Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1890-07-10

cretion?
Mr.. Cockrell-No question about that.
Mr.. Teller-Does not the Senator suppose
that the Secretary will pay In the coin which
the holder of the treasury notes may desire,
if he can?
Mr.. Cockrell Certainly.
Mr.. Teller-Is that not proper?
Mr.. Cockrell-I think not-not at all,
Mr.. Teller-That is the way that France
has maintained her parity between the two
metals. When the holder of paper money
wants coin for it, he can have either gold or
gold he can have silver for it, and when he
goes with silver he can have gold for it.
That is what the Secretary of the Treasury
will do under this bill. He will give to the
holder OF treasury notes, gold Gas long as he
has got it), or silver, just as the holder de-
sires.
Mr.. Cockrell-France is in different sit
uation from the United States. L know
what the rule is in France. 1t is not appli-
cable here at all.
Mr.. Platt-Does the Senator mean to say
that he would not give to the Secretary of
the Treasury discretion as to which coin he
would pay in?
CoCKRELL's PLAN.
Mr.. Cockrell-I certainly would give him
that discretion. Iwould say "redeemable in
coin."
Mr.. Platt-That is all that there is to
this.
Mr.. Cockrell-That is true; but there is
with it a declaration which is the fatal
thing, and that is that the gold standard
still exist, and must be maintained.
Mr.. Jones, OF Nevada-Are you advocat-
ing a change in the form of the bill, or
change in the Office of the Secretary of the
Treasury? Do you desire change in that
department?
Mr.. Cockrell-Not at all. Ny conten-
ton is not that. Ny contention is against
the language OF the conference bill, and
against the dangerous power which it vests
in any Secretary of the Treasury.
Mr.. Coc&rell went on with his argument
and taking up the third section of the con-
ference bill he entered his "most earnest and
solemn protest against it, as meaning a
practical cessation of silver coinage after
July, 1891.
Mr.. Jones, of Nevada-That is all we
want.
STRONG DENUNCIATIoN.
Mr.. Cockrell-In other words the distin-
guished Senator from Nevada is willing to
abandon the double standard, to make
silver a mere commodity, to stop its coinage
and to tell the people of the country that be
has done something for them in the restora-
tion of the double standard. He is willing
to make silver commodity, to place it on
an equality with tobacco and hemp, and
wheat and oats, and bacon and lard. He
fsvors the plan of the Farmers Alliance to
establish warehouses for the storage of
silver In connection with other commodities,
OF ic do
compromise, this conference bill, is total
abandonment of all pretensions to double
standard.
Mr.. Mitchell in the course of some uues-
tions involving Mr.. Cockrell's consistency,
remarked that while he was in favor of the
free and unlimited coinage of silver, he
would support the conference bill because it
was all that the friends of silver could get,
Mr.. Cockrell-I believe that if the Senate
will reject this report the House will, in
the end, agree to the Senate bill. I have no
doubt of it. The House has had no fair
chance to pass upon it-none at all. We
have made no determined effort in support
OF the Senate bill. We show no back bone.
We show no disposition to stand BY what
we have solemnly done after the fullest,
freest and
FAIREST DISCUSSION
ever had in the Senate. This bill in nv
judgment is infinitely worse than the pres
ent law. There is no comparison between it
and the bill that passed the Senate. But we
surrender at the first fire. We hoist the
white flag. We retreat in disorder. We
abandon all the pretenslons that we have
made in behalf of silver. And we give |
to the assertion of the mono
netallists OF the East that the bill was only |
4 project to furnish market for silver bull |
ion.
Mr.. Daniel addressed the Senate in oppo-
'ition to the report. The silver question, he |
said. was great deal bigger than the Pres |
dent OF the United States-whether the |
Presidents name we've Benjamin Harrison |
Dr. Grover 'Cleveland-and it was never |
going to be won Gas it ought to be-, until the |
Senate was as great as the question. The |
Senate and the House ought never to give |
up the vantage ground which silver had |
gained, but would reply to those who OPP |
posed it, as the gallant officer replied to the |
demand for his surrender: Come and take |
me-"
Mr.. Daniel argued that under the confer |
snce bill $40, 900, 600 worth of silver bullion |
would be piled up in the Treasury every |
year for all the years that the silver stream |
Would be flowing, and that not a single |
iollar of it could be coined to pay the |
bonded obligations of the United States |
which were payable in coin. Such an
enormous discrimination against silver as
hat had never existed in legislation except |
when silver was completely demonetized.
BETTER THAN NOTHING.
He admitted that it would be better that |
he conference bill should become a law.
But 1t was a mere makeshift, a mere e1pe- |
lent for the nonoe. II the friends of free |
coinage should abandon the field now in |
,rder to accept the conference substitute. |
hey would be giving away more of the |
,poils of victory than any victors who ever |
won a field in military or civic
strife. Sooner or later Mr.. Daniel
,aid Congress and the executive had got to
ZONE into collision on the silver question.
If that collision has got to come. why NOT
let it come now? No one loved peace more
han he loved it, but If he had got to have a
quarrel. here and now were the place and
lime that he always liked to have II ont II
Democratic President were in the White
House and was against silver be would like
% have the opportunity to teach him a little
rue democracy. He was tired, heartily
ired Of seeing the people of the country
hwarted. He said to the friends of the sill |
yer question if they stood ND to fight they
would win it. and if they ran away from it
hey would lose 1t. If they believed in free |
coinage of silver Gas he did), they should /
tand ny che Senate bill and Let the Presi-