Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1890-06-06
NATIONS CAPITAL.
Silver Bill Discussed in House
and Senate.
Senator Shsfman's StlaiShuofyard
Arguments AGAINST Free Coinage.
Treasury Notss Based on Silver Bull
lion Proposed.

free coinage Of silver. II 10 believed tba
the majority Of the people are opposed /
the opening Of the mints of the Unite'
States to free coinage of the worlds silver
In his judgment the national convention o
political parties would. BY decisive ma
jorities. repudiate such proposition. Tn
possessors Of large portion of the nati0na
wealth, who are investors in bank stock
railroad stock, and bonds. and largely pro
prietors of mineral deposits, are opposed Il
il. He believed every man who had accu
mulated property or who exps scted to do s.
BY honest efforts is opposed TO it.
favored bill was reported from the fnanc,
committee by Senator Jones of Nevada. -
Sherman proceeded to read a write
speech on the subject. lie admitted ths
the people Of the United States. needed
larger circulating medium than an e9us
number Of people in al older country NIGH
need, nowhere else were substitutes fo
paper money better understood, or more il
use, than in the United States. The re
ceipts Of national banks in single day va
S295 900, 600. The proportion of gold coli
in that business was less than | 2 per cent
silver less 4 of | per ceat; paper none,
less than per cent; checks and draft
about 95 per cent; actual circulation playe.
a very insignificant part in the business o
the country. Sherman attributed the de
probation in agricultural products to III,
opening up of new fields in the West, tn.
reduced cost of transportation. the doubling
of railroad mileage. the guadrupliug of tn,
capacity of railroads and steamboats, fol
trans sportation, the new tangled forms o.
trusts and combinations, which reduced th,
prices to producers, and often increased
them to consumers.
| The insuficiency of the currency hao
nothing to do with il. The currency no~
is larger In proportion to the population
than ever before. If the present circula
ton is estimated at 81. 400, 900 and the an
nusl increase in population at 3 per cent
then the annual increase of S42. 900 900 ir
the currency would keep up the ratio, bu
as the national bank note circulation is be
ing Withdrawn on the payment of United
| States bonds, he had consented to increase
the circulation as proposed in the bill. &54 !
COO, 900 year. He believed that treasury
notes. based on silver bullion, would be Al
safe substitute for paper money as could
he conceived. He did not fear to give
those treasury notes every sanction and
value that the United States could confer.
lie did not object to their being made
legal tender for all debts, public and pri
vate. That was far preferable TO the free
coinage of silver, because with all the
| efforts to get silver dollars into circua ation
there was not one of them in circulation
| for every inhabitant.
Sherman declared that IN 1873 silver
dollars was an image of the past lost TO
sight and me mory, ignored by two genera
tons, except as convs nience for the ex-
portation of silver bullion. No wonder
that the senator from Nevada (Stewar,)
did not know the silver dollar was demone.
tized when he voted for the bill; the only
The silver dollar at that time was worth
| 81. .O3 as compared with gold. The bill had
been publicly discussed two or three years
and its objects were well known.
No bill, he said, has ever been more full
iy discussed than that, yet his friend Nor
rilI and himself, who voted against il
because it discontinued charges for coinage
we're constantly denounced as conspiratorr
" hile Senators from the Pacific coast, (all
of whom voted for it, posed ms victims. He
had though, it necessary, he said, to trace
down the lie, not only for himself, but sll
others engaged in that legislation. lie
sts,ed that it was the opinion of many wise
men. that if the United States had only
coined as much silver as could be crcu-
lated at home (leaviDg the surplus to find
its natural market, the price Of silver
would not haye..sunk as far as it had done.
Its coinage was a useless expense and
tended to lower the price of silver bullion.
1t was claimed that the effect of free
coinage of silver would be to advance the
price at once and to the purity of goli. lie
denied it. Its result would he to
demonetize gold and cause gold to be
boarded or exported. The free coinage
of silver wcnld be the reversal of the es-
tsblisbed policy Of the government from,
the beginning Would it limit coinage to
single metal. md that of silver? United
S,ntes would. if it entered on that expert
msnt, detsCh itself from the great civilized
and christian nations of the world, and
take its place with China, Japan, India and
South America. A pound sierlipg s01ld
be worth Sc instead of - 81, and an Ameri.
can dollar would be, as in the colonial
times. worth three English shillngs, OF
four frsrcs
In conclusion Sherman said he would
vote for any measure that would iu his
judgment secure and maintain bimetallic
| stsndard-one that would establish both
gold and silver as q common standard, at a
fixed ratio, not only in the United States
| but in all nstious of the world lie would
receive (under the principles of the act of
1853 into the treasury of the United State.
all the gold and silver produced in the
United States, at their market value in the
| .,,f ha NJ
venience Of the people he would represen,
this gold and silver by treasury notes to an
| smount not exceeding their cost, and would
| confer upon these notes all the use eQnsl
| tiles and attributes that could be constitu-
tionally conferred upon them.
| lie would support and maintain them a,
money by coioing silver and gold, as
needed. upon the present legal ratios, and
| by pledge of the revenues of the govern.
ment and all the wealth of the United
States. wouId proclaim TO all the readi.
ress Of the United States by international
/ negotiations or treaties to bring about an
agreement among nations for common
units Of value, and weights and measure,
for all the productions Of the world. |,
was no time for radical change Of public
policy which seemed to give no motive *
ce pt to reduce the burden Of obligations
freely taken. \ change likely to impair
public credit and produce disorder and
confusion in all monetary transactions.
Teller congratulated himself and the
country that the mask vas off the faces Of
| the so called silver party which had parad
ed he fore the Senate the finance commit
tees bill The distinguished Senator from
Ohio, Shermen, vas for high standard arc
thst standard gold. He was for the aband
ooment of silver as money metal, leaving
| it to be used only as . subsidiary coin
! The people Of the United States wouii bs
g.sd to kros that tho 50 called silver par
ty men who have heretofore been avowet
goldises, had resumed their natural ant
normal position and place.
Stewart gave from his point of view. the
resume of Il gislztire proceedings vhi .h re
suited in the the demoaet,z l;ion of the ell
yer dollar in 1878. He declared that ths
amendment that dsmonetixsd silver VA
/ never read in either house. They simpl,
referred to il in the conference report q
amendment No. 6. 50 that no Senator O.
member knew what he vas voting for
Sherman produced the original bill Of 1877.
from the files Of the Senate to show thu
not only vas the amendment read and vos
ed on in the Senate, but was smeoded d
his (Sherman'sl motion. and when the con
ference committee considered the dispute,
section i; vas again amended in the osn
ference. Stewart permitted in assesfinl
that the amendment had not been read, an
argued that At all events the people ouRh
To have 4 new trial for mistake IL not 70
tha cause- They nos asked for the restor
A atica Of silytr and we're told that il voal
ldiMurb the Sestied financial rolicy Of h
world. The settled policy, established .
that was ought to be disturbed. Il oegh
not 10 be sustained