Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1890-06-20
WOLCOTT'S MAIDEN SPEECH
He ''RoaStS" Harrison For Not.Declar-
ing Himself on Silver.
And Says an Open Foe is Preferable
to n Secret Enemy.
The Amendments 10 the Silver Bill
Voted On.

WASHINGTON. n. c.. June 1S.-The
senate has voted ON the amendment rt-
ported by the finance committee striking
out of the house silver bill the provision
that treasury notes issued for silver shall
be legal tender for all debts. public and
private. y The amendment was rejected
yeas, IA; nays, so; and the provision re-
mains IN the bill. The second amend
ment, striking out the bullion redemption
clause, was agreed to-yeas, 81. navS,
I. The third amendment. striking ont
the sixth section for the free coinage of
silver when the market price is 81 for
36lai grains of pure silver. was rejected.
yeas, Is; noes, rs. The amendment fix
ing the limitation Of the act to ten wears
was rejected-yeaS, =; noes. g.
On motion of Sen. Plumb. the following
was substituted for the hrst section of
the house bill-yeaS. Is: noes. "a; that
from and after the date of the passage Of
this act the unit of value in the United
States shall be the dollar, and the same
may be coined of 4I2lS grains standard
silver, or of 25 $40 grains standard gold.
and said coins shall be legal tender for all
debts public or private; that thereafter
any owner of silver or gold bullion NAV de-
poSlt the same at any mint of the United
States to be formed into standard dollars
or bars for his benefit and without charge;
but it shall be lawful to refuse any de-
posit of less value than 500 or any bull
lion so base as to be unsuitable for oper-
atlOnS of the mint.
The house silver bill was then taken up
and Senator Wolcott addressed the
senate.
Sen. Wolcott said that when the sena-
tors who lived in silver producing states
were accused of holding sordid and I'M
worthy and unpatriotic opinions and when
1t was said that those who were demand
ing that silver be restored to its old place
with Its sister metal were spectators and
adventurers and We're Indifferent to the
true welfare of ther country, he would
have to be pardoned for feeling that he
had right to claim the attention of the
senate long enough to protest against
such lntimations, and against such
methods of conducting debate
If it were true (as it was not) that the peo-
Pile of silver producing states were govern
ed in this matter by a desire to protect an
industry on which their prosperity de
pends, large warrant was given to them
for such a course by some of the eastern
states. The country, particularly the
north arn states, seemed to have fallen on
those days wlen politics were rated at a
commercial value alone, and when poIiti-
cal fealty was made to depend on whether
the prosperity of the locality where
the voter resided was to be
better fostered by competition with
other countries or by large and pro-
hlbltory duties which practically excluded
foreign competition. The prosperity of
the people of the mountain states of the
west had ever to rest chiefly on the pro-
ducts of their mines Yet while they we're
less benefited than any other region of the
country by a high protective tariff, they
were asked at every session to stand by
the duties which the east formulated; and
when they asked that silver should also be
protected, they were told that they were
sordid and unpatriOtic, and that their
ideas were those of dissatisfied and vision
AIRY people.
Sen. Wolcott went on to criticise the
unfriendly attitude of the administration
toward the silver question, and said when
Harrison was nominated, his record was
searched in vain for any noteworthy act
or saying; that republican leaders Of the
west made great efforts among the farm
ers and miners and had secured the success
of the ticket: that the president had not
exactly materialized on the silver
question and the awakening had
been rather rude He ventured the
opinion that if the presidents opinion
on that question had been announced be
fore the last election not single state
west of the Missouri river would have Civ
en- republican majority-not because a
majority of the people of those states
were not true and staunch, and earnest re-
publicans. but because they would have
wished to rebuke overwhelmingly the
party that selected as their standard
bearer one who was unmindful of the
interests of the country and dis
regardful of the will of great majority
of the members of the party. An open foe
was to be preferred to a secret enemy
The recommendation of the secretary of
the treasury struck viciOusIy at the inter
ests of silver. The act of 1873 was inf
itey preferable to the bill recommended
by the secretary. The whole purpose Of
the house bill seemed to be to degrade
and debase silver, to make it a commodity
to reduce it to one of the baser metals and
to prevent its again taking its place as a
standard of value. In conclusion, WOlcOtt
said the silver bill was of far greater i'm
portance than the election, anti-gerry-
wandering bill, or the tariff bill. The
conclusion of Wolcott's maiden speech in
the senate was attended with great APP
plause and compliments from the sena-
tors.