The Emporia news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1859-1881, 1876-07-21
SILVER IN CONGRESS
The House Backs Down ON
Restoring silver as

specie
During the absence of gold re-
demption democratic members at
the St. Louis convention, the house
amended the bill to issue silver
coin in place of fractional currency,
so as to restore silver as specie the
same as it used to be in this coun-
try, and makeit full legal tender
for all debts contracted to be paid |
in s'coin." The Senate refused to
concur, and a conference committee
was appointed, and on the 18th the
House conferees reported TO that
body in favor of striking out the
House amendment. A shert and
sharp debate followed, and the
House voted to drop the amend
ment. Mr.. Brown of Kansas, voted
for the report of the conference
committee and against restor-
ing silver as specie and legal
tender for debts, and Messrs. Phil
lips aud Gootlin voted in favor of
silver. We give the debate:
WASHINGTON. d. c., July 13.
The House conference report on the
silver coin bill was presented to-day.
1t omits all allusiOn to the silver
dollar and to the making of it legal
tender.
Mr., Payne, from the Conference
Committee on the silver bill, made
report and proceeded to explain it.
He said in regard 20 the proposition to
make silver dollars q legal tender for
all debts, public and private, the COM
mittee had been unable s0uagr6eD but
two of the House conferees, and all
the Senate conferees, recommended
the omission from the bill of all that
related to the silver 66llAF. sH6 AA6Wed
that owing to the extraordinary decline
in the price of silver, within the last
few months, and especially within
the last ten days, the silver dollar of
weight and fineness prescribed by law,
is to-day worth not more than eighty
cents relatively to gold, and less than
ninety cents relatively to greenOacks.
So extreme and sudden a change in
the value of silver dollars made the
proposition of declaring silver legal
tender a most startling one, and one
of revolutionary character. Certain
ly Congress and the country should
wait before the standard value of sill
i yer were fixed by law. Perhaps 1t
could be determined at the next ses-
sion, but it could not be now.
The conference committee, there
fore could not agree in recommending
any policy in reference to the silver
dollar. .
Mr.. Fort regarded the pending ques-
ton as one of decentralization of silver,
and asserted that the public debt, and
almost all private debts of the country,
had been contracted when the stand
ard silver dollar was legal tender. The
bondholder should be held up to his
contract and should be paid in the
commodity which he had agreed to
accept. But it was said that silver
had deprecated. If, however, gold
should should depreciate through the
discovery of some great bonanza, what
would the gentleman from Ohio
(Payne) do. Would he, in the interest
of the bondholders, say gold had de-
preciated and was dishonest money
and therefore the bondholders should
not be compelled to take their pay in
gold, but should be paid in diamonds,
or some other more valuable commo-
dity?
Mr.. Lawrence inquired whether
Government bonds might properly be
paid in silver dollars.
Mr.. Payne replied that in his opin-
ion they could legally be paid in silver
dollars.
Mr.. Landers, one of the House con-
ferees, opposed that part of the report
which omitted all reference to silver
dollars, and argued in favor of the res
toration of the double standard, which
kho II af try
from the foundation of the Govern
ment up to 1873.
Mr.. Bright opposed the adoption OF
the report, and argued that by implied
recognition in the Constitution, gold
and silver were lawful money Of the
United States, and that therefore the
decentralization of silver was unconsti-
tutional.
Mr.. Cox. chairman of the banking
aud currency eomhfttee,S argued in
favor of the report. He suggested
that the bill introduced by Mr., Wells
of Missouri, to allow all owners of
silver bullion to deposit it in the mint
and receive subsidiary silver coins in
payment, was better than any one OF
those passed by the House. The con-
terence report was not amendable. If
it was adopted, the issue of silver coin
for change would be facilitated. II
not adopted, there was no hope Of
} relief this session.
Mr. Garfield said there is in the hui
man mind, a sort of longing to get q
chance to cheat somebody. A great
: preacher once said, there are just two
, things which human nature wants
the tendency and opportunity to dt
wrong, and it has happened in the
fluctuation of these medals, there Is q
y great opportunity for man to jump OIL
a base metal, and save by clear, shee
swindling, One-fifth of the entire
: amount which every public and pri
= vate debtor owes to his creditors.
have never, since have been in public
life, seen any proposition which haG
9 on it so many OF the essential element
# of rascality and absolute swindling.
do not say that that is its purpose, Blu
its effect, as the amendment PROPOSED
!, and insisted on, in relation to this bill
n Put this law into operation as suggest
!. ed, and every particle of gold coli
will leave the country Just as fast as
/ can be transported abroad; do that
o and a revolution in financial and mon
q etary affairs, utterly unparalleled il
the history of the nation, will follow
: the act. ..ts.
: Mr.. Kasson said that those who sus
q tanned the report, demanded tnaG tn
wages of labor should not be paid il
: deprecated money, and that no ma
l. dealt honestly with the laborer of tn
D country, who did not propose to pa,
him for his labor in good money; tina
on that platform he had stood 70
n years, against all the clamors of infla
It ton, and all the attempts to reduce Tn
money of the United States to the val
- ue OF that of San Domingo, where
!, takes a market basketful to buy q doc
e en- OF eggs for breakfast; that q vot
= for this bill was not a vote to demone
the silYers but TO satisfys4as demand
n ofAthe community for silver change.
v The conference report was adopted
q y cas-, 129' hayes. 40.
J. The remarks of Gen. CARTEL
y entitle him to exhibit ton at ii
: Centennial as q living brass statu
e and he should be immediately ele
l. waited to q gilded pedestal IN froE
: of the main entrance. The fac
d are that there is q longing In the hi