Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1886-03-08
FORTY-NINTH CONGRESS-,
First Session,

First Session,
HOUSE.
WASHINGTON, March 6,
Immediately upon assembling the House
vent into committee of the whole (Nr.
Crisp of Georgia in the chair on the state of
the Union, in general debate
Mr.. Millard of New York addressed the
committee on the silver question. What the
people wanted, he said, was some legislation
which would eQualize the value of the gold
and silver dollar and maintain that equality.
some legislation which would make the silver
dollar worth 100 cents. The statement made
at the time Of the passage of the Bland bill
that the silver dollar would be the equal in
value with gold had proved to be wrong. and
the Bland dollar was now worth but so cents.
If the pending bill for the free coinage of silver
should become law, no one could be brave
enough to predict what the silver dollar would
be worth eight years hence. The only wav
out Of the difficulty was to establish an In
ternatlonal ratio between the two metals, and
until that was done he was opposed to the
free coinage of silver. and in favor of the
suspension of the act of 1888 The President
was right in his recommendation in this re-
gard. 1t had been charged that the present
administration was engaged III a conspiracy
with the bondholders in setting aside the law.
He thought that the sins of the present ad-
ministration we're sufficiently heavy without
adding this charge to them. Twenty per
cent of every silver dollar that was coined
was fiat 1t would not be long before it was
rejected by the people. Everything except
the work of the day laborer would increase
in cost. The laborer would be the first and
last to suffer. The Bland dollar would be-
come little better than the clipped coin of the
18th century. The free coinage of silver
would bring nothing but want and misery to
the homes and 6resides of the Americ an
people.
MIR. Funston of Kansas made a speech in
opposition to the suspension of silver coinage
This suspension was the demand of shylocks,
who already had the pound of flesh, and now
wished for blood. 1t was the heartless de-
mand of the rich to have the property of the
poor. 1t was the demand of communist, in
gided palaces. The United States was strong
and independent, and need ask no favors. 1t
could devise as many ways of getting gold
from Europe as Europe could devise to get il
from this country. The monetary system of
the country was not in a bad )ndition. The
tnlng 10 90 was 10 let IL alone.
Mr.. McCreary Of Kentucky gave the Pres
ident and secretary of the treasury credit for
honest convictions in their recommendations in
regard to the silver question. From the COM
mencement of the present administration he
had been one of its earnest supporters and he
desired as, far as possible, consistent with his
convictions, to uphold its recommendations
lie did not believe that silver coinage ought to
be suspended. If silver should be stricken
down as money in the United States and in
other nations, two-thirds of the people of
the world would have no metal money an d
one-third of our own coin would be worthless.
No demand came from the people for sus-
pension. On the contrary. in many localities
the people were clamoring for more silver.
When it was remembered how silver had
been assaulted and stabbed in the house of
its friends, its present value was splendid
demonstration of its stability. If the silver
agitation would cease, in a few years silver
would equal gold in value. He combatted
the assertion that the continued coinage of
silver would have the effect of driving gold
out of the country, and quoted from tables
in the report of the director of the mint
to contradict that assertion. Since 1878 the
the annual coinage of silver had been about
80 cents per capita, and it would take 20
years before the per capita circulation of the
United States would equal that of France
and l3 years before the silver circulation
would equal that of gold. Neither reason,
logic, nor justice pointed to the suspension Of
silver coinage. But the existing law was
broad enough and comprehensive enough to
meet the present demands. As he was not in
favor of suspension, neither was he in favor
of free and unlimited silver coinage. II
kat ,rL hoy itaI
coinage when the increase of population and
manufacturers demanded it. All exciting
financial conditions invited a conservative
course. Prosperity could be best promoted
by taking neither extreme. The success and
happiness of the people would be best ad
vanced if the agitation on the silver question
should cease and Congress should turn its at
tention to the reforming of the tariff, the re-
storing of American vessels to the ocean, the
reclaiming of the public lands and the en-
couraging of education in all parts OF the
nation.
Mr. Lanham of Texas called upon all
friends of free silver coinage to organize in
order to force q vote on the bill reported
from the committee on coinage, weights and
measures. Members of that committee had
made several Intellectual efforts to fix a day
for its consideration, and it was believed by
many that it was not intended to allow vote
to be taken if parliamentary practice could
prevent it. The contest was between sus-
pension and unlimited coinage. There was
no middle course. 1t was struggle between
averice and popular rights. The only
RATIONAL scientific solution of the question
was to be found in return to the old law
and the free coinage of silver. After a
quarter of a century of republican rule, after
the demonetizaton of silver by the republic
an party, after the lessons of experience
taught by the history of that party i, had
been reserved for the close of Il year 1885,
memorable for the accession of the democratic
party to the control of the government, to
furnish an eminent opportunity for an au-
thoritstive recommendation to the federal
legislature to suspend coinage. He would
not question the motives of any person high
in national authority with whom he was un-
able to agree. He found himself at irrecon-
ciliable variance with the recommendations
of the President of the United States and the
officer. of the treasury department on the
subject of silver coinage. The circumlotion
suppress the truth that there existed we'll
defined hostility on the part of many demo-
Gratis to the coinage policy of the present ad-
ministration. and no party apprehension
could deter them from a firm. fitting and
faithful avowsl of their conviction. The
common good should be sustained even if
an administration were censured. 1t was
better that legislators be patriots than parti-
zans. The United States should take the
lead, and stand in the fore front in the battle