The Carbon advocate. [volume] (Lehighton, Pa.) 1872-1924, 1878-03-09
Our Washington Letter,

ate By a Large Mqjority-,SccneS and Incl
dents IN and about the Capitol Tie,cs Of
Prominent Statesmen
WASHINGTON, D. c., March 2, 1878.
The greatest question of the day, the Sill
yer Bill, has been settled at last and, mas
much as it has occupied the attention of the
people from every section of this country fer
| several weeks, your correspondent feels con-
WINGED that a full account of the closing GER
emonies, in the House and Senate, in regard
to the same, will be read with interest.
The bill was returned by the President in
the afternoon of Thursday last by his As
sistant Secretary, o. L. Pruden, while the
ayes and noes were being taken on a bill to
allow a Lieutenant in the army to accept
decoration from the Sultan of Turkey. Be
fore the roll was completed, the news that it
was a ueto spread through the House, and
there was little, but not much, excitement
among the members, as q veto was generally
expected.
AS soon as the Lieutenant had been per-
mitted to accept his decoration, Mr..
Stephens, of Georgia, moved that the House
take up the business on the Speakers table
and consider the Presidents Message,
The message was then read. The Presi-
dent says in it that, after a careful consider
alton, he is compelled to send the bill back
to the House with his disapproval. In his
annual message he had ioreshadowed such a
decision, and he still held that bill, with
provisions similar to the one in question,
was neither for the good of the people nor
of the government. lie was not opposed to,
but favored, the increase of the amount of
silver in circulation; but felt convinced that
it should be done in such a way as not to
interfere with the public credit. lie would
ask the further consideration of the measure
by Congress, The bill provides for, and
makes Il legal tender Of, a dollar of 4l24
grains, unless otherwise stipulated in the
contract 1t is well known that dollar of
that weight is worth only go or 02 cents
when compared with the standard gold dol
lar; thus, the silver dollar, worth from
eight to ten cents less than the money in
which debts were contracted, is to be made
payable for debts made when the law did
not authorize the legal tender character of
silver The payment of customs duties in
silver would take away the gold for paying
the public debt. lie took the ground that
the bonds should be paid in gold only.
They had been sold to purchasers who so
understood the matter During his admin
istration bonds had been disposed Of Dur
ing the sale of these bonds the question had
been raised if they We're to be paid in gold.
The public announcement had, therefore,
been made by the administration that 1t
was not anticipated that they would be paid
in any currency worth less than that for
which they were purchased 70 do other
wise will be breach of public faith. There
is no power to make a government pav its
debts. The PAYMENT OF them lies only i'm
the honor of the government. That honor
should be maintained. 1t is said that. un-
der the operations OF the bill, the silver dol
lar Of ll39 grains will be worth as much as
the gold. MANY supporters of the bill think
so. If a silver dollar is to be issued, it
should be only legal tender for It's market
ralpc. The Kind Of money in which debts
are to be paid should be only CHANGED bv
consent of both creditor and debtor, The
standard of value should not be CHANGED OK
cent bv the consent of both partics. Uo
concluded bv saving that he believed in sill
yer, but not in dollar of 4I2l grains. He
favored such n dollar rs would dcfraud no
man.
AS soon rs the MESSAGE had bocn read
Mr. Stephens moved that the House mass
g.,