The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1877-11-15
A1uHtifal
CONGRESS.
EXTRA SESSION.
HOUSE.

MI OlCpllCu5 pllSlCu lS9S'"bOHi "i''N'i
was adopted expressing the regret of the
House at such resignation.
The regular order Of business being
demanded, Mr., Atkins saidthatthe Com
mittee on Appropriations did not desire
the consideration of the army bill to. day
and the Speaker declared that the re Iu>
lar order was consideration Of the bill
for the repeal Of the resumption clause,
Mr. Gardner proceeded to address the
House in favor Of the repeal of the re-
sumption acr. In considering all the
provision of that act together he was led
to the conclusion that its object was to
substitute for outstanding currency sub
sidiarv silver coin, National bank curren-
cy, and such coin as should be put in
circulation after the Ist Of January, 1879,
He claimed that the tendency Of the act,
if enforced, was the rapid contraction Of
the currency; that that meant rapid de.
probation of values, and that the conseN
quence of that must be general bank
ruptcy of the active business men of the
country, Entertaining such views, and
believing that an attempt to enforce the
resumption act would result in speedy
contraction ofthe currency, and that ruin
GUS consequences would necessarily folN
low, he was in duty bound to vote for its
repeal. In doing so he did not mean to
be understood as being opposed to
resumption or as being in favor of inha-
ton.
Mr.. Cox, of Ohio, agreed with his col.
league, Mr.. Gardner, in many Of his
views though not in his conclusions. He
TCoxl concluded that being resump>
zionist in principle, it would be wiser to
amend the law so as to reach the con-
clusion which his friends are aiming at,
rather than repeal it entirely. He pro,
ceeded to explain and advocate the
amendment offered by him yesterday.
Resumption should be reached, not by
saying we will resumein 1879 or 1881 but
in providing intermediate steps to res
sumo, TWAS that which his amendment
proposed to- day. He had offered his
amendment as a means of coming to an
understanding about resumption. Party
lines could not be drawn on such ques-
ton. Could not those who agreed upon
the policy of resumption agree upon the
methods of bringing it about, If these
proposed by him were not the means, let
the right means be shown. lam entirely
free to say, resumptionist as | am that If
the people of the UAited States, who hold
the whole of the currency, say through
their representatives in Congress that
they do not want the Government to pay
it in 1880 or I89o or at any other time,
they have an absolute right to say so,
Mr.. Riddle followed in favor Of the re-
peal Of the resumption act. and SUBJ
stantial equality in the imposition Of the
burden and distribution of the benefits Of
the Government
Mr.. Price said he had voted to take the
bill out of the morning hour, not because
he believed in the doctrines of the bill,
but because he was opposed to anything
like gag law or suppression Of discussion.
The question was one which agitated the
whole country.
The statement that 233 National banks
had voluntarily gone out of existence not
because Of the passage of the resumption
act, but because the taxation OF National
bank property was greater than the tax
alton Of any other proper in the country,
led to a discussion with MI. Kelly and
others.
Mr.. Kelley said: The National banks
of Philadelphia have just declared their
semi annual dividends, ranging from five
to ten per cent and been addir G to their
surplus, and one of our National banks
recently made not the annual, but an eX
ira dividend of 100 per cent, The taxa.
ton which allows such profits is not op>
pressive or calculated to drive capital out
of business.
Mr.. Price, continuing, said; / want
the country to stand by its promise If
we are true to ourselves we will accom-
plish all we have promised, and we shall
continue to be what we are to day-the
admiration of the civilized world. APP
plause.
Mr.. Kelley-Was it not the argument
of Peel and Ricardo, when the act Of
1919 was passed, that as gold and paper
were then at less than five per cent. diff
ference it was a mere question of from
three to five per cent. to be diftused over
four years What was the result of
overcoming that from three to five per
cent? Values were reduced sixty per
cent, and the elder Peel said to his son
Robert, "You have Nade the fortune Of
your family, but you have ruined your
country Three per cent. was enough
to do that
Mr.. Pnce-I do not know anything
about the elder Peel's opinion, and do
not care much about his son. live in
the afternoon of the nineteenth century,
and am legislating for the people of the
afternoon of the nineteenth century.
While values in England at that time
may have gone down sixty per cent, val
ues here have gone up because gold has
gone down from go to 1903. Do not
compare this country with any other.
There is no place to make a country to
compare it with. Laughter. In Eng
land you may take railroad car in the
morning and before sunset you will
run over the edge. Applause and laugh
ter
Here Mr., Price in glowing language
painted the greatness and grandeur of
the country, eliciting continuous laughter
andapplause. and this response (ironicaD
from Mr. Kelley: Big as the country is
the American eagle can flap its wings
over every acre, and scream defiance to
all creation.
Mr.. Blair of New Hampshire, contro-
verted Mr.. Kelleys historical allusion to
England, and asserted that the troubles
of those times did not commence until
after the actualresumpton Of specie pay
ment.
Mr.. Harrison deprecated the tone of
Mr.. Prices remarks in so far as they as
sumed this country was not subject to the
same general laws Of trade as other coun-
tries, and he advocated the passage Of
the bill. AS TO the argument Of plighted
faith to bondholders, he said that there