for honest money iS the just sequence of these failures. 

What is money? It is nothing mor'e nor less than a medium of ex- change. Give this medium of exchange the most substantial and desirable basis possible, and you giv~ the most honest money posSible. 

Congress call do no greater work than to give this country a monetary 

system as sound and perfect asemman wisdom can invent. Guided by 

the experiences of the past, including absolute failures as well as partial successes, I indulge in the hope that such efforts will in the end 

be crowned with suecffiS. Yon ask me for a panacea, but 1 do not con- sider myself the Moses to lead you out of the financial wilderness. · If, 

however, I can drop a single thought sufficiently suggestive to cause our :financial fathers here to even question the wisdom of any of the 

lines of thought in which they have heretofore indulged, I shall feel more than· compensated more than gratified. 

Honest money .is the b;t money that can be made with the material 

and powerwithin our control. Gold and silverhaveanintrinsicvalue. 

They are the metals out of which money has been made all over the 

world for centuries; and tlUs intrinsic value has been everywhere rec- ognized. When yon add to this intrinsic value the money function, 

the general legal-tender quality, backed up by a powerful natlon at 

peace at home, at pea-ce abroad, the area of which is grand and ~gnificent and the products of which IIiake its people absolutely self-sustaining and independent, even if they should be surrounded by an impassable wall over which they could not buy or sell anything whatever, _ you have a money as perfect .as human ingenuity can devise. But you 

do not have enough of it. To meet this deficiency r what are we to do? 

Having coined all our gold and silver and made it aJegal tender for 

all debts public and private-saving and excepting, however, from the 

provision last named all existing contracts and obligations heretofore 

made payable in any other manner-proceed to issue legal-tend~r n.otes 

with alike money functioh in quantity sufficient, when added to the 

gold and silver coin, to make a circulati.on per capita commensurate with 

theprogressand business interests of the country, which amount-and 

it should be too large rather than too small-can bearrivedatwithreasonable certainty by drawing upon the experience of the world. With a constantly increasing population, and the constantly growing business 

of a new country like ours, the volume of. currency should be corre- spondingly increa.sedfrom.year to year, say about 3 per cent. per annum, 

which is about the usual increase of I>Qpulation. If ·fifteen hundred 

millions is an adequate circulation for 40,000,000 of people, it is fair to 

presume that double that amount of circulation would. be necessary for 

double· that population, and so on. • For convenience and to save loss by abrasion, &c., the gold and silver 

coined and uncoined might, and I think should, be deposited in the 

Treasury of the United States, and gold and silver certificates in denominations of not less than 5 issued therefor, this gold and silver, 

either coined or uncoined, to be held there in trust for the purpose only 

of redeeming these gold and silver certificates, which certiiicates should 

have the full money function the .same as the coin itself, as should everything which professes to be'money. Having submitted this statement 

of my o-wn views, I wish to point out one danger which above all things 

should be avoided, and that is, not to issue a single dollar professing to 

be payable in coin or bullion unless we have the coin or bullion in the 

'J;'rea.sury with wliich to redeem it on sight; for to do so would be to 

make dishonest mone_y, which we do not want. That is the rock'upon 

which Jll1r. John Law's financial scheme in France split and went to 

pieces long years ago. His French money professed on its fuce to be payable in coin, and all went well so long as-confidence lasted, but when 

that ceased to exist and the bills were presented for redemption he had 

nothing but real-estate mortgages to pay with. The money was a lie 

upon its face, and the system met its just and legitimatefate-absolnte · failure. · 

· """'"'-i 

Speaking 9f confidence, it is ·a hidden rock upon which more business 

lives have been wrecked than on all the financial shoals in Christendom. 

It is said to be of'slowgrowtb,,yet it is nota hardy shrub. Its universal 

fate is withering and d~th when brought in contact with the cool 

breath of doubt and suspicion; and no fumanci;U policy or transaction 

is anything beyond a delusion and a snare, which depends solely9n con- fidence. 

About the time of our late resumption of specie payments some years 

ago, it was the commoaremark that confidence was the one great thing 

needed; that when a man found he could get his money he would not 

take it; he only w~ted to know if he could get it if he wanted to, &c. 

This is all well enough in times of prosperity and pl!ace, because in 

such times all goes well naturally; but when adversity, disaster, and 

panic overtake us, confidence vanishes like a mist in the morning- is 

wotse than a broken reed. A financial policy or monetary system designed to stand only-the shocks incident to good time.S, reminds one of the Russian Grand. Duke's apprehension and distress when the Crimean war was declared. He regretted it because.it would ruin his beautiful regiment of the imperial· guard. · 

Sound finance requires that a government's monetary system should 

rest upon ·a solid foundation, and not be subject to the whims orca- prices of any man or nation. I have already shown how a part of the 

money we need, namely, gold and silver certificates, having full legaltender· quality for all debts-, public and private, and secured by deposits in the United States Treasury of gold and silver bullion or coin, 

will be absolutely sound and secure. The legal-tender notes, having 

:full moneyfunctions, neededin addition to these certificates to bring up 

the circulation per capita to the proper point will, if they do not profess to be. redeemable in something which we have not on hand to re- deem them. with, be the next best money we can have. . . Having determined the kind of money we are to have and the amount 

of circulation needed, the next important point is to get this money out 

and keep it out, so that debtors and credit.ors can alike rest assured 

that all payments will be made on the same basis of .circulation upon 

which they were contracted. How to get this money out and how to 

keep it out, so that no stringency can occur in the money market, ia 

another of the most important questions to be determ:iJl~, for if it is 

not k£-pt in circulation, it had just as well·not exist. Business can not 

be done without money, nor can it be done to ad vantage without plenty 

of it. More spot.money and less credit business would be a blessing ·to rich and poor alike. Panic is directly traceable to the fact that too 

many people get in debt and get in too deep ; for it is self-evident that 

if no person in this country owed a single dollar there never could be 

money panics, such as we have had upon us with 'frightful regularity 

from tiJDe to time; so that the less people are in debt the less danger we are in from panics and their eve-r-present shadows of disaster, ruin, 

and bankruptcy. · · , To get this money out and to keep it out is not a difficult problem. 

Say that we determine that we will keep not less than fifty millions nor more than sixty millions of the money intended for circulation in 

the Treasury as a surplus, exclusive of bullion and coin kept there to 

redeem the gold and ,silver certificates. 'Ihen provide by law for the 

loan of money direct to the people, taking promissory notes th~refor, 

secured .bY mortgage on broad acres of improved lands. These notes 

should bear interest at a rate not exceeding 3 per cent. per annum, 

payable annually, and should run for long periods of time, but to be- come due, principal and interest, immediately on defa]llt of the payment of any one year's interest· or any one year's taxes. I will not attempt to go into details, but such a system has many advantages over the elai:tticity aimed at by the calling and payment of bonds. Hundreds 

of thousands of people scattered. all over the country have improved 

lands;-and the money thus put out wo~d go to all parts of the nation 

instead of to the money centers. . . On .the other hand, but few people have bonds, and nearly all who 

have either live or do business in the great cities. When they. draw their 

money for their bonds what do they do? Why, sir, they go to Wall 

street, loan it out on call loans, and when they get more people in debt 

they give the crank another turn, call in their loans, and thus add their 

mite toward increasing the business and financial distress which the 

calling ·in of their bonds was intended to relieve; and having by this 

process of squeezing and repression destroyed as far as possible the·price 

of property, ·they t.ake it for themselves, and at once begin to sing the same old tune of returning prosperity and restored confidence, and keep 

it up until prices once morereach.their zenith, when they sell the property thus acquired and. soon thereafter begin to discover in the distance a financial cloud no bigger than a man's hand, to which they assiduously 

direct attention, and declare that it is -growing larger and most rapidly 

approaching. . They ate now preparing for anothei: call of bonds and for a repetition of 

the same financial processes I have just described. Such, sir, are some of the beauties of our ·present elastic currency; and I leave them to 

the fond gaze of those who admire them. I do not. _ 

Mr. President, the kind.of money I advocatecan all be put upon an 

actual hard-money basis within twenty years by the coinage alone of 

all the gold and silver produced in this country in the way I will men- tion. Let the Goyernment tak~ and retain the exclusive power of issu-
1284 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD-SENATE. FEBRUARY 5, 

ing money and controlling the amount of circulation. Let no person or corporation interfere with that part of its sovereignty. Remove the 

standing·menaqe to business and prosperity, which will existS<> long as banks of issue are permitte4 to exist with power to expand or contract 

the amount of the circulation. 

This danger wa8 recognized by the Senate of the United States when 

it passed at its last session the McPherson bill, which in effect said to 

the national banks: "Please, sirs, do not destroy-the country by rE:,tiring 

your circulation." What a commentary upon a great govern~ent ! Sir, 

this tinkering and trimming should swp. We shouldreformourfinancial and monetary-policy and legislation from alpha to omega. . We should recognize the "greatness and the unlimited natural re- sources of our own country, and we should legislate for it, and leave 

other countries to do the same for themselves. If we stood in therespects just mentioned on an equality only with each and every other 

nation we corild afford-a different policy, butweareuntrne to ourselves 

if we :waive our own advantages over so many of the others. 

Let us plant ourselves on the solid monetary basis whichThave endeavored to explain, and then let us, over and above all things, see to 

it t'hat the ~ce of trade remains continually in our favor, even if we have to-double our present rates of tarifi' and do all else necessary, re':' 

membering at the same time that no nation on earth will buy a single 

dollar's worth of ouT cotton, wheat, corn, meat, or other of our products . because they love us, but will be governed in their purchases by their own desires and necessities. If" necessary to maintain the balance of 

trade in our favor,. shut _out absolutely all foreign luxuries. - With this balance of trade certainly ~d permanently in our·favo:r 

gold will flow in upon us from abroad, which, with all the gold and sil- ver produced in our own land, will in time be more than sufficient to 

retire every legal-tender note we may have found it necessary to emit, 

and leave us with a currency consisting solely of gold and silver certificates each dollar of which will represent a dollar of gold or silver lying 

in th~ Trea.su.ry of the United States as a sacred trust with which to 

redeem these certificates on demand. 

Let tlie fiat go forth to all the wodd in language too plain to be misunderstood that this country legislates for its own people, and protects . the min all their efforts, industries, and enterprises, excluding no branch, . whatever it inay be or wherever located within our borders. Let them -also as distinctly know that silver is one of pur important industries, ·.and that this nation has planted itself:firmly, unconditionally, and ever- lastingly upon the platform of bimetallism, and will .neither get off nor . be knocked off. Show them that this nation will be the leader in this 

regard in spite of them, and that all attempts on their pa.rt to further 

dictate to us will be stale ~d unprofitable. 

The time baS come in dealing with moneta.ry problems when the law:-

making power of this Government must adopt a decisive and permanent rule of conduct. · We must have an established coinage, and our metal values must be secured against commercial vicissitudes and trading fluctuations. We hear much about an ",honest silver dollar," and we are reproached that the existing 412!-grain dollar is ''dishonest.'' 

Who fixes the ·scale of metal values by·which our .standard dollar is 

rated "dishonest?" Is it the Congress of the· United States? No. 

Who then? 

Why, nobody but a coterie of bullion brokers in London, operating 

in Lombard street as buyers and sellers, bulls and bears; mere traffickers 

in a commodity, not vested with either sovereignty or responsibility, 

but simply bept on driving sharp bargains for themselves from day to 

day. . And yet the monstrous proposition is put forward here that our stan<lfl>Td dollar ought to be made to contain whatever quantity of sil- ver these London brokers might be willing to paY,lOO cents for as bullion. That is all that any plain business man can make out· of the 

proposition. Thus we arrive at th~ conclusion that our coinage laws, , to be just and right, should be framed in Lombard street, London, by 

a coterie of bullion-brokers, instead of on Capitol Hill, W!;lShington, 

by the representatives of the American people. Is not that the naked 

logic of the propositio:p.? 

If that is the real logic of the proposition, then the amendment of the 

distinguished Senator from Vermont should contain a- proviso some- what as follows: ''Provided, that the Secretary of the Treasury be, and is 

hereby, directed to ascertain the market price of silver b~llion in London every thirty days, and that he be authorized and directed to alter 

the amount of pure silver in the standard coin from time to time, so as to make its bullion value equal to its expressed value, according to the 

prevailing London quotations.'' 

Such an amendment would of course be antagonized by me. But if 

the Senators on the other side ef this question wish to be consistent, it 

would command their support. For one, I would like ro test the sense 

of the Senate on such a proposition. It would, at least, have the one 

merit of being a candid presentation of the real theory which lies at 

the bottom of all this warfare against silver. 

Sir, I most earnestly nope that the amendment of the Senator from 

Vermont will be defeated, and that the House bill may pass. . Mr. B.A. YARD. Mr. President, it is a trite saying, Ulld one history 

has often recorded, tha..t those things most material ·to the happiness 

and welfare of a people are at the moment least !egarded, the least 

sensational, that they proclaim themselves with less of noise and vio· 

lence than other matters infinitely inferior in their consequences. 

Here to-day: this Senate Chamber tells the same stoiy. There a.re scarcely a score of Senat.ors in their places, and yet the matter before 

the Senate is profoundly important to the welfare of every man, woman, 

and child in the United States. Ittouchesthequestion, what shall be 

received as the equivalent for everyday of labor, what shall be received 

for every exertion of human industry, what shall measure every con- tract, great and small, among more than fifty millions of people? For 

it is the money of the people, the money of the nation, that we are now considering; and yet there seem to be averysmallminoritywhocareto 

await the discussion. · The title of the bill relates to a disk of silver metal that by the au- thority of the Government came from under themaehinery of the Mint 

transformed from bullion into coin. Of these coins, called " trade" 

dollars, some thirty-five millions weTe, from the day of their authorization in 1873 until they were prohibited in 1878, a-llowed to be coined 

at the. mints of the United States for the benefit of the individuals who 

owned the bullion. 

All of this silver always was, and now is, private property; it belonged to the private owners who liad worked for it and brought it 

from the mines, and had sold it; and the laws of their country permitted them to take it to the Mint"of the United States, and, by paying 

the a.ctual expense of the change in its form, to put it in these disks of 

metal ca.lled '' trade'' dol.lars, and to have the certification, under the 

honor of the United States stamp, that each piece contained 420 grains 

of silver, nine-tenths fine. 

When the silve.r miners who owned this property in 1873.wished to 

take it to the Uint, I remember weil their application; I remember. the 

condition of the country, for I was th~ a member of this body. The 

U:gited States had suspended specie payments. The Government had 

embarked upon a system of paper currency, and there was no money 

afloat among the people of the country other than the paper promissory 

notes of the United States, and those of the national banks, issued by 

the Government through ·an intermediary system of banking associ.artions and secured by a deposit of national bonds. ·The paper money 

of the United States was at a heavy discount. Its credit did not com- mand a hundred cents on the dollar. The gold coin of the United 

States was worth more than its paper, perhaps eighteen dollars or more 

on the hundred. 

By an act pf Congre.'5S pas'3f'..d in 1873, and which is now represented 

by.' section- 3520 of the Revised Statutes, it. was provided thatAny owner of silver bullion may deposit the same at any mint, to be formed into ba.rs, or into dollars of the weight of 420 grains troy, designated in thls title as trade-dollars, and r.o deposit of silver for gther co !nage shalt be received. Silver bullion conta.inedjn gold deposits, and sep::t~utcd therefrom, may, however, be paid for in silver coin, at sU<!h. valuation as may be.frorn. time to time, established by the Director of the 1\lint. • 

Here was the authority for the owner of this species of property to 

take it to the Mint and have its fineness -and weight ascertained and ·impressed upon it.under the na;ne of the trade-dollar, and the weight 

and fineness were by another section, in distinction from that of any 

coin of the United States, to be irupressed upon it, "and no deposit of 

silvet for other eoinage '' was to be allowed. 

When that was ~one, there was a market value for this species of 

property. The owners of- it, like all intelligent owner8, were eXercising their right of contract to .obtain for it the highest market price. 

The relations between gold bullion and silver bullion of eqn..'\1 fine-. ness were measured by the standard of gold valuation at the rate of 

60 pence sterling per ounce for silver. To-day, or rather yesterday 

(I read from the New York Evening Post of February 4, 1885), the 

price for silver bullion is 49! pence per ounce. .A.ny man w.ho has it can get so much for it and he can get no more if that quotation be cor- rect, and I assume it to be. :Thus, under the law which I have just 

read, if the silver contained in gold bullion deposits be separated 

therefrom in the process of assaying, it may be paid for, how? In 

'' such valuation as from time to time may be established by the Director 

of the Mint." 

I beg the attention therefore of Senators to this faet, that when the 

law gave the privilege to the holders of silver bullion to take their 

property to tlil.e :Mint and have it transmuted into such shapes as their 

interest and their convenience might dictate-that is to say, they could 

have it transformed from bullion into bars, or, if they pleased, into 

disks of money called '' trade-dollacl'' of 420 grains, upon which both 

the bar and the coin the weight and :fuieness stamped by the 'Mint 

should be certified-it was their private property, and never belonged 

to the Government, never was received or paid out by the Government, but for the sole use of the private owner, at his sole volition; was 

coined for convenient trading with the silver-using countries of the 

East. 

Mr. HARRIS. ·Is not that done with gold now? 

Mr. BAYARD. It is done with gold now. Mr. IIARRIS. Precisely the same thing. 

Mr. BAYARD. · It is done with gold now, but my friend must re- member that something more is done with gold now and was then done 

with it. 

When gold bullion was ~posited in the ~lint for coinage and the sil-
• 

1885. CONGRESSIONAL RECORD-SENATE. 1285 

ver it contained separated, tltat silver was by law to be paid for "at 

such rates us from time to time was to be :fixed by the ·Director of the 

Mint;" but the price of gold was never "from time to-time to be :fixed 

by the Director." 

The act of 1873 probibitecl the deposit of silver for any other ci>inage . than "trade-dollam;" but the gold coinage could be into any denominated gold coin. 

The 11 tmde-dollars" minted under the act 1Jf Februa1·y, 1873, were then worth in the paper legal-tender currency of the United States a premium of 11 to 17 per ·cent. The metal of which they w~re composed 

had then a market value of 60 pence sterling per ounce: Yesterday-it was worth and sold for less tha~ 50 pence per ounce. And now Con~ 

gress iS asked, for one reason or another, to pay out standard silver .dollars 

of full legal-tender power, nominally 100 cents, for a disk of metal worth 

perhaps85 cents, or to pay in its standard and measure of value, 60 pence 

per ounce for silver. bullion whose· market va].ue is less than 50 pence, 

say 15 or 16 per cent. above the market or intrinsic value. That iS, 

about $5,600,000 over and above the bullion value.ofthesilver.minted 

into ''trade-dollars,'' upon the application of the owners and for their 

con-venience in trade with Oriental silver-using nations. 

1Ylr. President, if it were ten times 16 per cent. and I believed there was an honorable obligation upon the part of the American people to 

pay this increased price for silver bullion or coin, I would advise them 

to do it, for I woul<l say there is no gain so costly as that which is the 

price of departure from good faith and honorable obligation. It is not 

therefore this 16 per cent. upon $35,000,000, although that is a very 

important sum; if it were that alone I do not think that I should have 

cared to detain the Senate; but it is the principle that lies underneath 

this proposed payment which b;ings us face to face with profound re- sults, to which I ask the atteJt,tion of the Senate for a short time. 

There has been, I submit respectfully, a confusion of terms and mean- ing .in speaking of the rede~ption of the trade-dollars. When before· was any standard coin not diminished in its weight J:>y fraud or natural 

attrition-when before was such a coin said to be-'' redeemed?'' Why, 

sir, what is. the meaning of coined money, and its object? To produce 

under the sovereign -authoritr that which not only should be a standard 

and a measnre of value, but in addition value itself; for if it was not it was false and not real money. Therefore_it is a mistake in terms, and 

it will not do to be mistaken in terms on such a subject as this, to talk 

of "redeeming" the standard coins of the United States. They need no redemption, for ,the lawful holder has value itself in his possession. They do not constitute a promise, :but by their possession property and value, as on their face is expressed, is fulfilled. When such 

coins shall be that which upon their face and by law they profess to be, so much silver or so much gold of a certain weight and fineness, there 

in my judgment tQ.e great and important function of the Government 

commenced, and there it ended, to provide for its people a standard of 

value and to let the standard and the-measure be combined with value 

itaelfin the form of the coin authorized. 

Mr. President, since 1878, the Government of the United States bas 

assumed a new relation, anew function and duty in Tespect to its coinage. Before that time, except for the manufacture of its sn bsidiary 

coins which are debased_ below the standard coins, the Government of 

the United States never owned an ounce of either metal that came into its mintS for coinage; all that came was private property. This 

token coinage the Government was bound to redeem when defaced and 

too illegible for use.' Why? Because they were adulterated . and debased, and were issued by the Government only for the convenience of 

the people, and were not a standard of v_alue-that is, not the principal 

standard of -value; but never for more than $5, to accommodate the 

minor transactions of the citizens, the daily retail transactions. 

Now, if I may pause here for one moment to give my reasons why 

there· is no especial claim on the United States to exchange these coins, 

before! come to what I think is the great principle which we are face 

to face with to-day, I will say this, that having shown that the tradedollars were in the same category precisely as silver bars, both minted 

and stamped for the convenience of the owner, a number were so coined, 

and, as I personally remember, upon the application of the representatives of the silver-bearing States, members of this body, and who came personally before the committee to seek the privilege of having their 

silver bullion turned into this convenient shape for the purpose of dealing with the Chinese particularl;y. The first of these coins was issued in 

.July, 1873, and I read from pa~e 130 of the report of the Director of 

the Mint, 1\fr. Burchard, for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1879. The 

:figures are all here given of the bullion value, the currency value, the 

commefcial value, the gold value of the trade-dollar, the amount of 

these coins and their export. In 1873, and down to July, 1874, the 

bullion value ofthetrade-dollarran from2tpercent. to six-tenths-of 1 

per cent. premium. The currency value ran from July, 1873, to 1\iay, 

1876, at a premium of 18.6 per cent. down to a premium of 3 per cent. 

So it was in tbe legal-te~der currency at a heavy premium, and its 

comg\ercial value was also even greater than was.its currency value, 

for that I :find ranged from 119 per cent. to 103.6 per cent. dming the same period. . 

But now comes the question of coinage. From the 12th of February, 

1873t to the 22d of July, 1876, there were coined 15,631,000 trade-dol-

. -

lars, and there were exported dming the same time 12,270,000, although 

that is necessarily but a~ imperfect estimate. For instance, in 1876, . 

wh~n tra-de-dollars were dropped from the list of coins, and were no longer authorized at the mints, except for the purpose of foreign demand expressly, there were coined in July, 1876, 213,000; but there were exported in the same month 269,108, showing that there were 56,108 more exported in that month than there were coined in the same month. 

I shall presently show to the Senate that trade-dollars in July, 1876, were at a premium in currency of 2.6 per cent., and that for that rea- son they would not be put in circulation, and were not-that obvious 

proposition, known ~istorically as the Gresham law and known long 

befbre the name of Gresham was ~ver beard, that a currency nominally 

overvalued and really o' less value will always drive out the better 

and really more valuable money. 

Our own experience is sufficiently instructive upon 'that point. Our 

first coinage act as a. government was in 1793, and then we attempted 

to :fix a ratio of :fifteen times the weight of silver to one of gold in om 

coinage: In 1834 we changed this ratio a little over 2 and a little less 

than 3 per cent. by lowering the amount of gold in the standard gold 

unit. From li93 unti11834 the result was that, standard silver coin.§ 

being relatively cheaper, we were on a silver basis. 

Then we,stepped from tb.e ratio of 15 to nearly 16. I may say parenthetically here that during that very time the ratio between silver and 

gold as established by the European states now composing what is 

known as the Latin Union was 15} to 1. We increased the amount of 

silver in our ratio so that it became almost 16-to 1, and what was the 

consequence? That silver being thus comparatively undervalued here, 

gold became necessarily the principal standard and- measure of value; 

and so from 1831 to 1878 the stand~rd of value of the American people in' their foreign and dbmestic commerce, and in their pa.yments at 

the custom-house was United States standard gold coin. Why? Be- cause there was the comparatively small discrepancy of 2 or 3 per 

cent. between the ratio of these metals as :fixed by our laws of coinage 

and the ratio of other commercial nations; and left fre~ and undisturbed 

by statute (~or at that time coinage was·equally fre~ to both metals) the 

natural laws of commercial valua.tion controlled, and people of course dealt in the cheapest money they could :firid, for they gave in exchange 

for commodities naturally as little as possible, and to tha~ end availed 

themselves of the standard of regulations of the relative value of the two 

metals by the United States, and as a consequel)ce silver coin ceased 

to be us~ here, and went abroad or into the melting-pot, and gold 

alonQ went to the Mint. . 

Now, I wish to ask: When the mints were ope.Qfor those forty years, 

very nearly, if we saw that the owners of silver did not care to turn 

their bullion into coin because its ratio was :fixed too low, and it was cheaper for them to procure gold dollars than silver dollars, because 

gold was relatively under:valued to silver and this-difference of 2 or, 

at the utmost, 3 per cent. would control, would not the same fact 

necessariJ.y prevail from 1873 to 1876, and when you find the commer- cial value and the currency value very ·much farther apart would not 

the same results accrue? Obviously; and not being at specie payments 

the difference between the two metals and paper was far greater than 

between the two metals-in their commercial value, of which I have 

spoken, and the valuation at which silver bullion could be turned into 

coin. This being so, in 1876, in the month of July, Congress dropped 

out from their list of coins the trade-dollar entirely. It never had a legal-tender power of more than $5 in one payment; but after that date 

it ceased to have any legal-tender value or power for $5 or any other 

sum, an<l it became just what it was-a piece of precious metal, weighing so many.grains and of such fineness as was declared by the stamp 

of the 1\1int upon its face. ~. . 

It is therefore absolutely in the face of reason, it is in the face of history, ~tis in denial of actual experience to allege that while the tra{ledollar was, under the statutes of the United States, nominated as a coin 

of the United States, or while it had legal-tender power even to the 

extent of $5, to allege that it was in circulation as money. It is a fa.ct, proved by the figures I have stated, that these coins never were in 

circulation during the years that they had been authorized under the 

laws of the United States, for be it remembered that after July, 1876, then~ was no such coin in our la:ws as the trade-dollar, and before that 

its intrinsic value prevented it from passing as an ordinary dollar. It was worth too much to go into circulation-for it WflS held at a premium of from 18 per cent. to 3 per cent., and was only used for export 

and foreign trade. 

Then in 187 4, ~or reasons which_ I shall not stop here to examine--

Mr. BECK. Is not the Senator -mistaken in saying the trade-dollar was no longer a coin ·after 1876? · 

Mr. BAYARD. No; I am not mistaken, for the Senator will find 

that in 1876--

1\lr. BECK. The legal-tender quality was taken from it. 

Mr. BAYARD. Not that alone. 

1\Ir. BECK. What else? 

1\Ir. BAYARD. On the 2'2d of July, 1876, it wasresolved~ 

That the trade-dollar shall not hereafter be a. legal tender, a.nd the Secretary of the Treasury is hereby authorized to limit, from time to time, the coinage 

, 
• 

1286 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD-SENATE. FEBRUARY 5, 

thereof to such an amount a.s he may deem sufficient to meet the export demand 

for the same. 

Therefore it was a clear notification that they could not. be coined 

except for export, and tlmt placed them distinctly in the C.'ltegory of 

other merchandise. • Mr. BECK. They were coined by u.s. Mr. BAYARD. Buttheywereonlytobecoinedfortheuseoftheowners of the bullion arid for export;, and they were to be coined as ''tradedollars,~' and have their weight sta mped upon them, which was never 

done by any standardc~inofthis Government. 

In 1878, by a Treasury order, the coinage of trade-dolla~ was discontinued altogether, and from that day to this none have been permitted 

to be coined. Now comes the demand that the Congress of the United 

States shall redeem, as it is called, or, to s~ more accurately, that 

they shall exchange a coin of the same :ti.rieness of silver weighing 

412 ~ grains, autborized by the act of 1878, aud styled a sta;nd~rd 

dollar, in equal numbers for the holders of these trade-dollars we1ghing 

420 g.ra-ins. Here is a paradox-citizens asking in the name of honor 

and justice to receive less for more of precisely the same commodity, 

and we are toid that the honor of this country and its duty are to be 

~tistied by the performance of this strange transaction. 

The very statement shows the condition of thought and·false reasoning into which we have come by -forsaking the landmarks of constitutional gove~tmt and the footsteps of its founders, passing away from 

the real and the tested and embarking upon the unreal and the imaginary. Sir, if my countrymen can only learn at the cost of these six 

millions of money the simple truths that lie at the :t>ottom of this question the lesson will be cheap. For the great question to be .asked of 

· every man, and to .be answered by every. man according to his reason 

and conscience, is simply this: Can the Congress of the United St-ates 

creat-e value8? "Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit 

unto his stature?" Which of you and what majority of you by passing laws from now till doomsday can create a value? It seems to me 

there is an irreverence in the very proposition, not to say an absolute 

absurdity. 

How can you pretend to create value? . If it can be answered in 

the affirmative I will take my seat and listen with amazement not unmingled with awe when such a proposition shall be established that 

this power exists in man, whether in a collective assembly or whetheT 

he stands alone exercising his. faculties under the limitations of his 

creation. If the Congress of the United States can inc1·ease the value 

of this coin 15 _or 16 cents, if you admit the priliciple that '!e can by 

calling a thing by a special name change its nature and its value-"-! 

am speaking now of its actual value-giving it a value that we .certifY 

it possesses, .and which, according to the phrase now, we are bo_und to 

redeem, why, then,Senators, we shall have repealed the great primeval 

law which first met the ear of man after Paradise bad been lost, that 

by the sweat of 1ris face should he gain his bread. If Congress can create values, then we may sit down here, let the loom atLd the plow 

and all other implements and agenci-es of human industry stand idle, 

and legislate ourselves into riches and property; for that is precisely the 

proposition contained in the. declaration that the intrinsic value of the 

precious metals can be controlled by the act of a government. 

That is about all I' wanted tQ say. I w-anted to clear my mind and 

my conscience on this subject. Here is the proposition, that we are 

bound in honor, as it is stated, tQ the holders of these 35,000,000 trade-

. dollars, each weighing 420 grnins of silver, nine-tenths :fine, to satisfy 

their just demands by giving them other coins weighing each 412! 

grains of silver of the same- fineness. 

Let me ask, if there is an obligation in ;honor upon us to redeem the 

greater value by the smaller, a fortiori are we not .bound to redeem 

again the lighter and less valuable dollar by one of still less valne? . Are we to pursue a system that has ended in such a reductio ad absurdum 1 

That is illustrated in the most remarkable manner by the proposition 

before us that it is a duty, an honorable obligation of the Government, 

to redeem that which is greater with that which is confessedly less in 

weight and actual value, and to do that by the exercise of the compulsory power of legal tender. It is a Congressional fiat. Let value 

be and value shall be, say these apostles of the higher power of Congress. 

Mr. President, it can not be. Not to go higher into a realm of discussion where I will not venture, however humbly, to tread, to touch 

that part of this question which relates to our moral and tO our religious 

beliefs, come back to the plain matter of practical fact. The Congress 

of the United States, with 2,000,000 men under arms, issued the 

notes of the United States, and said they should be legal-tender, but 

all of th<>semen, brave, able, and mighty in their strength, were unable 

to maintain tho e promises at one-half the value of their face. Oh, no; 

it can not be. If there bean obligation in honor upon us to redeem the 

silYet coins of 420 gt:ains, there is-an obligation on us to issue no more 

of those weighing 412! grains, certainly not to issue :more of a less 

value which jo ~i01'i we ought to redeem if this pledge and honorable 

obligation rests upon us. . But I shall leave it to the good sense and the conscience of my coun- trymen, when they shall come to see the simple truth, that in the 

choice of th~ two precious metals to serve as equivalents in human 

contracts and dealing, as mere instruments of exchange there are natural laws controlling t1?.eir relative intrinsic value which they caL not 

safely contmvelle. . 

I do not mean to say that between the two metals of silve-r and gold 

there may not. be by arrangement of commercial nations from time to 

time such an equivalency established, such a mutuality of ratio aa 

shall secure to the great volume of the world's money of both metals 

the presenc;:e and full use of both. I never have been able to contemplate the restri~tion of the volume of the metallic currency of this 

world to· a single metal .I never have believed it would be wise, and I 

should st::md·in the fu<!eofsuch a proposition awed andreverent before 

the great truths of history as to the use, and the necessary and beneficial 

use, of both these metals for th~ purposes of commerce ·and exchange. 

But because I do seek fo.r that, I should be equally false to .my convictions, and lacking in that courage to express them that I earnestly long 

to possess, if when I see a course oflegislation that inevitably is to drive 

one of these metals out of use· and circulation to ~emonetize it, I did 

not beg my countrymen to pause before they either continued laws 

which would produce such results or enacted others which would have the same effect. 

-This is not a thing that partisan feeling should "array itself about. 

Truth is truth. It must make itself apparent. Here is the r_eport of 

the Secretary of the· Treasury fot- the cur'tent year. I read from the 

thirty-second page of the report: 

After giving the subject careful consideration-

_Says :Mr. 1\lc{.,'ullochr have been forced to the conclusion . that unless both the coinage of silver 

dollars and the issue of silver certificates are suspended there is danger that 

silver, and not gold, may become our metallic standard. This danger may not be h,nminent. but it is of so seri.ous a. character that there ought not to be delay in providing against it. Not only would the national credit be seriously im· 

paired if the Government should be under the necessity of using silver dollars or certificates in payment of gold obligations, but business of all kinds would be greatly disturbed; not only so, but gold would at once cease to be a. circulating medium, and severe contruction would be the result. 

With great respect for that officer, I think he ha stated scarcely onehalf of the result; for if there ~ust follow obviously from converting 

gold from currency into merchandise where it would be hoarded, if the 

volume of gold i~, · because of its superi.or value as compared to the 

other-metal, to be subtracted from the volume of our currency, undoubtedly contraction, and a most severe contraction, is to follow, convulsing all business. · But s~mething else remains. . What will measure prices when gold has gone? . In what will be the estimates of the cost 

of liVing for those for whom I am sure our hearts are anxious to-day? 

Sir, the measure -of price8 will be in silver, and silver being oflesser 

value, those prices must be nominally increased to make up for the de-

:ticiency of real value. The scale will be higher, wilbout regard to real 

values . . And upon whom do such ~hanges mainly fal_] ? Who is it, 

Senators? Who are the first to feel the shock and the last to feel the 

benefit of such a change? It is. the laboring class. It is the man 

without the capital to bide his time and wait or to foresee. It is to him 

whose ~yes open upon labor in the morning and close upon it at night, 

who has no time, no thought, perhaps no capacity, to reason out these 

financial problems; but it is so. The wages of labor are the last to aQ.- vance, and labor is the first upon which the suffering falls. 

Therefore I not only class the question of the contraction which is to 

lower valueS, in one sense measuring values by a smaller volum~, depreciating collatem~ securities, convulsing aud disturbing contracts, 

but equally with that I measure as a J:!laleficent result, the increase of 

prices for all the necessaries of life as measured in the cheaper and less 

valuable money. When is that to come? Who shall say when it shall 

come? Mr . .McCulloch says, and of course it is with him but the opinion of an intelligent and experienced man, that it may not be imminent. 

I -do not know what the information of my associates in this Chamber 

is upon the subject, and I pretend to little personal knowledge, for the 

duties of my life have not led me into that knowledge which entitles 

my opinion ·to weight upon the daily fluctuations in the values of.stocks 

or bonds or other securities in the great markets of the world~ but this 

I believe, that the controlling can e in prices is apprehension on the one hand or confidence on .the other, a season of panic or oversanguine 

expectation. 

Now, I believe that rightly or wrongly, wi ely or otherwise, that apprehension does exist. I receive evidence of it in correspondence from 

gentlemen, some ·kno:wn and others n~t known to me, from the money 

centers. They all say there is great apprehension that the enls depicted by l\Ir. McCulloch of the contraction to follow our embarkation 

. upon the monometallic basis of sil'\"~ will convulse bllsiness1 and the 

other evil that the prices for what is needed by the laboring classes 

necessarily will be increased by the measurement in the less valuable 

metal, for, whatever may be the power ascribed to the legal-tender authority given by our law, no man believes that outside the jurisdiction 

of the United States such laws amount to the snap of a finger. 

A legal-tender J.a,w can only affect past contracts. It may enable the 

present debtor to discharge his present debt, but it will not go far toward enabling him to establish a fresh credit or to have a new debt 

created. That can and will be guarded against.. Perhaps it rua.y 

already be guarded against by special contracts, fixing the metal of the 

.. 
1885. CONGRESSIONAL RECORD-SENATE. 1287 

money as well as its denomination in which debts are to be paid. The men who do that are the wise and the skilled, the rich, :the provident. 

They may perhaps have protected . themselves against this danger, but 

when I think of the others, the great mass of toilers, who are to be 

affected by it, I confess I feel a sinking of the heart. 

Yes, Senators, I not only feel for those who may have but little property, but I think there may well be a suggestion here and now, that 

the safety of the rich rests mainly upon the content of the poor. · If men will follow no law but that of gain, and have no lim1t but that 

w4ich their"rapacity .may set, they will be taught that there are laws 

of htunanity which can not with safety be disregarded. Therefore, 

in dealing with this great and delicate subject of the currency and 

the money of the people, no rash and ignorant experiments should be 

tried,J>Ut just andadmitted laws shall be regarded and insisted upon, 

and the chimeras of debtors, of speculators, of irreverent aspirants to 

power that never can be given to a government, shouldn~t be suffe~ 

to come in and create a state of affairs that brings a tidal wave of hmnan 

wretchedness,. and with it insecurity to property in al! its forms. 

So, sir, I speak to-day in the interest of every earner of daily wages, 

man, woman, and cQild, in the United States.. l speak for every provident and self-denying .saver of wages whose little store against the 

rainy day has been laid by. To the savings-bank depositor, to the capitalist, whether small or great, these truth~ apply, and sooner or later, 

and soon rather than late, they must control. Thereforeitisthat I am anxioll§J for the passage of the very feature. that is proposed to• be 

stricken from this bill, and that is the contemplated suspension of the 

silver coinage under the act of 1878. Indeed, sir, my own view would 

be in favorofamoreprompt suspension. But to secure the fa-ctofacertainty in the future of this suspension would be an advantage so practicable and so valuabl~ that, knowing the infinite- variety of human 

opinion ·and the necessity of the abatement of individual judgments, 

I shall vote for that because I can not mo.ve m01·e promptly. 

As I have said in a very unprepared way, and perhap I should have 

made more careful preWJ>ration, I do not believe that there is either a legal or a moral 9r an honorable-if you can distinguish morality trom 

honor-obligation upon the Governn:tent of the United States to do what 

is called redeein the trade-dollars, nor to exchange them for others; -much less do I consider that if there was such an obligation it is satisfied by the action now proposed, because we are simply continuing 

and intensifying in our proposed remedy the very ~vil which the rem- edy is. imagined to prevent . . That is to say, we are issuing millions 

upon· millions of coin of confessedly inferior value to that which we are told now we ought to redeem. Shall we· not hereafter be called on, 

with equal justice, to redeem these standard dollars, whose intrinsic 

value is less than trade-dollars? 

Senators, does it not after all come down to this hinge : Can the 

Government of th~ United States create value by statute? I do not 

think-any man will say they can. They can impair the obligatio.ns of 

contracts. Unquestionably and according to the Supreme Court of the 

United States in their last decision they may impair or wholly destroy 

the value of every pecuniary obligation that is· expressed in lawful 

money of the United States. I do not wish, at this time, to comment 

upon that startling decision; but there is. one thing the United States· Supreme Court, and the Congress of the United States, and all the ar- mies that can be raised to enforce the edicts either-of court or of Conp-ess ·can not do, and that is to crea.te a value, .to maintain a value 

against the opinion and belief of the person to whom it is tendered. 

Every such attempt has had '' a most l:l.me and i~potent conclusion.'' 

Thus, on June 17, 1864, under the lead of Thaddeus Stevens, of Penusylv(lnia, a law was enacted prohibiting under heavy penalties, both 

of fine and imprisonment, future contracts in gold, the object being 

to abate the premium on gold, and consequently to ass~t the value 

:md receivability of paper currency. The passage of the law was followed by an immediate advance in the premium upon gold, which rose from 196! per cent. to 250 per cent. in less than two weeks, and led to 

the hasty repeat of the act on July 2, 1864, after a futile existence .of 

fifteen days. 

Men may be ·cheated out of the entire result of their life's labor, 

and a piece of worthless paper may answer for one-half century of 

honest toil. That maybe according to the decision of the court; but 

when we look to the future, and when we look to contracts, and when we look to the performance of obligations outside of this country, we shall find such propositions utterly impotent; not only impotent, bnt 

discredited and discreditable.. They will be as the idle wind that pas es men by and they respect not. 

I voted to ta.ke up this bill, and I shall vote for itB pa sage. I shaU . vote for its passage to secure what these petitioners demand. No man need yield UJ> his dollar of 420 grains, nine-tenths fine, for a dollar weighing 412~ grains. There is notliing compulsory in that. As 

I have said before, I do not believe there is a legal obligation to take 

up the trade-dollar, and certainly, if there be to redeem, do not let us 

so trifle with reason and truth as to say it is redemption to pay that 

which has greater value with tha.t.'whichhasless, unless this wonderful and magie.al power does reside in the Congress of.the United States 

to create·value by statute. It is legislative juggling with the truth, 

and sooner or later the people of the United States will find it out. 

If Congress has not the power to create values the continuance of the 

pretense of its exercise can· only lead and must lead to confusion and 

distress, and tlie practical fuct remains that we are or ought to use every 

endeavor to maintain by some arrangement with the leading commercial 

nations the full use of the two precious metals co-ordinately to make 

up the great volume of money for the world's business. That is what I 

desire to see. I believe that for this, co-operation .among commercial 

nations is necessary. I believe that all the currency necessary for the 

present hour is here now; and should future experience dictate to us 

the necessity and the wisdom of passing to the basis of a single metal as our principal Standard of value, when that time comes we shall dis- cuss it; but ii:J. the mean time I wish my steps and my votes to be guided 

by the unmistakable light of experience. · I must remain true to my 

convictions until some light shall be given that shall cause those con- victions to be changed. 

Mr. President, the Congress of the Uni~d States -can not by statute 

create values, and the attempt to continue to do so will only lead to further emba.rmssment, distress, and loss. 

Mr. ALLISON. I move that the Senate do now adjourn. 

The motion was agreed to; and (at 3 o'clock and 4A minutes p.m.) 

the Senate adjourned. 

ROUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. 

THURSDAY, February 5, 1885. 

The House met at 12 o'clock m. Prayer by the Chaplain, Rev. JOHN 

S. LINDSAY., D. D. 

The Journal of -yesterday's proceedings was read and approved. 

- TEMPORARY POLICE FORCE FOR. IN.A.l:JGURATION. 

!lr. FOLLETT. Mr~ Spea1ier, I rise to !lubmit a privileged report. 

I am directed by the committee of conference to ·submit tl;le report 

which I send to the desk. 

The SPEAKER pro tempore. . The report will be read. 

The Clerk read as follows: 

The committee of confercuee on the disagreeing votes of the two Houses on the amendments of tbe Senate to the bill (H. R. 8121.) tQ enable the commission· ers of tlJc District of Columbia to maintain public orde.r dining the ceremonies 

of the inauguration of the P.resident, and for other purposes, having met, a.ft.er 

full and free conference have agreed to recommend and do 1'ecommend tQ their 

respective Houses as follows: 

That the Sena.t~ recede from its amendment numbered 4. That the House recede from its disagreements to the amendments of the Sen- ate numbered 1, 2, 5, 6, and 7,and agree to the same. . That U1e House recede from its disagreement to the IUDendment of the Senat-e 

numbered 3, and agree to the same with an amendment as follows: Restore the matter proposed to be stricken out by said amendment; ·and the Senate agree to fhesame. 

JOHN F. FOLLETT, 

J. G. CANNON, 

Managers ~ th:e part of the Hou.se. 

ISHAM G. HARRIS, 

JOHN J. INGALLS, 

AUSTIN F. PIKE, 

Managers on the part of the Sendte. 

The committee of conference submit the following statement, under 

the rule: 

The managers on the part of the House Qf the conference on the disagree.ingo votes of the two Houses on the amendments of the Senate to the bill (H. R. 8121) to enable the commissioners of the District of Columbia. tQ maintain public order during the ceremonies of the inauguration of the President., and for other pUrp<>:~es, submit the following written statement in explanation of the effect ol 

the action recommended by the conference committee : If the action recommended in the conference report is ratified by the two Houses the bill will appropriate $8,000, payable in equal amounts frotn the 

United States Treasury and the revenues of the District of Columbia., and will 

prescribe a fine not exceeding $25, in the police court, for violation of rules and 

regulations that may be prescribed by the commissioners to maintain public ~~~r during the period of the inauguration and from February 20 to March 6, 

JOHN F. FOLLETT, J. G. CANNON, 

Managers on the part oj the House. 

The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on agreeing to the re· port of the committee of conference. . The report was agreed to. · 

Mr. FOLLETT moved to reconsider the vote by which the .report was agreed to; and also moved that the motion to rec.:onsider be laid on the 

table. 

The latter motion was agreed to. 

CONGO CONFERENCE AT BERLIN". 

~'Cr. BELMONT. ?t{r. Speaker, I am directed by the Comin.ittee on Foreign Affairs to .report back the resolution which I send to the desk 

and recommend, its passage. . The SPEAKER prg tempore. The resolution will be read. 

The Clerk read as follows: 

Resolved, That the President be requested, if not incompatible with the public 

interests, to cause the originals or copies of all communications which have been 

received respecting the Congo conference, and especially copies of the text of the 

commissions or powers sent by the Government to each of the three AmeriCan 

plenipotentiaries or agents, to be immediately transmitted to this House. 

1tlr. BELMONT. I ask the present consideration of the resolution.