Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1890-06-07
CONGRESS-.
THE sllvER-coINAGE QUESTION DIS
CUSSED IN BOTH HOUSES.
60 More Money Means Wore Misery s." We
All Want More Misery "A Speaker
In His shirf-sIeeyes.
Try telegraph 70 the pi.psrcn.l

WASHINGTON, June 6.--Mr. Platt present.
cd a petition from tobacco-growers ana
dealers of the Housatouic Valley. Connec-
ticut, in favor of specific duty OF not less
than 81 per pound on imported wrappers.
Referred 10 the Finance Committee,
new conference was ordered on the de-
pendent pension bill, aud Messrs; DAVIS,
Sawyer, and Biodgett we're appointed con-
ferrees on the part ofthe Senate.
Tho silver bill was taken up and Mr.
Plumb addressed the Senate. He confess
ed that his hope for q passage OK the Dill az
the present session had not grown by the
performance Of the last two or three weeks.
There were two questions inyolycd-One
es 10 the volume OF currency and the
othcr as TO what the currency should con-
sist Of. There seemed 20 be general con-
sensus Of opinion that the volume OF cur
rency should be increased. He declared
that the circulation to-day was S2iO; O0D,OOO
less than the framcrs Of the financial legs-
lation Of 1875 Anticipated, although the
commercial business of the coun-
try had doubled within that time:
There were varying estimates OF
the outstanding circulation; his own
estimate was that, deducting the amounts
held in the Treasury and in the national
banks for reserve purposes, the total
amount which the people OF the United
States had for the transaction Of their
daily business could not exceed $500 ,0CO.-
00O He believed that it was legs than
| $500. 001. 600 and upon that narrow fOunda-
! ton had been built an enormous structure
Of credit, prOpped here and there by de-
vices of various kinds and kept swelling
and growing, while the base on which IL
rested did not grow in proportion to the
structure.
The Senator from New York (Mr.
| Hiscock) had yesterday described the great
| wealth and prosperity Of the country. but,
| II the picture were true, why was 1t, Mr..
Plumb asked. that the Senator and his
| committee (the Finance Committed
were "piling up protective duties ?
If there was such financial health
and sOundness and prosperity why
not let the tariff alone and let the
financial system of the country alone
His idea was that not only should the want
of national bank circulation be made up
without charge, but there ought to be
added TO that at least rs much as would re-
suit from the free coinage Of silver. He
WAS willing to abandon his idea in favor of
fiat money to widen the base Of the credit
structure by adding 10 IT all the silver that
the United States mints could turn out
Mr.. Plumb went on to speak of the silver
| bin III connection with the question of
protection. The Senate had been APP
| pealed 10 yesterday by the Senator from
| New York (Alr. Hiscock) against the bin
| in the sacred name of protection. lie
would not call il fetch, although he did
| not know what he would call 1t before he
| got through, but in its name the Senate
was asked to. keep silver dethroned. Sill |
yer was an American product-a much |
larger product than many Others which |
were 20 he protected by duties Of 200 or 300 |
per cent. under the coming tariff bill.
| He would like to ask the Senator from
| New York, who was so anxious about for |
| eign commerce, what he intended 10 do |
with the tariff bill, which would prevent |
us from having any foreign commerce. |
| He hoped that he might interpret the SEN |
ator's remarks on that point "a hopeful |
| augurv of the action Of that Senator IN put |
| ting his knife into the bill now before the |
| Finance Committee, a bill which would |
raise the price of nearly everything used |
| by the masses of the people.
Mr.. Eliscock explained that the point Of |
his argument was that if imports were |
diminished it did not follow a. n matter of |
course that the export trade would |
be diminished. If the United States could |
place in the markets of the world what 1t |
had to sell and could compete with other |
producers the nations would buy IL. And |
INST to the extent that the United States |
did not take foreign products in exchange |
for what was exported wOnld the balances |
of trade in favor of the United States be in !
creased and gold would come in to pay |
those balances.
The bill was lad aside.
A message from the President in relation |
to the landing Of an armed force from the |
revenue-cutter McLane at Cedar Keys, |
Fla. was presented, read, and referred to |
the judiciary Committee.
After acting upon some local bulls and |
brief executive session the Senate adj
journed.
House of Representatives.
The silver debate was resumed this MORN
ing, Mr.. Lind, of Minnesota being the first
speaker. Commenting on the measures be-
fore the House, he said the Treasury bill |
was Objectionable. Under a friendly Sc
cretary il might be made useful in increas-
ing the volume of the currency, but under
an unfriendy Secretary 1t might be danger
Gus. Personally he believed that the free
coinage bill presented not only the best |
but quickest way TO settle the whole ques-
ton. but he believed that it was best to
yield something, even to prejudice, II by
so doing legislation almost equally etfica-
cious and less Objectionable to some classes
could be secured. Such q measure was the
Republican caucus bill.
Mr.. Flower, of New York, confined his
remarks not to the silver question, but to
a constitutional amendment RELOCATING 90
the people within prescribed localities the
choice of such administrative officers as
those whose functions Of Office lie entirely
within the prescribed area, and whose
choice is of consequence only TO the people
whom they Immediately serve.
Mr.. Lacey, of Iowa, advocated the caucus
silver bill. 1t was a free coinage measure,
because it provided that when silver was
ut par the minis should be open to free
coinage. The country needed an eXpan-
sion Of the currency IN safe way and this
bill provided for 1t.
Mr.. Walker. of Massachusetts,, referred
to the argument that there was business |
hooanoa pf loxy IrlceS There |
was not word of truth in it. There was
not solitary fact that justified the state
ments mace in favor of free cOinage-nOt |
one. Ii was said that the farmers were OPP
pressed. and there were men on the floor who
enjoyed burning corn" when the fact
was that there never was day since the
sun shOne on the earth when the farmer
could pay off the debt on his farm with as
few days work as he could to-day. He as
serted that the demonstration OF silver
was not the cause of the decrease of prices.
Prices had been going down for 100 years.
The decentralization of silver had not had |
the slightest appreciable effect on the de-
probation of prices. More money meant
more misery. [Laughter.l
MIR. Perkins: We alllove misery. Laugh
teri
Mr.. Walker said that money could only
be used in limited amounts. A suficiency
was enough. Money was like railroad.
You could not use a railroad beyond the
needs of the freight desired to be trans
ported upon it. When you had done that
YOU had used the railroad to its fullest ex-
tent and it was no longer necessary. And |
so il was with money. Money had no place |
in economies. 1t was an incident 10 eco
Monies. You might destroy al the gold
and silver i'll the world tonight and wake
up in the morning and the world would
not be hurt one iota. 1t was disgrace TO
the House to hear the rot that had been
talked here, and he had talked some of 1t
himself.
He was going to vote for the pending bill
because he knew that the members OF the
House from 1868 up 10 the present time. for
the purpose of getting back here. had
urged and encouraged the people in their
folly until they had come TO such state OF
mind that something must be done or they
would break the members up. Laughter;
ID was pure politics and that was all
about il.
N HIS sHIRT-sLEEyRs.
In the course Of an argument to show
that there was sufficient gold in the world