The morning call., 1890-06-17
CONGRESS-.
THE SENATE.
Allison's Speech in Favor Of the House Silver
Bill With Amendments

WASHINGTON, June 16.-ln the Senate
to-day the House amendments to the bill to
establish the Customs Collection District of
Puget Sound were non-concurred in and a
conference asked
message from the House asking further
conference on the Anti Trust Bill was pre-
sented, and the request assented to after
remarks by Edmunds and Vest.
The Deficiency Appropriation Bill for
pensions passed.
Dawes introduced bill to retire General
Banks with the rank of Major of the United
States Army. Referred to the Committee
on Military Affairs.
The House Silver Bill was taken up, and
Daniels resumed his speech which he began
Friday.
In concluding Daniels said that the world
moved, and that this WAS land of progress
had never been better demonstrated than
by the fact that the great leader of the Re-
publican financial policy of the United
States [alluding to Senator Sherman], who
carried single gold standard over two con-
tlnents, had come forward in his speech
and laid down at the feet of the double
standard and proclaimed that he was at last
an advocate of silver.
Allison next addressed the Senate. He
said he should vote for the House bill as
amended by the Senate Finance Commit
tee. as he considered it the wisest and best
solution of the question. The question to
be considered was what currency could be
safely substituted for the national bank cir
culation. The judgment of the Finance
Committee was-and he thought it would
be the Judgment of the Senate-that if the
Government issued paper money 1t should
issue 1t on something that was in and of it
self convertible into legal-tender money.
Therefore the bill proceeded on the idea
that whatever paper money should be issued
should be issued on silver bullion purchased
(,nVarnmanf af RI caf prIon
Why. he asked, had silver bullion been Sc
lected as the basis for that new paper money?
1t was because the public mind rested
III the belief that sooner or later silver
bullion would be coined and become part
OF the metallic currency. IL was on that
basis that he would vote for the bill. 1t
was on that basis that he was willing the
coinage of silver dollars, as now provided
for, should cease There were people who
believed coined dollars in the treasury were
useless and that it would be wise public
policy to cease that coinage. He, for one,
did not share that belief. He believed that
it was just as well to continue them to the
utmost limit OF S4,000,0O0 month. But
there was large public opinion against
that view. and. therefore, he consented that
bullion should be left in the treasury un-
coined. He did that the more readily for
the reason that he believed, sooner or
later, the United States would have
to change the number of grains of silver in
uuIIdh anu, thciclOlCs tuc uOIdlo HUM
coined would be recoined. He was, there
fore, willing that bullion should BIZ in the
Treasury until 1t was known whether there
would be an international agreement as to
the ratio. 1t was true the pending bill pro-
vided that the bullion i'll the Treasury
should be coined for the redemption of
Treasury notes. Whatever might be the
opinion OF other Senators in that respect
he did not labor under deluslon that in the
near future, under the provisions of the
u thA lfl Il
tional silver dollars would be issued. There
were now more than 300,000000 coined dol
lars in the Treasury against which silver
certificates were issued; so, although those
dollars belonged to the holders of certifi-
Gates, the certificates were payable for pub
lie dues and when they were received into
the Treasury they belonged to the Govern
ment Of the United States; so the Gov
ernment should always have working bal
ance sufficient to redeem those Treasury
notes.
He believed the only safe way to rehab-
ilitate silver was to secure concurrent
agreement among all the nations whereby
they would open their mints concurreDtly
to the free coinage Of silver at an agreed
rate. SO believing he was willing to go on
as they were going on now, with provision
for the use Of silver pending negotiations
that ought to be had for the restoration of
silver on some agreed rate by the nations of
the world. He supported the bill on the basis
that the Government of the United States
would use its power to endeav0r to secure
an agreement whereby all the commercial
nations of the world would use silver as
gold was now used at ratio to be agreed
upon. He regarded the pending measure,
and the unanlmlty with which 1t was sup.
ported, as complete Justification of the
legislation of 1878, which contemplated a
minimum monthly coinage of $1,000, 600 and
maximum of S4.0O0,000. He favored the
full and complete restoration of silver as
one of the coin metals of the world, and
was willing to do whatever he could do to
promote that most desirable object He
could not vote for the free coinage of silver
at this time or any time in the near future.
He could not do so until every effort TO Sc
cure the use Of silver by the commercial ma
ti0ns of the world was exhausted.
Vest commented upon q remark of AL
lison as to the new born ZeaP' of the Dem
0cratic Senators in the cause of the free
coinage Of silver and made statement to
show that it had always been the Demo-
cratic policy. If the Democratic party said
nothing on the silver question in its plat
form of 1888 it was not because it had re-
ceded from the position it has always held,
but it was because Cleveland was an East
ern man, who, was not in sympathy with
the majority of his party on that question.
Cleveland had come to the Presidency im-
bued with the prejudiees Of the New York
bankers and was in one sense, as far as his
opinion on silver was concerned, a sectional
man. He had reason TO believe now that
Mr.. Cleveland was better Informed on the
subject. Vest declared that on the silver
question there was no middle ground.
Silver must be put on the same basis as
gold.
Senators ingalls, and Wolcott expressed
a desire TO address the Senate on the Silver
Bill tomorrow.
Blair offered two amendments to the
Silver Bill. One was to strike out all after
the enactment clause and insert the section
directing the Secretary of the Treasury,
under the provision of the ,act of 1873 to