Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1890-06-14
NATIONS CAPITAL.
Senate Extends Time for Sill
yer Debate Till Ionday.
They Table the Senate Bill, lld Dis
cusS The House Bill.


cause tnAu We lAEt tnbs Us AuNoGArts Iouni
ii necessary to appeal to passion and pre- ja
dice rather than intelligence. la spite o
Appearances, however, the cause of silve
did not belong to that class. Mere deciA
nation for the purpose Of exciting antagon
ism and iDhaniing sectional feeling vas no
worthy Of playing part in the serious dis
eussion of such . great question Dns
without = previous know ledge Of the facts
unfamiliar with politics. who should have
heard the discussion on the silver bill Nigh
have supposed the people of the [ uitet
States really in arms, divided into two gfea
hostile camps on that question, each deter
mined on financial. If not physical, e1ter
minAtion Of the other.
Aldrich asserted instead Of demonetixins
the system proposed by the finance com
nittee would mere effectually monetizs il
than the system now in force under thu
law Of 1878 Congress could not pass tn,
act that would be inxlity on the question
IL had to be tentative and experimental
Its final object was to establish the lega
equality between gold and silver. Gold 10
day is universal and international money
Silver vas not. Congress could not make
it international money. That had to be
done by concurrent action to all the grea
countries, and until that action took place
there could be no equality between the tive
metals. That was the fact Of all the facts
and it is useless for the Senator's to en-
deavor to persuade themselves, or others tC
the contrary.
| Stewart was on the floor, replying IL
some Of Aldfieh's statements when the pre-
siding officer, Ingalls,. called attention to
the agreement that general debate was to
| close AT ) o'clock, il was n0w ten minute.
after that time. IL was agreed, by unani
nous consent. that the Senate bill should
be laid on the table and the House bill be
substituted for it, and general debate be
extended till ) O'Clock Monday.
| Stewart declaimed against the demoneti,
zation of silver which had taken place, he
said it was in the interest Of capitalists and
| usufers.
Edmunds asked him the rate of interest
| in Nevada under law.
Seven per cent was the answer
with the right to contract at any rate, -
Edmunds suggested.
Stewart admitted that was correct.
Another question BY Edmunds on the
subject of the purchase Of silver under the
law Of 1873, brought out responses from
Teller, Harris and Stewart. The latter
stated that the object Of the act of 1878,
directing the purchase of silver, was to
bring silver up to parity with gold, but the
secretary defeated that object
Edmunds many silver dollars in
circulation now"
Stewsrt-"Silver dollars and silver Ger
tifcates. between 1850, ,0o0. 900 and $50,
OO0. 600"
Edmunds-"Are they not legal tender
now2"
Stewart" They are"
Edmunds- Then have we not double
standard"
Stewart-"We have, to that extelt, but
are now asted to give it up by THIS House
bill and that 10 what object to. We
should have il to much larger extent and
would have had silver on parity with gold
IT the secretary sdiscretion had been used in
favor Of silver and not against it. If he
had bought $500 ,000. 900 of silver month
instead of So 100000 We not only would
have had a double standard, but silver
would be on parity with gold. The pres
ent law is good enough for me if its spirit
is carried out. II comes with i'll grace
from the Secretary of the Treasury to ask
for more legislation when he has now the
best of legislation.
Blair" Would the present law. if exc
cuted to its maximum. be better than any
pending measures"
Stewart-"ies."
Blair" Then why not as a substitute
for the pending bill. offer proposition
making il compulsory to execute, as to its
maximum, the existing law"
Stewart would be satisfied with that
at present"
Blair-"The worst feature about all
these propositions is the provision to make
these certificates legal tender. | believe
that it is violation of the constitution. and
it exceedingly difficult for me, under the
caucus stimulus or any other stimuli, to
vote for such proposition"
Plat Does the Senator from Nevada
believe that if the maximum amount of
silver, authorized by Law to be coined, were
coined, the result would be to restore the
equivaIency between gold and silver dol
lsrsf II that be the Senators belief, and
if it be correct, it seems to me that is the
ground on which we might all meet to-
gether.'
Stewart replied that that was his belief,
and concluded by saying that Congress
should either take a step in advance or do
nothing.
Reagan addressed the Senate in favor Of
the unlimited coinage Of silver. The Pres.
ident Of the United States, the s. cretary
of the Treasury and the Senator from
Rhode Island (Aldrich), pretended to be
bunting for the free coinage Of silver, but
they hoped never to find it and were devils
ing all sorts of schemes and plans to avoid
it. Having denounced the legislation Of
1873 As being in the interests Of capitalist.
and money lenders, and against the inter.
ests of the working mar. he was asked by
Hoar vhether rates of interests had not
fallen from an average of per cent in
1873 to an average of } per cent in 1890
and he admitted tha, interest had gone
down. lie vas still further pressed with
questions by Hoar as to whether wages had
not gone up and the necessafies of life
gone down, and be admitted with some
conditions that those were the facts. He
said he hal been speaking about the pnr-
chasing porer of money, not about the
rstss of interest.
Daniel then addressed the Senate. He
stated that in his Judgment the absolute and
unlimited coinage of silver was the only
seiaton 10 tHe queeuon-
coilcquy between Daniel and Eimuuds
VAS carried on at some length in reference
to the legislation ~ to greenbscks, the pay
ment of 'nited States bonds in gold, and
the effect Of the imitation and the cot traction
of currency. Edmunds contention was tha.
such initiation of currency ~ would result
from the pending measure would be for the
henei, of the rich and not the poor
Allison reminded the Senate of the fact
that in December, 1865, . resolution vas
offered in the House of Representatives by
Alley, of Massachusetts,, in favor of re-
firing the greenbacks and coming TO
specie resumption Immediately. Every
democratic member voted for il, including
some new senator's
Daniel said the q1es,ion was greater thap
republication sn4 aimost a. great .
democracy. iLeushterl
Without cssc1sdine his speech Daniel
yielded for he executive session. After q
brief executive session the Senate as 8 20
adjourned until tomorrow.
eundry Civil Appropriation Bill Before
: the House.
The House vent into . committee Of the
Whole on the sundry civil appropriation bill.
Several animportAns amendments we're
adopted.
The motion by Goodnight. 10 strike out
the clause relative to irfisatiou sufvsy, gave
rise 70 lsus debate. Without completing
the consideration Of the bill the committee
rose.
The House as 5 O'Clock took fecess ill
..