, 1890-06-17


were non concurred in and a conference
asked.
A message from the house asking a
further conference on the antitrust bill
was presented and the request assented to
after remarks BY Edmunds and Vest.
The deficiency appropriation bill for
pensions and census was reported and
passed.
Dawes introduced a bill to retire Gen.
Banks as a major of the United States
army. Referred to the committee on
military affairs.
Daniel resumed his speech begun Friday.
In co tluding his speech Daniel said that
the saying that the world moved, and
that this was the land of progress, had
peycr been better demonstrated than by
the fact that the great leader Of the Re
publican financial policy in the United
States (aliuding to Senator Sherman,
who had carried the single gold standard
oyertwo continents had come forward in
his speech and lain down at the feet OF
the double standard a I'd proclaimed that
he was at least an advocate of silver
money.
Allison next addressed the senate. He
said he had to vote for the house bill as
amended by the senate finance committee
as he considered it the wisest and best
solution of the question. The question
to be considered was, what currency could
be safely s%ubstituted for the national
bank circulation? The Judgment of the
nance committee was land he thought it
would be the judgment of the ~senate).
that if the government issued paper
money, it should issue on something that
was in and of itself convertible into legal
tender money; therefore, the bill pro
ceeded on the idea that whatever pape
money should be issued should be issued
on silver bullion purchased by the gov
ernment at the market price. Why, he
asked. had silver bullion been selected
as the basis for that new paper
money? 1t was because the public
mind rested in the belief that sooner or
later that silver bullion would be coined
and become a part of the metallic cur
rency. 1t was on hat basis he would
vote for the bill. 1t was on that basis
that he was willing the coinage of silver
dollars as now provided for should cease.
There were people who believed the
coined dollars 10 the treasury were useless
IN ~ WOaAa bO "to publiO pplibJ " CCdSC
that coinage. He. for one, did not share
that belief; he believed that it was lust as
well to continue them to the utmost limit
of 1000, 900 a month, but there was
large public opinion against that view,
and therefore he consented that
the bullion should be left in
treasury uncoined. He did that the more
readily for the reason that he believed
thas sooner or later the United States
would lave to change the number of
grains of the silver dollar, and therefore
the dollars 10 coined would be recoined.
de was therefore willing that the bullion
should lie in the treasury until it was
known whether there would be an inter
national agreement as to ratio. 1t was
true that the pending bill provided that
bullion in the treasury should be coined
for the redemption of the treasury notes.
Whatever might be the opinion of other
senator in that respect, he did not labor
under the delusion that in the near future
under the provisions of the house bill or
the enate bill any additional silver dollars
would be issued
Tnere were now more than 800, 900,
900 coined dollars in the treasury, against
which silver certificates were issued. So.
although those dollars belonged to the
holders of certificates. the certificates
were payable for public dues, and when
they were received into the treasury. they
belonged to the government of the
United States. So the government
would always have a working balance
sufficient to redeem those treasury noes.
He believed the only safe way to rehabili-
tate silver was to secure a concurrent
agreement among the nations whereby
they would open their mints concurrently
to the free coinage of silver at an agreed
rate. So believing, he was willing to go
on as they were going 10Y tentatively. as
it were), with the provision for the use of
silver, pending negotiations that ought to
be had for the restoration of silver on
some agreed rate by the nations of the
world.
In supporting the bill he supported it
ON the basis OF the idea that the govern
ment of the United States would use its
power in endeavoring to secure an agree
ment whereby all the commercial nations
of the world would use silver as gold was
now used, at a ratio TO be agreed upon.
He regarded the pending measure and
the unanimity with which it was sup
ported as a complete justification of the
legislation Of 1878, which contemplated a
minimum monthly coinage of 1000, 900
silver dollars and a maximum of 1000,
600. He was fur the full and complete
restoration of silver as one of the coin
metals OF the world. and was willing to
do whatever he could do to promote that
most desirable object. He could not vote
for free coinage OF silver at this time, or
any time in the near future; he could not
do so until every effort to secure the use
of silver BY the commercial nations of the
world was exhausted.
Vest commented upon the remark of
Allison as to the new born zeal OF the
Democratic senators in the cause of the
free coinage of silver, and made a state
ment to show that it had always been the
Democratic policy. If the Democratic
party said nothing on the silver question
in the platform before, it was not because
it had receded from the position it had
ALWAYS held; it was because President
Cleveland was an Eastern man. a New
York man, who did not sympathize with
the majority of his party on that aues
ton. Cleveland had come to the presi-
dency imbued with the prejudices of New
York bankers and was In one sense las
far as his opinion on silver was co~ncernsd)
a sectional man. He had reason to be
lieve now that Mr.. Cleveland was better
informed on the subject. Vest declared
that on the silver question there was no
middle ground. Silver must be put or
the same basis as gold.
Senators ingalls, and Wolcott expressed
a desire to address the senate tomorrow
on the silver bill. Adjourned.