The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1890-05-22
The Nevada Senator Champions
Silver.
lie Strongly Advocates the Free Coinage
Of The White Metal.
secretary WindOm'S Proposition Sharply
Criticized, and Sherman Termed a
Gold C0ntraCtiOniSt.
Special by the California Associated Press.

WASHINGTON, May Ex-senator Stewart
was listened to very attentiyely to-day in
MS great speech ON silver Senators who
listened throughout his whole argument
pronounced it the best speech yet made on
the subject. He spoke in a way which
showed his thorough understanding of the
silver question and answered all the ques-
tons put to him easily and clearly. After
SteWarts speech a number of Senators con-
verslng in the cloak-room were heard to
say: :" If the friends of silver had several
more men in the House like Senators Stew
art and Jones Of Nevada free coinage
would be assured.
Stewart Degan his speech with discus
sion Of the uses of money in business
transactions, the relation between the vol
ume Of money in circulation and the prices
OIL commodities the use of precious metals
IN Tree coinage and the reasons for such
use. he said all the gold and silver in the
world had never yet been sufficient for
It's business, and that the deficiency
had been and still is supplied by paper
which constitutes one-third Of the circu-
lating medium. The sole argument in favor
OF gold and silver money was that there
was limit to the production of these met
ais, but there is no limit to paper that could
be stamped as money. The question arose
whether the Republican Senators could
violate the silver plank OF the National
Republican platform.
He reviewed the bill reported from the
Finance Committee by Senator Jones, and
said his colleague in reporting it had de-
clared in favor of free coinage and that he
and Jones had always agreed on the
subject, and he was glad to be able to say
the same for Senator Teller, for whose
amendment providing for the free COIN
age Of gold and silver he should
vote. Stewart ridiculed the idea that
gold possessed higher intrinsic value than
silver, and asked how this could be when
silver had been more valuable than gold
Tess tnan twenty years ago. lie asked who
had discovered the art of extracting from
silver its intrinsic value, so that from
being worth per cent more than gold in
1873 1t was now worth 50 per cent less than
gold. He asked somebody to explain how
It's intrinsic value could thus be made to
fluctuate.
He quoted from the Chevalier the ar
gumentS used when gold was discov-
cred in California and Australia, to show
that then it was silver that held the immov-
able, innate, intrinsic value and that gold
money must be abolished He denounced
as usurers those who manipulate the worlds
legislation in the interest OF money.
Money lenders and usurers had chained
Egypt to debt, the interest on which is so
heavy that the farmers are whipped to force
greater production with which to meet It.
He said the producers of the United States
would not submit to the lash to meet the
exactions Of the gold contractionists until
the country had passed through a fearful
storm.
He sharply criticized Secretary Win
dom's proposition for issuing bills on silver
bullion redeemable in bullion, and said
the Secretary was doing his utmost to
maintain a single gold standard and
to debase silver to the level of mere
commodities. He said that Senator Sher-
man was gold contractionist and had
been one Of the earliest of the advocates of
gold m0nometallism. He quoted letters
written to Samuel b. Ruggles in parts in
1867, advocating the demonetzation of silver.
lie wanted none to be deceived by the pro-
fessions of friendship to silver INDUCED in
by Sherman. He was like the gift bearing
Greeks. In conclusion Stewart presented
the issue between the gold contractionists
aud the people, whose substance they were
devourlng He appealed to the Republican
Senators to redeem the pledges of the party
and redress the great wrong that had been
committed upon every debtor when silver