The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1884-02-14
PROCEEDINGS OF CONGRESS-.
THE SENATE.
Debate on the MCPHERSON Bill for the Issu-
ance of circulating NOtes.

Debate the MCPHERSON Bill for the Issu-
ance of Circulating Notes.
WASHINGTON, Feb 13.--Mr. Voorhees, offered
a resolution, which went over until tomorrow,
directing the Secretary of the Interior to with
hold, for the present, his approval of patents or
certificates for lands selected by the Northern
Pacific railroad, in lieu of others said to have
been lost by said company under the act of
July 1864. A preamble to the resolution sets
forth that the rights of settlers might be injuri
ously affected by such an approval.
Mr.. Pendleton introduced bill granting con
demned cannon to be used in the construction of
a statue to the memory of General William H.
Lytle, of Ohio.
The Senate took up the special order of the
day, Mr.. McPherson's bill, as reported by Mr..
Bayard from the committee on finance, to pro
vide for the issue of circulating notes to
national banking associations, and Mr..
Bayard addressed the Senate in favor
of the hill. He said the bill reported entire
ly in the line Of absolute security TO holders of
our currency. 1t Went to assist, protect. and
continue an absolutely safe currency. 1t was
the business of Congress to maintain such scru
pulous regard for the public credit that the fact
that bond is to be paid according to Its face
and its terms would never be doubted by any
man. When Congress had done that, let private
speculation take up The game of profit and loss
that was to accrue from it. Congress should
have nothing to do with such schemes
Mr.. Sherman offered an amendment providing
that if any bonds deposited should bear rate Of
annual interest higher than 3 per cent, add
tional circulating notes should be issued equal to
an amount of half the interest aceruing on
such bonds before the maturity i'll excess of 3
per cent. per annum, such amount to be asce"-
tanned and stated by the Comptroller of the Cur
rency on the LIST of July of each year hereafter.
Mr.. Sherman proceeded to address the Senate,
and in the course Of his remarks expressed the
following views concerning the silver question:
He saw no solution of it at present The state
of public opinion, fully represented in Congress.
would not allow a suspension of the coinage of
the silver dollar nor the adoption by the
United States of new ratio for sill
yer and gold according to the market
value Of these two precious metals.
All we could do was to drift along until the in
evitable expectation of gold, its disappearance
from circulation and its conversion into arti-
Gle of merchandise, should reduce all the value
to the silver standard, when, no doubt the prac-
teal good sense Of our people would lead them
to coin both metals according to their then value
and not according to their value fifty years ago.
He would not have alluded to the silver question
except that it was inevitably connected with
banks and banking. 1t was already casting its
shadows upon the future. 1t was rapidly convert
ing our railroad securities into bonds, expressly
payable in gold coin; it was creating distrust
! in investments made upon gold basis which
/
! crops or a banking house, or by some unforeseen
/ event suddenly bring us to silver standard.
/ The doubt would then arise, it had already
arisen, whether, in the adjustment of the new
ratio between gold and silver, the quantity ofsil
yer In the dollar would be increased the guam
/ tity of gold would be reduced One or the other
| would have to be done. AS this question was
| decided, so would the normal price and value of
all lands, commodities investment securities
| and currency rise or fall. A question SO con
| trolling as this, did and would affect banks and
banking in all their phases and
FORMS but as Mr. Sherman be-
| lieved it to be utterly impossible at
! this session TO change the existing law as to the
! coinage of silver, would have TIC go on with
! the coinage and piling up in the Treasury vaults
! silver that we have now bought at a discount,
which we could not circulate, and which we
must at some time sell at discount or reduce
| all other money to the same standard. Until
| this standard is finally settled, coin certificates
were dangerous forms of currency. While if all
certificates We're as now treated as gold certif-
Gates they would be freely taken as an equiva-
! lent to each other but with the first appearance
| of the difference in the market value between
| gold and silver coin, the same difference would
| appear between gold and silver certificates, and
/ gold certificates would disappear from circula-
| ton and be boarded.
| Mr. Sherman then went on to sneak of the
difficulty of maintaining the circulation of
| national banks, because of the rapid payment of
| United States bonds, and entered into particu-
/ lars as to the nature of the bonds outstanding,
| their prices etc He said the national bank cur
reney was the best in the world and alluded to
| the fact that even in the darkest hos of the
| panic of 1873 our bonds never varied more than
| or per cent. In conclusion Mr. Sherman ad-
| vocated his amendment
| Mr.. Mcpherson spoke in support of his bill.
Then the Senate went into executive session,
and soon adjourned.