Carson daily appeal. [volume] (Carson City, Nev.) 1873-1877, 1876-07-15
THE CONFERENCE COMMITTEES
SILVER BILL.

i
ines Of the House on Thursday VI
arrive at the following facts relative te
the Conference Committees Silver Bill
We quote. in the first instance, as fol
lows:
Payne, from the Conference Com.
mittee on the Silver bill, made q report
and proceeded to explain it. Payne
went on to explain that, in regard to the
proposition to make silver dollars a legal
tender for all debts. public and private.
the committee had been unable to agree,
but two of the House conferees and all
the Senate conferees recommended the
omission from the bill that section relat-
ing to the silver dollar. He showed that
owing to the extraordinary decline in the
price Of silver within the last few
months, and most remarkably within the
last ten days, the silver dollar of the
weight and fneness prescribed by law is
to-day not worth more than eighty cents
! relatively to gold, and less than ninety
| cents relatively to greenbacks. 50 ex-
| IRENE and sudden change in the value
of the silver dollar made the proposition
of declaring it legal tender a most start
/
tionary character. Certainly Congress
and the country should wait until the
standard value of silver was fixed by law
Perhaps it could be determined at the
next session, but it could not be now
The Conference Committee, therefore,
could not agree in recommending any
policy in reference to the silver dollar.
In other words. Congress, rejecting
the condition of the country, is panic
stricken with reference to silver. 1t is
IS if that metal had suddenly become an
unclean thins-as if it had all at once
been discovered to be wanting in intrinsic
value. The east is welded to it's green
backs and its fractional currency-just as
the poor whites of the south were ensm-
ored Of slayery-and silver is an unwel-
come intruder at best.
Payne being asked if United States
bonds might be paid in silver, he an
swered Gas in truth he was completely in
the affirmative. (Of course they can; and
inasmuch as Germany has brought on
his silver stampede, and whereas she
holds the bulk of the bonds marketed in
Europe, why not pay her off-both ways
when the bonds are due, in silver?)
Sanders favored reconciliation and
return to double standard. This is
Jones position.)
Fort regarded the pending question as
one of characterization of silver and
asserted that the public debt and almost
ali of the private debts OF the country
had been contracted when the standard
dollar was o legal tender. The bond
holder 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 depreciste through |
the discovery of some great bonanza,
what would the gentleman from Ohio |
(Payne) do with the interest of the bond |
holders? He would then say that gold !
had deprecated and was dishonest mon
ey, and that therefore bondholders
should not be compelled to take their
pay in gold, but should be paid in lia-
mOnds or some other more valuable
Bright opposed the adoption u the re-
awful money of the United States, and
therefore the demonstration Of silver
vas unconstitutional.
Cox favored the report and. also, the
'ill introduced by Wells of Missouri to
permit bullion owners to have their sill
'er exchanged. weight for weight, for
coins at the mints. "The real
question, says Cox, 'is whether this re-
'ort, which would furnish silver curren-
y to the people. should be adopted, or
whether the people should be deprived
+ that relief
kasson Of Iowa, did not want to de-
aonetize silver, but to remonetize aud
atisfy the demands of the country for
liver change"
Garfield. being in sympathy with the
reditor class, was opposed to making
liver legal tender He would seem to
,reet that the relief needed is needed
v the mass-the mass being debtors.
1t is not to be expected that silver will
nd many disinterested champions SO
ing at it is depreciating in value. 1t
ways seems to be safe and popular to
lex the under dog and add weights to .
le overburdened. But intrinsic values
annot be lesislated away; and even wide
:. -
orthless metal of such purity and pre- ) )
ious qualities as silver. We are unem- !
arrassed by Any sense of doubt of the e
oundless and ultimate vindication of
enator Jones attitude. 1t is supported
y reason. by history and by actual
eeds. Indeed. his arguments are abso- .
'tely unanswerable. Such arguments
% certain to prevail in the end.