Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1886-01-20
FORTY-NINTH CONGRESS-.
First Session,
SENATE.
WASHINGTON. Jan 10.


ayers of the National Soldiers Home in the
place of General Mcclellan was passed.
Mr.. Harri.on's resolution of Monday, to
admit Mr. Moody of Dakota to the floor OF
the Senate was laid before the Senate
Mr.. Vest TOOK the floor in opposition. He
denied that Dakota was a State, either de
jure or de facto, or that it could become 50
without the authority of Congress.
After considerable debate the resolution
admitting Mr.. Moody to the courtesy OF the
floor was agreed 10.
Mr.. Frye's resolution of yesterday, regard
ing the presidents recommendation for FISH
cry commission was placed before the Senate
and without debate referred to the committee
on foreign relations.
The presidential count bill was placed be-
fore the Senate, but was informally sci
aside.
Mr.. Teller then addressed the Senate on
the silver question. Without sufficient
amount of money with which TO do business,
he said, the energie. of the people were de-
pressed. Money scarcity meant dull times
and low wages or no wages al all. The per-
son. who suffered the least from such scarcity
were money lenders, bill-discounters and
pswn-brokers. Those who suffered the mos,
were laborers. MIR Teller presented elab.
the world, from which il appears that the sill
yer circulation of Great Britain was 81 69
per head of population; Germany, S4.67 pei
head; United States, 81 IS per head France,
SIS 10 per head, The total coinage of the
world had been estimated as follows: Silver,
81, 716, 900, 900; gold, 1922, ,OO0, ,000 but
gold and silver had been found insuffcieoi
to carry on the business of the world and ali
nations had resorted to paper currency based
on those metals. The total amount of paper
money issued had been SO, 943, ,000, 900, which
was more than the whole amount either
gold or silver. IT, then, gold and silver
combined had been found insufficient to carry
on the worlds trade what reason was there
for supposing that gold alone was sufficient.
When you DESTROY the money faculty of sill
yer YOU increase the purchasing power of gold.
You thus benefit the holders of bonds and
mortgages and government securities, be-
cause the principal and interest of these obi
cations remain to be paid with but one-hali
OF the money in existence that existed when
the debts were contracted. The holders of
these obligations constitute great and pow
ertul Hclass. The creditors class wanted
silver demonitized because of the consequent
enormous increase in the purchasing power
of gold. The raised the crv that gold would
leave the country if We didn't suspend silver
coinage. They had raised the same cry in
1878 against the passage of the silver coinage
act. We had been told that the United
States would become the repository OF all
the silver in the world: that we would lose
all our gold; would lose our national credit
and would be unable to sell our bonds. Wha,
was our financial condition at that time and
what is it no&: In 1877 our national notes
were worth "a cents. Everybody knew wha,
they were worth today. The amount of gold
then in the United States WAS Sl93. .000, 900
the amount to- day S629, ,000, 900. We had
been adding to our stock of gold at
the rate of $50, ,000, 900 year. There was
but one nation that had to-day more gold than
the United States. That nation was France,
which had SS4S 100000 The coinage OF
silver had not hurt our national banks. The
bank of England wa, tas, losing its coin and
bullion. Ia the last Elk months it had lost
S3S ,0O0, 900 of it and in the same time had
lost S4S, 600, 600 Of it, deposits. Was it not
extraordinary that if our financial policy was
so unwise an that of England so wise that we
had accumulated so large an amount of gold
while England was losing her gold. The
whole condition of our country was elo-
quent denial of the truth of the predictions
and complaints of the enemies of silver. The
stoppsge of silver coinage would be equiv
alent to the addition of 100000, 900 to the
national debt and it would add from 90 10 80
per cent to every dollar of debt in the land,
an amount almost too great for computation.
The creditor class demanded the suspension
of coinage which was practically the stoppage
of it, and also that We pay in gold S346, ,000.-
900 of the national bank notes and Withdraw
them from circulation. The next move
would be to take from the dollars already
coined their legal tender value, thus effecting
a reduction amounting altogether to S562,-
600, 900 in circulating medium, over one
third of our circulation. Then with S400,
600, 900 of balance locked up in the treasury,
as now, the business of the country would be
left TO be done without about one third of our
present stock of money. The secretary of
of the treasury had told us that the laboring
men would first suffer from silver coinage.
Let the gentleman, said Mr.. Teller, speak
tor the great moneved corporations and for
bond-holders and capitalists, but not for the
laboring men. The laboring men were well
aware that that great department of the gov
ernment had passed into the control of the
banks, bankers and moneyed powers. They
knew that the statutes passed to
curtail the powers to the moneyed
corporations and capitalists were vio-
lated every day in the treasury department.
The present disturbed state of the public
mind concerning silver, Mr.. Teller sscribed to
the attacks made on it by the government
officials Every scheme that could disgrace
silver had had the sanction of that depart
ment, if it did not directly originate in that
department. The treasurer Of the United
States had even gone into convention of 81
banks, whose object was the depreciation OF
silver, and his presence among the bankers
was carefully telegraphed to all coiners o:
the earth. That was a scheme to frighten
the people into the idea that silver coinage
would bring ruin to our industries, and th e
treasurers presence in that convention was
the most indefensible attack that had ever
been made on the credit of the government
by its own officials, sworn to respect and exc
cute the laws of their country. Another at
tack on silver is found in the system of book
keeping newly adopted by the treasury de-
partment in treating as liability and not as
assets the 500, O,000,0 900 of reserve held in
order to meet the greenbacks. According to
this idea the more money the governme nt
held in its vaults with which to redeem it.
paper money or pay its debts was greater thar
il. liability. This change of bookkeeping
comes of long experience in Wall street. II
was for the purpose of deceiving the people
a. to the amount of available funds in the
treasury as it would always show 500, 900,
600 less than was in the treasury
No doubt the treasury officials believed
the continued accumulation and retentiot
Of money in the treasury was beneficial tc