The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1878-02-08
CONGRESSIONAL.
SENATE.
MAsnrNaroN, FEBRUARY q

savings banks, the pending question be-
ing an amendment providing that no osav'
ings bank, having no capital stock, shall
be on accounts with mercantile or business
deposits on which no interest has been
allowed, denied the exemptions al-
lowed to savings banks having no capital
stock, and 1t was agreed 10. Yeas, %
nays, q. The bill was then read third
time and passed.
Consideration was then resumed OF the
unfinished business, the silver bill, and
Mr.. Blaine spoke thereon.
Mr.. BLAISE's POINTS.
Mr.. Blaine's speech presented the fol.
lowing points:
Gold and silver coin are the money Of
the Constitution. The organic law con.
ierred no power on Congress to declare
that either should not be money. Con.
gress, therefore, has no power to demone-
tie silver any more than gold. II. there
fore, silver had been demonetized, he was
in favor Of remonetizing it. II its coinage
had been prohibited, he was in favor Of
ordering il to be resumed. II 1t had been
restricted, he was in favor Of having II
enlarged. Congress has exclusive power
to coin gold and silver and regulate their
value. II Germany should renonetize
silver, and the States OF the Latin Union
reopen their mints, silver would resume
It's former relation with gold. He believes
that the European countries will be driv-
en- to full reconciliation. They then
must Of necessity adopt their old ratio Of
10! Of silver to one Of gold. Then we
shall be compelled TO adopt the
same ratio, inPtead Of our former
llG TO one: II we fail to do this
we shall lose our silver, which will
seek the highest markets. Our difficult
problem il how TO re-establish silver
without the corporation OF the Euro
pean Powerp, as an advance movement
TO cuerce them into the same policy. Ii
We coin the silver dollar below the cur
rent value OF the gold dollar, we invite
Europe to take our gold from US, which
will force ua to n single silver standard
and cripple our relations with the leading
commercial countries. In the present
condition., at the current rates ot silver,
the free coinsge OF the dollar containing
4l2l grains, gives an Legitimate profit
10 the owner Of bullion which would de-
fraud the man who is forced TO take the
dollar. The free coinage and circulation
OF this inferior dollar must be at the ex-
pense Of our gold coinage, which will
ilow out with the resistless force of the
tides. What gain, therefore, would we
make 10 a circulating medium il
there Is an opening gate for silver
to fIow in. We open wider for gold to
flow out. Till Europe remonetizes we
cannot afford 10 coin dollar as low as
4l2i grains. After Europe remOuetizes
on the old standard We cannot afford TO
coin dollar above 400 grains, because il
we do silver will leave US.
Mr.. Blaine argued the public injustice
and private wrong Of making debased
silver standard, which must inevitably
fix lower standard Of value for our
puper money. lie urged strict regard
10 the interest oI the public creditor:
which ia indissolubly bound up with the
interest OF the whole people. He repn.
dated the specific demand for the pay
ment Of the bonds in gold, but they must
be paid in gold and not Inferior silver
dollars. Our pledge TO the public cred
itor in 1870 blnds US to pay in the stand
ard OF the then existing value. A silver
dollar Of 1926 grains would equitably rep.
recent dollar of that date. Such
dollar will then it in turn the
miner, the owner Of bullion, the holder
OF coin, and the government, and will in.
sure to our laborers a full dollars pay
for dollars worth Of work. For these
reasons he advocated unlimited coinage
and legal tender for dollar Of that
weight. He did not expect the adoption
Of his substitute, in view OF the preclud.
ing OF committals and tho avowals ot
Senators. He was not in line with either
extreme those who favor a single gold
standard, or those whose views, II sus-
tanned, would force US to a single silver
standard. We needed both and could
have them only by making each the
equal Of the other. He called attention
10 the fact that the dollar proposed by
the bill is lighter than the one coined by
our mints for the ignorant class ot hea-
then laborers in China and India, and IN
the name OF common sense and common
honesty he asked the American Congress
not to force upon the American laborer
an inferior dollar, which the naked,
famishing and degraded laborers Of India
and China refuse 10 accept. He denied
the assertion that the people demand
cheap money. They demand an abund-
ance Of good money. They do not want
single gold standard that will exclude
silver and benefit those already rich.
Nor do they want inferior silver stand.
ard that will expel gold and not help
those already poor. They want both
metals In full value and Of equal honor.
MIR. Blaine concluded his remarks at 9
o'clock, and as he took his seat there was
appliance in the galleries. The Vice
President gave notice that il such ap.
plause be repeated the galleries would be
cleared.
DEFESsE OF THE SOUTH.
Mr.. Johnston then spoke in favor Of
the silver bill. He said it could not
have escaped the attention OF any one
that part Of the public press, especially
at the North, had indicated that the
South stood ready at any time 10 repudi-
ate the public debt OF the United States.
He (Johnston) wished 10 say for himself
and on behalf Of his Southern colleagues
on this floor, that no people had the Ma
,ionaI honor more at heart than the peo-
pie Of the South. They had passed
through the most terrible suffering and
did not propose to undergo the journey
again. IT they had no better motive for
uphoIding the National honor than that
Of sell.interest they would not do anything
10 bring discredit on the Government,
The people OF the South knew that their
condition was indissolubly mixed up with
that Of the North, and they must uphold
the honor and credit Of the government
All were in the same ship, and the South.
ern people did not propose 10 scuttle or
wreck that vessel. So far "a they were
concerned they proposed she should have
q prosperous voyage.
He argued that silver was one OF the
products Of the country and it was the
duty Of Congress 10 see that il was NOT
injured. There was great popular de-
mand for the reconciliation Of silver.
The people Of the country believed II was
demoneIized by fraud. They believed
the act which demonetized II waa snug
gled through and should be repealed. Il
was not the part Of ststesmanship 10 be
llt.l a. ,aanI.. Ja,,anl. ~ lan;oJ