Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1890-06-07


ESPECIAL TELEGRAM TO THE DIsPATcH.l
WASHINGTON, June 6.-The silver men
in the House are very hopeful that they
will be able to defeat the passage of the Re-
publican caucus bill tomorrow by indirect
means, if not BY direct vote against it.
They have already arranged plan of action.
They will at the proper time move to re-
commit the bill to the Committee on Coinage,
Weights and Measures with instructions to
bring in free coinage bill.
The Republicans are prepared to check
mate this move, and will endeavor to put
the bill agreed to in caucus Tuesday through
the House Just as it stands now. 1t is we'll
known that the Senators are quite angry
with the House for taking the lead in silver
as well as tariff legislation, and have taken
steps to notify Speaker Reed and his lieu
tenants that it would be just as we'll for the
House to 60 a little slow in the matter.
THE MINNESOTA IDEA.
Lind, of Minnesota, was the first speaker
in the House to-day. He represented, he
said, an agricultural district, the farmers of
which were not poor, but not wholly pros
porous. The depressed condition was due
to the low prices of agricultural products
He believed that prices were affected by the
amount of money in circulation. The in
crease of circulation advanced prices, and
shrinkage of circulation diminished them.
Personally he believed that the free coinage
bill presented not only the best, but the
quickest way TO settle the whole question;
but he believed that it was best to yield
something even to prejudice, if by so doing
legislation almost equally efficacicus and
less Objectionable to some classes be secured
Such measure was the Republican caucus
bill.
Mr.. Flower, of New York, confined his
remarks not to the silver question, but to s
constitutional amendment relegating to the
people within prescribed localities the choice
of such administrative officials whose func-
tions of Office lie entirely within the pre-
scribed area and whose choice is of con-
sequence only to the people whom they i'm
mediately serve.
TOOK OFF HIS COAT.
Joseph Henry Walker, venerable but
energetic member from Massachusetts,,
startled his colleagues and the spectators in
the gallery by removing his cOat while
making q most vigorous and amusing speech
upon the pending bill. The statesmen were
astounded at Mr. Walkers fragrant viola
tion of the rules of decorum, and had
Speaker Reed been in the chair the YER
dant member would undoubtedly have been
called to order. As it happened, however,
Mr.. Walkers colleage, General CoggswelI,
was presiding over the deliberations of the
House at the time the offense was committed.
The corpulent Temporary Chairman, who
is noted for the striking resemblance which
he bears to Grover Cleveland, was made
very nervous by Mr.. Walkers breach of
etiquette. He twitched about in Tom Reeds
elevated chair and evidently wanted to
bring Mr.. Walker to account. He did not
do this, however, but sent word to Speaker
Reed that he would be pleased to have him
resume charge of the House at the earliest
moment possible. Approaching the situa-
tion Mr.. Reed promptly took up the gavei
and sent page to tell the circus orator to
get into his clothes. Before the message
could reach Mr.. Walker his time had ex-
pired. He was plainly anxious to have it
extended, but Speaker Reed thought he had
gone lar enough in his exhibition of bad
taste and quickly recognized the next ap-
plicant for his eye.
AGAINST FREE COINAGE.
While he had the floor, however, Mr..
Walker denied that there was business de-
preston because OF low prices. There was
not a solitary fact that justified the state
ments made in favor of free coinage. There
was never day since the sun shone on the
earth when farmer could pay his debts
with as few days work as he could to-day.
Prices had been going down for 100 years.
The demonstration OF silver had not the
slightest appreciable effect on the deprecia-
tion of prices. Money had no place in
economics: it was an incident in economies
You might destroy all the gold and silver in
the world tonight and wake ND in the
morning and the world would not be hurt
one iota 1t was an absolute disgrace to the
House to hear the rot that was talked here;
and be had talked some of it himself. He
asserted that there was not another business
in the country that could have had as much
over-production as the farming industry,
and get anything for its goods. He said he
would vote for this bill.
Mr.. Lacey, of Iowa, said that the country
was met with a contraction of the currency.
The banks were calling in circulation. 1t
might be that figures would show as much
money in the United States per capita as
there ever had been; but there was an ab-
solute shortage of funds. The pending bill
proposed to give the country an increase to
offset the contraction and even more.
PRACTICALLY FREE COINAGE.
1t was practically a free coinage bill.
The capacity of the mints was $50. 600. 600.
The output of the mines was S5l 600 600.
The free coinage of every dollar of Ameri-
can silver would be about S5l. .OOO. 600: vet
this bill proposed to give S54. .OOO. 900 a wear
of legal tender Treasury notes. II was a
free coinage measure because il proyided
that when silver was at par the mints should
be open to free coinage The country needed
IN expansion of the currency in a safe vay
and this bill provided for it.
Mr.. Blount, of Georgia, contepded that
silver decentralization had cast a bIicbtinC
curse over everybody except the canitaIisf
This curse was somewhat removed nv tbe |
act of 1873 and the business of the conntrv
began to grow more prosperous The nres-
ent contraction of the currency was dne tn |
the demonetization act OF 1875. To increase |
the volume of circulation was the only vav
70 relieve not only the agricultural interest
but every other interest in the country.
He criticized the Treasury bill, declaring