The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1890-05-17
Discussing Silver.

WASHINGTON, May 16.-Edmunds, from
the judiciary committee, reported back the
House amendment to the antitrust bill
with an amendment thereto striking out
certain words and inserting the words $50
that the rate of such TRANSPORTATION NAV
not be raised above what is just and
reasonable" Agreed to, and conference
committee appointed.
The silver bill was then taken I'D and
Sherman offered his amendment mentioned
u yesterdays dispatches
Plumb moved TO amend Shermans
amendment by inserting: "And hereafter
10 funds available for ethe payment of the
public debt Gncluding such as are kept for
The redemption OF treasury notes. shall be
retained 1t the treasury in excess of Sll0,-
D00.000.n
Sherman opposed Plumb's amendment as
putting the restraint upon the treasury
department and preventing it from paying
the government obligations as they be
came due.
Plumb defended his amendment, arguing
That the treasury department should have
hothing TO 90 with the currency supply of
the country. The holding of money in the
treasury except for the needs of the gov
eminent itself was an economic crime He
lPlGmb) did not want the secretary of the
treasury to be an Instruments of speculation
n Wall street or elsewhere He did not
want the bulls and bears of New York
specializing on what the government was
Eolng TO do about retaining or putting out
money. He did not want to have treasury
points" peddled on Wall street as coming
from persons near the throne Congress
ought to put limit on the amount OF money
TO be kept on hand in the treasury, so that
whatever the result might be it could never
no INN tod 70 Tfn 81,
used his great discretionary power either
lnwisely or wickedly.
The discussion was further continued by
sherman and Biscock. Coming to the dis
sussion of the silver bill itself Sherman
said he did not like some OF its features.
de may be driven to support it. Some of
The friends of the bill seem to have ahan-
ioned it already. "There are some good
features in it which like very well If we
can agree upon some measure that will
furnish the people more money and tend to
advance silver bullion nearer the standard
of gold 1 am willing to vote for such a
measure. But | do not want 10 embark
upon the wide sea of the free coinage of
silver, and do not want Congress to pledge
Itself TO buy all the silver which may be
offered. Let those who would take the
risk of such speculation take it; not /. But
anything whatever that can be done by this
bill or any other to give US more good
!. paper money based on actual deposits of
gold or silver bullion, or that will raise the
value of silver, l will favor. If we can
adopt measure that will make the use of
both gold and silver and keep them both
together at par with each other 1 will vote
for it. If not, will content myself by
simply voting in the negative
The discussion was continued at great
length, finally turning on the monthly debt
statements of the treasury, ingalls, assert
Ing he found in them astounding, amaz-
Ing, bewildering and irreconcilable discrep-
ancies," Sherman undertaking to explain
them and Allison giving his views upon
them. Allison said there was an erroneous
but widespread belief in the country. par
ticularly in the west, that there was an
immense amount of government money
stored in the treasury, while in fact the
real surplus was as stated by Sherman.
4 b35, 100000. The silver bill wentover with
put action. Adjourned.