The semi-weekly miner. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1882-1886, 1886-01-16
A GREAT SILVER SPEECH
Senator ]. B. Beck's Mastery
Treatment of the
SILVER
Able Argument in Favor OF the
Double Standard-Coin Duties
ON Imported Goods.

ton OF the following resolution, submltte
by Mr.. Beck on the 18th instant:
WHEREAS, the laws of the United States requ1II
that all duties on imported goods snail De Pai
WHEREAs. it is provided by Section 1854 Of th
Revised Statutes that 1.-THE coin paid for dut1e
on 1muorted goods shall be set apart as q speclt
fund. and she'll be applied as follows: First, I.
the payment, IN coin dIn; Sddhe si hn.eres sec on tne to oof ~
purchase or payment of l per cent. OF the entlf
debt Of the United States, to be made within eac
fiscal year. which is to be get a2aFt s as = s 81 nR
manner be applied to the purchase or paymen
Of the public debt. as the Secretary Of tn
Treasury shall, from time to time, direct; tnlro
the residue to be paid into the Treasury"
Resolved, That the Committee on Finance D
Instructed to inquire whether the laws ab0v
stated now are, or have heretofore. been oDeyeo
and If they have NOT. TO , fep saeu Ds f 1heir of en force
ment. :.
Mr.. Beck-Mr. President, no mar viii
deny that the laws passed by Congress ar
as imperative on the highest executive
official as on the humblest citizen, whether
they approve them or not. l venture tt
assert that no man will contend that the
laws recited in the preamble to the lore
going resolution either are now or have Tor
many wears past been obeyed. All sorts
of excuses may be and LAY been offered
for their violation, still the fact remains
that the laws of the land have been dis.
regarded by our executive officers, and
the legislative power has been subordin'
ated to the will OF men whose duty it is
to submit to them and to execute them
as they exist. They have no right to
decide whether a Law is good or bad,
polite or impolitic; SO long as it is law
they must BIZ compelled to render implicit
obedience to it. They have officially
R----l T----noo for m NJ n oct that fhQV
neither require coin to be paid Tor duties
on imported goods, nor do they set
apart the coin or it's equivalent SO received
as a special fund to pay the interest on our
public debt, or to procure bonds for the
sinking fund. On the contrary, they admit
that as the existing law do not coincide
with their views Of what is polite they dis
regard them. l deny their right to do SO,
because / believe many OF the evils the
country is now afflicted with grow out Of
the disregard OF the p~lainest provisions OF
law by our Treasury officials. l have no
faith in the remedies which are now and
have for the past years been proposed for
the evils they allege to exist. That the
country is not as prosperous as it ought to
be l admit, but l insist that the remedy is
not to be found in striking down our silver
coinage or the currency based upon it, but
rather in requiring our public creditors to
take it as the law and the contracts they
required us to demand.
l do not propose to find fault with much
that is recommended by our executive Off
GERS; indeed. upon all questions, except
that OF coinage and the payment of our
public debt, | heartily indorse what they
advise. No Secretary Of the Treasury has
ever, in my opinion, expressed more en-
lightened views in regard to our present
.c.<oo, ~ Z, riff 70 votinp than tho prooo,k
Secretary, and / assume that he has but
elaborated the vie WIS OF the President. No
more intelligent II statesmanlike mes
sage, taking it as a whole, has ever emanat-
ed from the Executive Mansion since | have
taken part in public affairs; but | disagree
with the President and his officials as to
the management OF our coinage, and / pro-
pose, respectfully but plainly, to state the
reasons why, and to point out the remedy
l recommend as a substitute for changes
proposed in the message and official re-
ports.
l believe that itcan he demonstrated that
gold and silver coin, and the paper repre-
s~entatives Of both, stand on an absolute
equality before the law, and that three
fourths OF our present troubles grow out OF
the refusal of our officials to pay the money
received at our custom houses to our pub
lie creditors in the manner and for the pur-
poses prescribed by the laws OF the United
States. Therefore l have recited these laws,
which are plain and simple, in the pre-
amble; and in the resolution have asked
the Committee on Finance to tell the Sen
ate whether they have been executed or not;
and il not, to report measures which will
secure their enforcement. l admit that
even when that is done other combinations
must be broken up before we can become a |
prosperous commercial people, but as all
measures for tariff and tax reform must be
originated at the other end of the Capitol, |
l am content to await the action taken |
there. being confident that the Executive is |
in full sympathy with all proper efforts in
that regard.
There can be no dispute as to the fact that
there must be something wrong in the man.
agement Of public affairs when the ports
OF great nations like Germany, France, |
Austria, and other countries are arbltra-
rily closed against our cattle, hogs, and
other food products, without, as the Presi-
dent tells US in his message, present pros
pect OF reasonable charge" 1t is not
a healthy condi ion Of things when
wheat. hogs, and other farm products, de-
barred from foreign markets in retalia-
ton because OF our protective tariff, sell at
home for prices which will barely pay the
cost OF production. As to them certainly
protection does not protect. The great
American agricultural industries, which
give employment to more thar half OF the
workers for wages, whose welfare is held up
~(properly SOY as the highest aim of legisla.
ton, and who's products constitute at
least so per cent. OF our exports, receive
no real consideration here, and are not
even ranked among the industries of the
country over which Congress is asked or
expected to throw it's protecting arm.
These great interests are the morgan
lied, unequipped, and therefore neglected
militia, whose strength cannot be brought
to bear with half the efficiency OF a single |
regiment OF thoroughly armed veterans.
fighting for special interest. This is illus
where displayed by the combinations of
bankers and bondholders and their able
and well-paid press to maintain their
bonds at a premium Of "a per cent, or
rather to increase the premium to 80 or
40 per cent. at the expense of the already
impoverished mass OF taxpayers, It
seems as though it was thought to be the
duty OF Congress to see to it that the rich
sould be made richer by making the poor
poorer. Why should we be in hot haste to | ,
strike down our silver currency for fear oil
a fall in our outstanding bonds below | :
"a per cent. per annum? Have the rem.
resentatives OF the people any interest in
maintaining, far less in increasing, the
premium on bonds bearing 4 Der cent.
interest beyond "a per cent, when we
must soon become the purchasers OF them
at any premium, or else contract our cur
rency at ruinous rates by locking up in the
Treasury all our surplus revenue, as reduc.
ton OF taxation seems to be impossible. nv
the passage OF laws which will still further
depreciate the prices of farm products.
now SO low that producers cannot raise
them and pay wages to their laborers on
which they can live? |
When fat hogs sell at 81 cents a pound
and other things in proportion, when all
the world is combining to exclude our acri.
cultural products from their markets in re.
talliation against our protective system
which prohibits our farmers from buying
what they must have with the proceeds Of
what they must sell, unless they nav 46 |
per cent. on the average more than the,
are offered them for, in order to enrich a
few organized combinations OF mapufac-
turers, who seek no markets abroad and
refuse to sell their products in competition
with so-called paupers with whom the
farmers must compete, our condition is not
satisfactory.
But agree that the Senate cannot inau-
gurate measures to relieve the country
from oppression of that character; there.
fore, / propose to seek relief in the treat.
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