The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1886-02-20

party IN both branches of Congress,
that he did not believe they would so
far ignore the facts as to in.
innate that "the organizations of
wealth have succeeded in alarming
the President and Secretary of the
Treasury as they have done in several
previous administrations. If the lang
uage employed in this connection meant
anything at all, it must be construed 10
mean that the President and Secretary
OF the Treasury were under the influence
OF capitalists whose interests were.sup-
posed to be antagonistic to those of the
productive classes and wage-w workers.
What facts susceptible of such a con-
struction had been submitted in proof of
the charges OF insiDuations uttered
They seemed to him forrest only upon
the bare unsupported statements of
those who promulgated them. Had the
President and Secretary of the Treasury
in any respect violated the law as it ex-
lists to-day? Had they not concerned
to its every letter. Could not Congress
concede to them as much honesty and
integrity in the views they entertained
upon this subject as 1t claimed for it
self, and could it not presume them to
be so DESTROYS as itself of doing what
was for the best interests of the people
1t was true that they had recommended
a suspension of the coinage of the silver
dollar under the provisions of the act OF
1878, but could anyone say that such
recommendation might not ultimately
prove to be as wise and as well calcu-
lated to promote the public good as its
coinage had been shoEn by practical
experience to have been of doubtful ad-
vantage?
The charge had been made that
the Secretary of the Treasury was in
imical to silver for the reason that it
was alleged that he had not paid out
silver in the treasury for the retire
menr of government bonds. Governs
ment provided three grades of money,
all of equal purchasing power in the
market: to maintain this equality was
one of the duties of the Secretary of the
Treasury. Suppose he had $40 600 of
government bonds; he was required
when they were called TO present them
for redemption at the Treasury of the
United States in Washington, he
was not paid for them in money
but he rec lived a check. This check
did not describe the kind of money he
should receive. 1t simply called for
$4,000; it was optional with him to des
mand either gold, silver or paper. but
if under instructions of the Secretary of
the Treasury, the disbursing officers
were commanded upon the face of the
check to pay him in silver, would he
not have the right to infer that govern
ment was endeavoring to force upon
him coin which intrinsically did not
represent $4,000 in true money? By
voluntarily compelling him to take sill
yer, when under existing laws gold, sill
Il lot Toe =
stood and declared to be of equal value,
and SO treated in payments By the
Treasury, would not such action on
the part of the Secretary sof the Treas
ury tend to discredit silver, and wo Id
he not be deIeh;t in his duty.
which required him to do all that was
in his power to maintain the three
kinds of money on a parity2 The
Treasury Department had not discrim-
mated against silver, as it would have
done had such a policy been pursued,
but on the contrary, the Secretary had
endeavored to uphold it by refusing to
arbitrarily compel those who did not
want it to take it, and for which there
was no law. In 1878 Congress had
passed law which practical expert
ence had since demonstrated TO be in
violation of economic principles,
and now, because, these gentle
men were charged under the laws
with the duty OF carrying out this
Utopian financial idea, they realized
that it was impossible for them TO ac-
compllsh all that was intended, although
having faithfully executed the pro-
visions of the law, they were held re-
sponsible by the authors of the act of
1878, for want of confidence on the part
of the people. and the non-circulation
of this CON. He declared that if there
be in circulation a good dollar and
poor dollar, the rich man will always
get the good dollar and the poor man
the poor dollar. If public policy re-
CURED that all dollars should be poor in
order to rob the creditor class of our
people, IN favor OF the debtor, it is ap-
pealed to this House to, in some way,
protect the man who has earned his
bread and supported his family by
his daily labor. and when he asked for
bread not to give him a stone. How
this could be done in any better way
than by givir & the Itch and poor alike
good dollar ne did not know, but pro-
tested IN Gods name for the poor
man. The rich man could take care of
himself; he needed no sympathy, nor
was he ent tied to auy.
Mr.. Scott said that he was in favor of
bi-metallism at the present time, al
though he was believer in the superb
ority of gold as a standard of value.
Mr.. Scott spoke at great length, and
finally Mr.. Geddes, of Ohio, protested
against the private bill day being con-
sumed in the DISCUSSION of the silver
question. He was then proceeding TO
make a speech in favor of silver coin
age, when he was interrupted by Mr..
Reed. of Maine. who suggested that
Mr.. Geddes was guilty Of the same in
consistency with which he charged the
gentleman from Pennsylvania. Why
take up any more time with financial
speeches? The majority of the House
was entirely dissatisfied with the time
taken up already.
Mr.. Geddes-T suppose you were. be-
cause you have only heard the gold
side.
Mr.. Reed-I am as dissatisfied with
the time being taken up on that side as
on the other.
Mr.. Geddes than started once more
upon his speech, when he was inter
rupted by Mr.. Reed with a point of or
der that he was not speaking to the
amendment.