Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1886-03-21
SILVER'S RATIO TO GOLD.
MR.. JAMES OPPOSITION TO
UNLIMITED COINAGE.

Continued Coinage Under the Bland Act
Declared Perpetuating Organized
Cha0s-Mr. O'DOnnell sweetens the
Debate by Talking About Sugar-Gold
Declared More Plentiful than silver.
WASHINGTON, March 20.-The House
was called to order to-day by the Clerk,
and on motion of Mr.. Morrison, OF Illinois,
Mr.. Crisp, of Georgia, was elected as
Speaker pro tempore during the tempor-
ary absence OF the Speaker.
Under the special order made Tuesday
last a limited debate on the adverse re-
port on the free coinage bill WAS begun,
and the floor was taken by Mr.. james, of
New York, in opposition TO the bill.
Mr.. James promised his speech with
what he stated were a few words of per-
sonal explanation. People were wont to
look to lawyers and professors and politi-
cal leaders for legislation on financial
questions instead OF to business men such
as he was, the result of this locking to
lawyers, professors and political leaders
was that now the country was in a
slough, and the car of State was very
nearly ditched.
THE QUESTION.
This was not question OF doing some-
thing great. 1t was question of getting
out OF something bad. 1t was not a ques-
tion OF making good time. 1t was ques-
ton Of getting the wheels out of the
slough. 1t was question which busi-
ness men ought TO solve. II business
men had dealt with the silver question
the team of State would not have been
stalled in mlre as it is now. They should
u l. 0trAn n,,I fszf NnA hnf hnfr
advice should be followed. They should
join their forces for judicious handling
of the great questions. The sO-called de-
monetization of silver had been from the
start the great business blunder of ma
tions as the whole might have been at
parity at fixed ratio until an interna-
tional agreement was reached.
ORGANIZED CHAOS.
Coinage under the Bland act should be
suspended, for continuance of that coin
age, was but organized chaos in the
United States. The coinage of silver
under the Bland act had been from the
beginning and was now colossal
business blunder, and he be-
lieved that had it not been for the pas
sage OF that bill, silver would have been
remonetized long ere this, both in the
United States and Europe, and the two
metals would be free. Coinage of silver
was what the country wanted, but in his
opinion, it could only be accomplished
through the medium of suspension and
negotiation.
EURoPE's CONDITION.
He went on to argue that Germany,
France and England were in condition
where little pressure. such as suspen-
sion OF coinage in this cOun-
try, would force them into adopt
ing international bimetallism. For
the United States to fix a day
was international concurrence before
that time, was a summons which Euro
pean statesmen could not ignore.
Mr.. Seymour, OF Connecticut, followed
the same line of argument and charac-
terized as an unwarrantsd assumption of
the extreme silver men that those gentle
men who were opposed to free coinage
were monOmetallists.
sWERTENING THE DEBATE.
Mr.. O'Donnell, of Michigan, branched
off from the coinage question to advocate
the proposition to encourage the produc-
tion of sugar in this country by system
of bounties.
MIR. Hemphill, of South Carolina, said
that the question before Congress
was as to the best method of restoring
gold and silver to parity as money metals,
and he advocated as a means to this end
the appointment of commission to Sc
cure an international bimetallic union.
The present standard silver dollar had
neither dollars worth of silver in 1t nor
was it promise to pay a dollar in the
future.
THE GOVERNMENT A RoBBER.
Every time that the government bought
SOC. worth of silver and stamped it as
dollar, it stamped talsehood
on the face OF its own coin
and robbed the man to whom
it was paid. Congress should not require
the Secretary of the Treasury to perpe-
trate that gross injustice, and by forcing
silver on the country eventually put gold
at premium and drive it out Of circula-
tion.
Mr.. Tillman, of South Carolina, sug.
gested that greenbacks, national bank
notes, silver and gold alike paid debts and
taxes.
Mr.. Hemphill replied that greenback
and national bank notes did not pretend
to be real money, and no man accepted
them as such. They were promises TO
pay in the future.
THE SOLID CASH.
But the man who took
gold dollar or silver dol
lar had a right to rely on the honesty
OF the government, and when he took a
silver dollar worth soc. he was fooled
thereby. This country had never been a
double standard country. Thepeople had
been prosperous and happy in the past,
and this had been eonfessedly under a
single standard Of value. There could be
neither justification nor excuse in forcing
upon the country monetary policy d.
rectly In the teeth OF past history and one
which threatened to unsettle values, dis
courage business and stop the wheels OF
progress, simply for the purpose OF main
tanning a financial delusion among the
people.
GOLD MORE PLENTIFUL THAN SILVER.
He would be glad TO see two kinds OF
coin floating together at par at the proper
ratio, but if the country must have gold
or silver alone, he much preferred the
former. There was $l2 In gold per capita
in the country against 81 in silver. The
United States had been confessedly a gold
using country since 1884. and no reason
could be assigned for such a change In the
policy as would reduce our metallic money
TO one-fourth OF its present value.
THE DEBTOR CLASS.
II this were done what would become
OF the great debtor classl uad any plan
been suggested by the silver men by
which this policy could MAKE one dollar
do the work OF fouri IL farmers were To
be paid for their cotton in silver worth
Soc. the day OF their prosperity was, IN
his opinion, forever gone. The relative
value Of silver and gold would be fucttIat-