Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1886-03-29
FORTY-NINTH CONGRESS-.
First Session,
HOUSE.

HOUSE.
WASHINGTON, March 27.
The debate in the House today on the sill
yer question was opened by Mr.. Culberson of
Texas, who announced himself in favor of
fair plav and fair dealing with silver. He
was friend of silver and in favor of placing
it on the same plane with gold in relation to
coinage, and making it full, unqualified
debt paving power. There was no greater
legislative folly than to require the govern
ment to coin So 100000 in silver dollars
each month if the treasury department were
permitted to lock them up in the vaults of the
government and refuse to pay them out on
obligations of the government. Discussing
the recommendations of the President and
secretary of the treasury on this subject Mr..
Culberson said that should those recommends
tons be adopted gold would be the only debt
paying money, and national bank notes the
only currency. This would be a reputation
of the policy of the democracy, and a COM
plete acceptance of the financial policy of the
republican party, which'had been overthrow n
in 1878. He was not here to excuse the ac-
ton of any department of the government
which avaied itself of official discretion to
defeat the will of the people by executing and
perpetuating policy which had been re-
pudated by the people at the ballot box, but
he wished to suggest such additional legisla-
tion as would make it impossible in the fu-
ture for the treasury department to admins
ter the financial affairs of the government in
opposition to the will of the majority of the
people. 1t was necessary to provide some
further legislation in order to break up the
practice in that department of RI pudiating the
silver dollars, and cause their application to
the payment of the public debt, principal and
interest. When the people declared that the
| financial principal of the republican party
should be enforced their mandate was re-
spected and obeyed; but when the people re-
volted against the oppressive exactions and
extortions of that financial policy, and de-
clared that the financial policy of the demo-
cratic party should be enforced, it seemed
that their mandate fell stiilborn and they
were deprived of the fruits of their grand
| victory by the exercise of official discretion,
and the interests of all the people were sac
rificed on the altar of gold.
| There could be no greater outrage perpe-
trated on the people than to extort money
| from them by system af taxation which fed
the rich and starved the poor, to be backed
up in the treasury from year to year, when
| the debts of the government due and unpaid
were gathering interest from the people
Unfortunately tor the people there was no
| law for the secretary of the treasury to pay
the surplus money on the public debt, tut
left discretionary power in this regard with
that officer and since experience hadS. shown
that discretion had been exercised to defeat
| the will of the people it should be withdraw
at once. He would make the coinage of sill
yer free, and he would pass law compelling
| I.lo 70 N,,
the public debt. He went on to criticise what
he termed the sycophantic expressions of
sympathy of the rapacious triumvlrate of
bondholders, banks and syndicates of wealth
for the poor, likening that sympathy to the
love of the lion for the lamb 1t proposed by
this triumvirate to dump 220, 600, 900 silver
dollars, which the bondhoders rejected
among the poor people. Repudiated and dis
honored by the bondholders as unfit to be
paid to them, the silver dollar was thrown
ont like old clothes among the poor.
Mr. Long of Massachusetts, followed in a
| set speech. At the outset he said "Let us
admit at once that we are all bi-metalists in
the sense of desiring to retain both gold and
silver as bases for the currency of the coun-
try. and that we do not propose to demone
tie either, even if we stop the coinage OF
one of them. Let us admit that our immense
territory, population, business and CONNER
| cial interests require the service of both met
ais, and that TO abandon either would be a
source of contraction and disaster. While
by no means certain that gold might not, as
practically now for years it has done, per
formed the more functions of a sole and suf-
ficient metal standard of our coinage. | ap
preciate the argument in favor of the service
of both gold and silver. In the interest OF
bi-metallism and in the interest of the larges
basis of our currency-a basis commensurate,
| 18th our immensely expanding national in
terests-I am opposed to the continuance of
the present policy of coinage of silver in
definite and unlimited in time, and therefore
in amount. which, unless we check or Sc
some limit to it, will as surely excurrencsC
or expatriate gold as the sun will rise to
morrow. If you really mean to get rid o
gold and put the country upon moDo-metal
lism of silver, say so. But do not clamo
for bi metallism at the very moment you arr
making bi-metallism impossible. You say
that to stop the coinage of silver will destroy
one of the markets for it, and thus reduce it
value still more. But its present fall is large
ly due to its demonetization by Germany an'
France, and if by suspension of its coinag'
or by assuring suspension at a fixed date
YOU can drive these countries to an interna
tional arrangement, you will take the bes
step toward stopping its depreciation a
money. Let the secretary of the treasur.
begin tomorrow to pay the national creditor
. in silver, or by the silver Standardized it b
understood that that is to be the policy here
after-let the next instalment of the publ
f debt and interest be met in that coin, an
forthwith, in the twinkling of an eye, a
everybody knows, gold will mount TO prem
ium, the Gresham law will begin to operate
because the barriers against it will have bee
broken down, we shall be upon the ground {
J the monometallism of silver, bimetallism wi
} cease to be our policy, and fortunate shall "
, be if pauic and disaster do not follow SUI