Ottumwa weekly courier. (Ottumwa, Wapello County, Iowa) 1872-1899, 1876-03-29
IONA, New Mexico and other out
posts. Referred.
| JnITSE

Secretary of the Treasury to redeem
all outstanding legal tenders by Jan.
LIST, 1879.
Payne moved to suspend the rules
and pass his bill to provide for the
gradual resumption of specie pay
ment.
The first section of the bill directs
the Secretary of the Treasury TO set
aside and retain in the treasury coin
each year, until U. S. notes shall be
appreciated to par with gold, an
amount equal to three per cent. OF
the outstanding legal tenders or legal
tender notes, to be held as resumption
fund for the redemption of such legal
fender notes. Prorided that such
coin set aside and retained shall be
counted as part of a sinking fund.
The second section requires national
banks to set aside and retain from
coin received by them as interest on
bonds deposited as security for their
circulation an amount equal to three
per cent. of their circulation, such
coin to be counted as part of their
legal money reserves.
| The third section repeats so much
of the resumption act as provides for
the redemption of legal tender notes
to the amount of s per cent. of the
national bank notes in circulation,
and provides for the redemption of
legal tender notes i'm coin after Janu-
airy 1879.
Kasson asked PAYNE if he did not
desire the judgment of one of the reg
ular committees of the House on his
bill.
Payne without answering, called
for the yeas and nays on his motion.
Kasson suggested that the COM
mittee on Banking and Currency, of
which Payne is member, might nc
the proper one.
Holman wanted the proposition di-
vided.
The speaker ruled debate out of
order.
i Kasson asked the speaker if the bin
did not violate the pledge of the L. S.
to maintain n sinking fund.
A vote being taken, Mr.. Payne's
motion for the previous question was
defeated nays 1856; yeas 81. II would
have required two-thirds vote to
, pass the bill. Among those voting
J yea are Bagley, Caulfield, Harrison.
Morrison and Wike. Among those
who voted nay are Anderson, Burch-
ard of Ills, Campbell, Cannon.
Grouse, Eden, Farwell, Fort. Hart
: zell; Henderson, IIurlbut, Kasson,
McCrary, Plaisted, Rice, Sparks,
, Springer, Sampson, Whitney, Will
son of Iowa, Tufts and Oliver.
: The House then went into Commit
tee OF the Whole, Mr.. Saylor in the
, chair, on the bill providing for the
, deficiency in the Engraving and
! Printing bureau of the Treasury, and
. for the issuance of subsidiary silver
: coin
Mr. Townsend, of Penn, offered an
amendment providing that silver
coins shall be exchangeable at par for
. United States notes i'm sums of not
: less than three dollars, and shall be
. receivable for postage and revenue
stamps and for all duties to the
, United States except customs in sums
: of not over five dollars, and shall be
redeemed on presentation in such
! sums and under such regulation as
) shall be prescribed, and that the total
issue of silver coin shall not exceed
lIJy nllilOn uOllafS.
Speeches We're made by Landers.o
, Ind, and Phillips, of Ky, against the
, bill, and by Eames and Burchard OF
, ILL.,, in support of the bill.
Mr.. Landers regretted that any
: Democrats would assist in that white
elephant Of the Republicans, the re-
sumption act.
Mr.. Burchard referred TO the fact
, that all governments but the United
: States maintained subsidiary silver
currency, and to the fact that it had
been demonstrated that il was cheap
er to the government to issue it than
, to issue fractional paper currency.
He believed that the people would
not entrust the control of the govern
ment to the Democratic party unless
f they were assured that party would
maintain the credit of the country.
which was now ut four per cent.
Mr.. Garfield supported the bill,
. first as matter of economy. and sec
ond because il was step in the d.
rection of the resumption of specie
payment. He repudiated the idea
that the resumption act was a Repub-
, fican measure. Mr.. Hewitt, OF New
York, who said this, Mr.. Garfield
said was positively interested i'm get
ting contract for the New York
Banking Company to pl int the frac-
tional currency, which would cost the
Government 100000 year. He
expressed his wonder at the argu-
ment OF Mr.. Hewitt, that currency
was the poor mans money. and that
the substition of silver would be rob-
berry of the poor man. He expressed
his establishment that the gentleman
had not absolutely burst into laugh
ter at the absurdity of his own prop
osition. If the bill were not step
towards the resumption of specie
payment he would vote against it, no
matter whether il was economical or
not; but if it were in the direction of
specie payment he would vote for il.
no matter what the cost might be. lie
advocated the bill because il was safe.
easy and economical, and was i'm the
direction of the observance of the
public faith.
i Mr.. Randall, chairman of the Com
mittee on Appropriations, closed the
debate with speech i'm favor of the
bill. The chief objections which had
been made TO the substitution of sill
yer coin for fractional currency were,
LIST, That there would be deprecia-
ton of currency; and I'd, That the
value of silver might rise and that of
greenbacks depreciate, to point that
would render il profitable to melt or
export silver coin, and that the people
might thereby be put to serious in
convenience for want of change The
first objection was readily answered.
There was no proposition to deprc-
ciate silver coin. On the contrary. The
bill provided for the issue of silver
coin of the same weight and purity as
that which had been issued by the
mint since 1853. In fact the coins pro-
posed to be issued would be slightly
more valuable than those coined from
1858 to 1873, as the object was to make
the silver dollar conform TO the weight
and value of the five frame piece. The
picture drawn by the gentleman from
New York (HewitD rs to injury from
the substitution of silver currency
for that of paper currency, was high
ly cOlored. He thought these silver
coins would maintain purchasing
power equal with legal tender notes
or even with gold, for the small pay
ments after the limit of the substitu-
ton would be reached, then no further
issue of silver coin could be made ex-
ceptIehangeable al par in gold. The
entire amount of silver coin proposed
would be needed and actually en-
ployed as change money, and being
only procurable from the minis for
gold coin Mt par, a redundancy would
be impossible.
Mr.. Randall thought some risk
must, however, be incurred, but be-
fore the adjournment Of this session
the success or failure Of the under
taking would be settled, and if there
were any error it could easily be cor
rectcd.
Various amendments were offered.
and the committee then rose and re-
ported the bill and amendments, with
the understanding that five minutes
debate would be allowed i'm the
House, and then the votes taken on