Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1886-01-14

call, the house ADJOURNED, Inc NUN
Der of bills introduced to-day was 100
WEDNESDAY, JAN. 6.
Senate. Senator Gray called up Sen.
ator Beck's recent resolution of in
quiry regarding the payment of custom
duties in coin, and the application of
that coin to tie purposes of the sink
ing fund. etc. The act of 1878, Sen.
Gray said, IVES tentative; It was based
ron the idea that silver would shortly
reach an international ratio with gold.
1t was the hope of the attainment of
this international ratio that actuated
many thoughtful men in voting for that
bill This hope had been disappointed.
The object of the bill had been defeated.
and the dollar worth % cents IN 1878,
was now worth less than so cents. Pas
sionate invectives on the part OF the sit
yer men would not enhance the value
of the silver dollar, The actions and
recommendation of the president and
! the secretary of the treasury were
right. He (Mr. Gray, was not here
| to defend any one, but economic laws
were always the same. be was neither
81 bondhOlder nor the son OF
/ bondholder, but be was for paying the
! bondholder in honest money. The act
of 1878, having failed to raise the value
/ of silver, persis tence IN our present
| plan OF silver coinage would bring US TO
| a silver standard. We would be descend
| ing to the basis of an eighty-cent dollar
aud thus the government of the United
! States would in fact, be scaling lis own
debt. This would be public misfor-
tune, as evidencing the condition Of pub
lie dishonesty, which to say the lesst
was equally reprehelsible with indlv-
idual dishonesty. Sen. MCPHERSON
/ followed on the same subject. The
| United States treasury he said had be-
come a vast complicated machine.
| There were seven different factors in
cur circulation in the form of various
kinds Of notes. If the coinage were now
suspended silver might get to proper
relation with gold, and in the opinion
of the best authorities of the world, we
had now got to a point in silver coinage
| beyond which it was dangerous for us
I to go. The need of currency was q
need created not by law, but business.
! Whenever the treasury could no
| longer maintain gold basis, then the
public would have to take care of the
silver. The silver dollars had thus
! far remained at par with gold be-
cause they had but limited use, and
were limited in number within the linn.
| it of the public needs, but the Gresham
law still holds good, After three CEN
turtles of the observation, namely, that
bad money drives out good money, all
history taught that with a currency of
flucuation value, ours was tending to
become speculation, and was encour-
aged, and monetary ruin FASTENED. The
loss weuld always fall on the producers
of our country, as theimporters would
protect them4elves Referring to the
effect of silver in India, Senator Nc
/ Pherson exclaimed: "God forbid that
the American laborer should ever come
to a condition like that of the laborer
of India The blow aimed by the sill
yer men at the "bloated bond holder"
Sen. Mcpherson insisted would strike
ten fold the force on the head of the
laborer. The government had permit
ted its financial agent, Jay Cooke, to
advertise that interest on bonds was
payable in gold, (McPherson produced
such advertismeRts) Sen. Beck inQuir-
ed how much the purchasers OF bonds
had paid for them, Sen. Mcpherson
replied that that made no difference,
the government having held out such
representations that he could notiguore
them. He could not play fast
and loose with its creditors.
The reference by Sen. Mcpherson to an
understanding that bonds were to be
paid in gold brought from Sens. Nor
gan. Harris and Black simultaneous
and energetic insistance that payment
in coin and not 'gold" was the under
standing and agreement. To show
that business was already becoming
alarmed at our course with regard to
silver, Sen. Mcpherson read letter
from the manager of the Liverpool,
London d Globe Insurance company
stating that that company, in view of
the great uncertainty with regard to
coinage, had decided TO make no fur
Their terms except on the specific agree
ment Of their payment in gold coin.
On conclusion OF McPherson's remarks,
Brown gave notice that tomorrow he
would ask to be heard on the resolution
ton of Beck. On motion of Edmunds,
the senate then took up the Utah bill,
pending question being on Hoar's mo-
TO strike outthe section that would
disfranchise the women of Utah. The
motion was rejected. Yeas, II; nays,
81. The section DISTINGUISHING women
remains, therefore, part of the bill. An
amendment, by Edmunds, was agreed
to, providing that marriages within,
but including the fourth degree of con-
sapguinity should be deemed incestu-
Gus and punishable by imprisonment.
Sen. Van Wyck offered an amendment
dispensing with the Utah commission.
He denounced the extravaganza of the
commission and insisted that it had
been of no use to Utah or tbs United
States. The commission, he said, had
half q dozen clerks. Sen. Voorhees, de-
MED this and challenged Van Wyck to
prove his statement. Sen. Van Wyck's
amendment was rejected, and after
some further discussion the bill wen
over till tomorrow, Son. Edmunds say
ing he would ask the senate to set it
out and bring the bill to a vote.
Sen. Morgan offered a resolution, which
was agreed TO, directing the commits.
sioner of Indian affairs to consider and
report whether his policy in the civili-
cation of the Indians required the es-
tablishment of a school west of the
Mississippi river, based on the principle
of military enlistment, instruction and
d5vcip1iua Of Indian youths with q rv;orr-