Morning journal and courier., 1890-09-19

THE F1FTY.FIRST CONGRESS-.
Resolution offered by MIR. Plumb
Asking the Secretary OF the Treas.
ury to Define the Policy OF His De-
partment-DemOcra Desert Their
Post In the House. -s
WASHINGTON, D. c., Sept. 18.-Mr.
voorhees, introduced bill to retire the
circulation of the national banks, to issue
legal tender notes in lieu thereof, and to
reduce the interest-bearing debt. Re-
ferred to the committee on finance.
The resolution offered yesterday by Mr..
Plumb to recommit the bankruptcy bill
to the judiciary committee with instruc-
tions to amend it SO as to provide for vol
untary bankruptcy only, was taken up,
and at the suggestion of Mr.. Hoar, went
over till tomorrow.
Mr.. Plumb offered a resolution directing
the secretary of the treasury to inform the
senate whether the rule or policy of his
department which requires the payment of
checks for silver bullion over. the counter
of the sub-treasury instead of through the
proper clearing house does not result in
paying out notes of the larger denomina
tions instead of those suited for circula-
ton and use in ordinary business transac
tons and whether such method of pay
ment does not result in the payment of
gold instead of treasury notes. In the
course of discussion on the resolution
Mr.. Plumb spoke of the conspicu-
GUS illustration that had taken
place within the last few weeks of
the impolicy of allowing the treas
ury department to obstruct, or
accelerate the business of the country.
For years the treasury department, he
said, had boarded money and during all
that time the volume of currency had
been constantly decreasing ON account of
the withdrawal of national bank notes.
The secretary of the treasury had seen the
country hampered on account of that lack
of money, but he had waited until panic
was impending, not stock brokers'
panic, but a stringency of money that af-
fected the banks of all the cities and
seriously interfered with the operations of
ordinary business. And then what had
the secretary done? He had given out the
money to the holders of government bonds
under such circumstances as to enable
them and not him to contNol the money
supply of the country during their pleas
ure. The money which few days ago
had been in the treasury and which could
have been put out at the will of the secre-
tary, was to-day in the hands of the men
who owned bonds to the amount of $780,
600, 900. 1t was perfectly safe to say that
these men, having the money would use it
to benefit themselves, and not in the in
overwhelming calamity would ever divorce
the treasury from such malicious interfer-
ence with the business of the country.
Mr.. Sherman said that while he had no
objection to the resolution, that which had
been done, had been done in strict execu-
ton of the law. The secretary of the
treasury had no right to pay for silver bull
lion in anything but treasury notes. Those
treasury notes had been issued in large de-
nominations. There had been only a very
short time to prepare for the execution of
the law and sufficient amount of treasury
notes of small denominations could not
be prepared. Those large notes necessa-
rily did not enter into the general circula-
ton of the country He NIr Sherman)
doubted the policy of paying a years in
terest on bonds in advance. The finan-
cial scare was manufactured scare.
1t had been gotten up by bro
kers, by bulls and bears, and various kinds
of animals who practiced their trade
on the exchanges of New York There
was, he admitted, a great demand for
money now for moving the cotton and
grain crops, and perhaps to pay for an in
creased quantity of foreign goods import
ed in order to evade higher duties under
| the new tariff law. Merchants had, to use
| a vulgar expression, "bitten off more than
| they could chew" and were now shining
| around to borrow money. All these
things, Mr.. Sherman said, would settle
themselves in little while. There was
| no real serious financial disturbance in the
| country. 1t was confined to the city of
New York. He thought that things should
be let go as they were and that the secre-
tary of the treasury should be permitted
to use his own discretion. After further
discussion Mr.. Plumb's resolution was
agreed to.
The vice president announced his having
signed the river and harbor bill.
The calendar was then taken up for al
hour and number of bills were passed.
Another hour having been assigned t,
unobjected cases on the calendar the fol
lowing bills were passed: Senate bill to re
vive the grade of lieutenant general in tn
army of the United States; senate bill TO
the relief of women enrolled as arm.
nurses.
On motion of Mr.. Evarts the bill to de
| hiAo Civ 5uA'eO eho JuiAoetiSetoh VA SouAe
of the United States was taken from tn
calendar and went over as the unfnishe
business.
Il Mr.. Henderson offered resolutions g,
pressing the profound sorrow of the senat
| at the death of the late Representatiy
Laird of Nebraska. on the 18th of Angus
1889, and addressed the senate in eulog
J of the deceased. After remarks by M
D Paddock the resolutions were adopted al
| the senate at 4:40 adjourned until to-mo
Y row at II o'clock
A quorum was not counted until half {
hour after the house met to-day VIII,
the journal was read the vote on its Apr
val was-yeas 124, nays 0.
The quorum having disappeared call
. the house was ordered. The call show
s the presence of 1T members and the spea
Is er directed the clerk to call the roll on t
"a approval of the journal.
a Mr.. Haugen of Wisconsin moved to d
10 pense with further proceedings under t
" call.
y During the call of the roll the one dc
> which has always been kept open to allt
ingress and egress was latched and t
doorkeepers We're stationed at it to p
e. vent members leaving the chamber. I
nv | first gentleman to resent this enforced
prisonment was Mr. Kfgore of Texas, W
~ forced back the fastenings and stalked il
d. the lobby.
en- At the moment Mr.. Kilgore drove
- door flying wide open Representa-
ha Dingley of Maine was approaching fr
n a, the other side. The door struck him W
=, full force in the face bruising his n
In badly. For time it was feared, and
nc generally reported, that the bone had b
lhs s broken but this was found not to be
case.
Mr.. Kilgore was soon followed by
Grain of Texas, who adopted the 81
method of procedure.
So Mr.. Cummings of New York and
en- Coleman of Louisiana approached the q
'ss together and upon being informed
there was emo thoroughfare" mantle,
out such a disposition to break the door f
md its hinges that one of the doorkeepers
oc- IDENTIFY removed the latch and permi
on them to pass. After this the rule
de- somewhat relaxed.
ned Further proceedings under the call '
ock dispensed with-yeas 135, nays 3S.
The The journal was then approved
1853, nays 5-the clerk noting a quorui
lin Mr.. Haugen demanded the prev
nan question on the Langston- Venable
| fha