Morning journal and courier., 1890-06-14
THE FIFrx.EIRsr CONGRESS.


 THE FIFTY-FIRsT CONGRESS.
 The Silver Question Discussed by
 Messrs. Morgan, Aldrich and Stew.
 art-General Debate Extended Until
 Three O'Clock on Monday-WoFk of
 the House.
 WASHINGTON, June 13.-The senate silver bill was taken ID and Mr. Morgan resumed the floor. He complained that the finance committees amendment to the house bill did not require the coinage of the silver bullion to be purchased by the treasury except at the discretion of the secretary of the treasury. It did say that the secretary should coin enough of it to pay the cost of the bullion at It's market price when purchased, but 1t did not say in what denomination it should be coined, whether in dollars or in subsidiary coin. What, he asked, did that meana It meant really the demonetizstion ofsilver. What other purpose was there in 50 framing the bill as to leave it entirely optional with the secretary of the treasury whether he would coin silver money or not coin 1t. He objected to the general purpose of that legis. !ation. The purpose was too open and patent to be concealed: It was to create by law 8 discrimination between gold and silver. He also objected to the provision limiting the continuance of the act to ten years. The pur- pose of that limitation, he said, was to keep up the agitation which had so long distressed the country, the conflict between gold and silver. The people of the United States wanted stable and permanent fnan- cial policy. But under the proposed limita- tion there would be pickering and strife and oontention-an uncertainty that would affect every class of business. If congress was not competent to decide the question now on sound principles of financial policy it should lay the bill on the table and be done with it, eonfesaing it's inability to handle the ques- tion. Congress should not try mere miser character, nor should 1t make itself party to continued strife and controversy between the two metals. That the future of the bill was to his mind entirely indefensible. He could see no good ground of public policy on which to rest. By all means that provision should be struck out of the bill, the bill should either be laid on the table or made satisfactory to the people.
 Mir. Aldrioh next addressed the senate. There could be no clearer indication, he said, of the inherent weakness of cause than the fact that its advocates found it nec- sssary to appeal to passion and prejudice rather than to intelligence. In spite of ap- pearances, however, the cause of silver did not belong to that class. Mere declamation for the purpose of exciting antagonism and in- flaming sectional feeling was not worthy of playing part in the serious discussion of such a great question. One without previ- ous knowledge of the facts and unfamiliar with politics who should have heard the dis oussion on the silver bill might have supposed that the people of the United States were really in arms divided into two great hostile camps on that question, each determined on the financial if not the physical extermina- tion of the other. He could not believe that congregations of that kind either amused or deceived the American people. A great monetary problem of such a character ought to be discussed, he said, in a aispassionate manner, and with sole reference to reaching 6 wise decision. He recognized the disas- trous effects that had resulted from contraction of the currency, but said that an abnormal imitation of the currency would be equally injurious. There was no substan- tial difference between senators as to the evil effects resulting from the. outlay of sil. yer; the only question was as to the remedy that would be found effective. complete remedy could only be found, he believed, in such action as would open the hints of all nations to the free coinage of silver. By that means silver would be added to the perma- nent fund of the worlds money.
 MT. Aldrich went on to state and to de- 1GnN tA0 uHACD0uOubn 4cpOIt0A Uy bU0 UuHHCo committee to the house silver bill and assert ed that instead of demonetizing silver the system proposed by the finance committee would more effectually nonetize it than the system now in force under the law of 1878. He was willing that the experiment should be tried. He used the word advisedly. for 1t was an experiment whether senators thought so OF not. Congress could not pass an act that would be fnal1ty on the great quss- k{or IT. had kO hn ntati and ,aris al It had to be measure liable to repeal and modification in much wider sense than usu- al. Its final object was to establish 8 legal equality between gold and silver. Gold was to-day universal international money. Silver was not. Congress could not make 1t an international money. That had to be done by. the concurrent aotion of all the great countries. Until that action took place there could be no equality be. tween the two metals. That was the fact of all facts, and it was useless for senators to pursuade themselves or others to the con- trary. It is important, he said, that the people should understand the exact character and effect of the legislation proposed by the silver extremists. The unlimited pur. chase of silver would inevitably in- crease the distrust and alarm of the
 conservative business men of the country. The imitation (sure to follow), would raise
 prices and induce an era of wild speculation, while business would be all the time suffer. | ing from doubt as to ultimate consequences Another effect of it would be that the coun- try would be overwhelmed with an inflow l of silver from every part of the world and the result of that would be to drive out aol6
 basis. Silver would How into the United States by law as irresistible as the law O fgravitation.
 Mir. Stewart was on the floor replying t,
 some of Mir. Aldrioh's statements when tn
 presiding officer, Mir. Ingalls,, called attention
 to the agreement that general debate was t.
 close at o'clock. It was now ten minute
 after that time. Various propositions wer
 made and finally it was agreed by unanimou
 consent that the senate bill should be laid O
 the table, the house bill substituted for il
 the general debate be extended till 3 o'cloc
 on Monday, the session to morrow being fe
 the consideration of bills on the calends under rule 8.
 After colloquy in which were engage
 Messrs. Stewart, Edmunds, Blair and Pla : Meesrs. Reagan and Daniel addressed tt . senate in advocacy of the unlimited coinae of silver.
 The house after the reading of the journ went into committee of the whole on u sundry civil appropriation bill.
 MrCannon said that the amount of apprt priation carried by the measure was in roun numbers $36, ,000, GOO. This was $10, 1000, ,0i less than the regular estimates and SIS, ,000 . 900 less than the regular and special est mates. The sundry civil law for the curre1 . year provided for an expenditure of $25, COG g GOO. The fourteen regular appropriate ! bills as reported to the house aggregated {
 expenditure of $306, ,0e0, ,000, an excees
 $35, 900, 900 over the appropriations for u /. current year. This excess was nearly all a counted for in three bills, pension $18, ,00O . 900, postof6ce $12, ,000, 900 and naval $2, 16G f GOO. The other $3, ,000, GOO resulted from tl Q expansion incidental to the growth of tl Q country.
 MT. Cannon then gave statement of tl J. attitude of the appropriation bills. The on
 bill not reported to the house was the ge
 eral deficiency bill, and this would be I ported before the close of the fiscal yes There was pending the sundry civil and | s Indian bills. In the senate committee .l appropriations were the agricultural a, @ diplomatic and postoface bills, and in f + senate committee on commerce the river al IS harbor bill. Pending in the senate was t ?. legislative bill. The forti6cation bill h
 passed both houses with senate amendmen
 Tho n;okrioA of OoJnnnhia naval and napsi