Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1886-01-14
sExA TOR GRAY ON sII YER.
He stands Forth ns the Champion of
an Honest DOiIar.

| Following is the Associated Press re-
| port of senator Gray's maiden speech,
made yesterday afternoon week:
Mr.. Gray of Delaware, called up Mr..
Beck's recent resolution of inquiry re-
garding the payment of customs duties
in coin, and the application of TINT coin
to sinking fund purposes. The resolu-
tion having been read, Mr.. Gray said he
would vote for it, but for reasons very
different from those which actuated Mr..
Beck and those who thought with him.
Reviewing the history of our coin legis-
lation, the act of 1873, MIR. Gray said
was, tentative. Il was based on
the idea that silver would shortly reach
an international ratio with gold. II
was the hope of attainment of this inter
national 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 92 cents in 1873 was now
worth less than so cents, Passionate in
vective on the part of silver men would
not enhance the value of the silver dollar.
The actions and recommendations of the
President and Secretary of the Treasury
were right. He (Mr. Gray was not here
to defend any one. but economic laws
were always the same. He was neither
bondholder, nor the son of bondholder.
but he was for paying the bondholder in
honest money. The true issue in the ques
tion was whether the true relation OF
gold and silver could be reached by the
continuance of the present plan of silver
coinage. He asserted that this could not
be done. Silver coinage had served
useful purpose as subsidiary coin, but no
country desired basis of silver coin
alone. and if gold were supplanted by
silver We would have a silver basis. The |
gold standard had kept us in easy rela-
tions with the rest of the world. BIZ |
could not be reached by any |
one country alone. France had long ago |
stopped her silver coinage, and should |
we, by continuing our present course,
drive out of the country several hundred |
millions of gold coin? If we did so we
should have contraction indeed.
The act of 1878, having failed to raise |
the value of silver, persistence in our
present plan of silver coinage would
bring us to silver standard. We would |
be descending to the basis of an 80-cent |
dollar, and thus the government of the
United States would in fact be scaling its
own debt. This would be public mis-
fortune, as evidencing condition of
public dishonesty, which, to say the
least, was equally reprehensible with in
dividual dishonesty. Many of those who
favored the silver coinage were not, in
Mr.. Gray's opinion, the solid con-
servative business men, but those
of speculative turn. He
desired to see silver in circulation concur
rently with gold, but the failure of the
best efforts to get it into that condition
was sufficient proof that our continued
coinage would be of no avail in that di-
rection. We were all embarked on the
same great voyage-debtor and CREDITOR
one fate awaited us all. We should there
fore honestly endeavor to adjust our diff
ferences in order that the interests of all
our people may be honestly and fairly ad-
vanced.
Mr.. Gray was listened to with unusual
attention. His voice was clear, resonant
and well sustained; and at the close of |
his remarks he received the congrGtula-
tions of several of his Senatorial friends
Mr.. Mcpherson followed on the same sub
jeet.