The Portland daily press., 1890-12-31
THE SENATORS ENJOY A FIELD DAY.
Election Bill, Free Coinage and
Closure Subjects for Speeches.
A Demand That the oyatory Cease
and the Voting Commence.
Messrs. Hale and hoar Exchange
Remarks Somewhat Personal.

WASHINGTON, December 30.-In the Sem
tlons bill. 1t was. he said, source Of regret
to him that he was compelled to differ with
any considerable number of his party and
decline to take the path which the leaders
pointed out. The time which the bill en-
crossed had prevented consideration Of
measures which the public demand. In his
opinion, the pending bill should not become
law because it involved federal interfer-
ence and espionage at other than national
elections. Such interference was contrary
to the spirit Of American institutions and an
obstacle to the right enjoyment Of American
liberty 1t was, to his mind, far better that
local and state elections In the city Of New
York, with thousands of ignorant. criminal
and venal voters, should be attended by
fraud and dishonesty, than that they should
De kept pure by federal interference. They
had tried in Colorado the remedy of federal
interference under the direction OF Demo-
marshal. The law was administered by a
Judge so intolerably fair that he was opposed
to both parties. Yet 1t was given up, Now
the people Of Colorado managed their own
elections, fairly. impartiaily and incOrrupt-
IDLY. He gave 1t as his solemn opinion that,
as large majority, In proportion to the pop
ulation, as in Kansas or Nebraska, in their
lucid years, IL the Chinese vote was in the
majority, and II was opposed to the united
and Intelligent white vote. the. white
vote In some way, by some method, would
govern. He was not informed that in any
southern state was there any inclination to
legislate against cOlOred men or that, except
on the question of suffrage, was there serious
friction between the races. The time would
l.. al
to foment trouble, the white voters of the
South would be hardly as unanimous as they
were now The signs of the times pointed
Enthusiastically to serious differences among
them. When those differences became
solidified. the colored voter would be in de-
mand. He could afford to watt so long as
he was protected in life and property. So
could the Republican party wait. II the
Republicans had every southern member in
the next House OF Representatives they
would still be short Of majority. Two
years from now, when the benefcent tariff
law had had time to demonstrate its wisdom,
they would not need the assistant Of South
ern Republican representation which the
bill sought to give. Another and weightier
reason why the bill should be defeated was
Of the Industrial development Of the South,
which. for 25 years, had been making rapid
progress.
AT the close of Mr.. Wolcott's speech the
elections bill was laid aside informally, and
the bill reported from che finance committee
was taken up, on which Mr.. 5 ewart pro-
ceeded to address the Senate. The purpose
Of the bill, he said, was to purchase 1900.
600 ounces of silver, now held by SPECTATORS
and issue $20O, ,000, 900 Of bonds to be held as
the basis Of national bank circulation. Its
provisions were for the relief of gamblers,
silver spectators and national banks.
There was nothing In the measure looking
to the free coinage OF silver. Recent events
in the financial world demonstrated the fact
that the stock of gold was insufficient to
maintain tine present level OF prices. There
were too much business and too many busi-
ness men for the amount of gold In existence.
Thousands of business men must retire as
banBrupts or the circulating medium must
be increased. The gold men were beginning
to realize that there was not gold enough 10
make Ii possible 70 pay existing obligations.
Would Congress be intimidated by gold
sharks and gold hoarders and refuse to ap-
ply the remedy. What was wanted was
more money, not more contraction. The re-
mOnetiZatiun of silver would relieve the situ-
alton and liberate the masses. 1t was only a
question Of time, and very short time, ,wlen
the free and unlimited use of silver as money
would be restored. The bill proposed was
another dose of the usual quack medicine,
prescribed by the gold men.
Mr.. Teller called the attention Of the Sem
ator from Massachusetts Mr.. Hoarl to the
present status Of the election bill. II 1t was
of as much Importance as the Senator in
sisted, IL the people were clamOring for 1t as
the Senator said. 1t was the duty Of the SEN
ator, and those men who thought with him,
to come here and stay until the bill was
brought TO point when 1t could be deter
mined whether the Senate was to have vote
upon IL. Up to this hour no attempt had
been made TO bring the bill to vote. Now
the Senate was to be met with a new rule
which was to reverse the traditions Of the
hnAx md fhrnrx
years. III the Senator did not wish the bill
to stand in the way Of legislation, he should
put the Senate In position to vote on the
amendment before be offered, or allowed to
be offered. the rule which would cut off de-
bate and the amendments. He was not out
of sympathy with the purport of the bill
Mr.. HOar admitted there was some force
In the observations made by tho Sen ator
but he was in error in some respects. He
Mr.. Hoarl had been diligent to fix the time
that no time could be fixed until everybody
who wished to speak had been heard. He
had attempted to secure night sessions, but
was unable to do so ON account Of the alb
sense of enators on the Republican side.
MIR. Hale said the situation had become to
some Republican Senators, who expected to
support the bill and vote for 1t II the oppor-
tunity we're given them, almost intolerable.
The Senate was not without experience In
dealing with important measures. 1t could
not be said OF this bill, important that It was,
that it stood In importance above all other
measures which had agitated the country and
Senate during the last 30 years. The Senate
heretofore had been able to complete and
pass great measures, and ought to have
learned by this time whether the methods
which then prevailed could apply now and
take the Senate out Of the rut into which II
had fallen. Somebody ought to know wheth-
er the old methods of the Senate could ap-
ply. The great war measures were bitterly
opposed In the Senate, but those measures
passed. All Of the reconstruction acts
were enacted into law. By this time, il
ought to be- known whether the old
methods would pass the pending bill. They
had not been tried. The Senate had not sat
here night after night and In the morning
dawn TO pass this measure and thus relieve
the business OF the country Of the incubus In
the way of other legislation. If the Senator
from Massachusetts had come to the conclu.
sion that old methods would not pass this
measure, IL he had come to the conclusion
that new rule was required to bring mat
tefs to a head, 1t was time something should
be done in that direction. He did not know
from anything that had occurred upon the
other side whether the Democratic Senators
had determined to resort to undae means to
defeat the bill. Nothing had shown it.
Long speeches and instructive speeches had
been made on both sides. but he could not
know until the matter was brought to a test
whether the Senators ON the other side had
determined upon any extraordinary pro-
ceediDgs. Without impugning the steadfast
devotion of the Senator from Massachuse, Is
to this cause, he would suggest the time had
come when the Senator should find out what
should be done. The Senate ought not ia
spend weeks more In the manner 1t had been
| spending the past weeks.
Mr.. HOar said II he had had his way the
pending measure would not have been
/ DrouQht forward the last sassion hnt snmp
measure for closing debate would have been
adopted. There had not been fourth or
third Of all the Republican Senators present
any afternoon when the hour of 4 or 8 was
reached. IT was an hour after meeting today
that q quorum appeared. II the Senator
from MaiDe knew any way In which that diff.
fculty could be corrected or dealt with he
had never suggested 1t to him. That Sena-
tor was as responsible as he Mr.. Hoarl for
the public interest and public business. A
Republican Senator who paired with Dem
ocratc senator when a contest Of this kind
xuoo .itng snraA unnr har 20