Los Angeles herald., 1890-07-10
The Conference Bill Severely
Criticised.
Senator Daniel Calls 1t a Make
Shift Measure.
'COckrell Says 1t Is in the Interest of
the MOnO-MetalistS.
Jones, of Nevada, Accused of Assuming a
Change of Front on the Silver
Question.
Associated Press Dispatches

Associated Press Dispatches.
WASHINGTON, July SIN the senate
today, the presiding officer Qngalls) an
lnounced his signature to the bill for the
admission of Wyoming. The bill now
goes to the president for his signature.
On motion of Blair, the senate pro-
ceeded to executive business. The doors
were reopened at one O'Clock and the
sundry civil appropriation bill was re-
ported. Allison stated that he would
ask it's consideration tomorrow.
Consideration of the conference report
on the silver bill was resumed. Cockrell
continued his argument against the
report.
Cockrell criticised the last clause of
the second section of the conference
bill, and said the language therein indi-
Gated preference for single gold stan
dard. The section so reads, and 80
would be interpreted. Until parity
between the metals was established, gold
would be given the preference and legal
tender notes would be redeemed In gold.
Teller contraverted this assertion.
Jones, of Nevada, read an extract
from an article in yesterdays New York
Evening Post, paper opposed, ne said,
to silver legislation in all it's forms, to
the effect that the conference report
contained some features not embraced
in either the house bill or senate bill,
and tending to make it better measure
than either; also stating that the pur-
v,Oco Of tho ci1vnr mon Mac fOi1od
Cockrell-Precisely what have said.
That is from very able representative
of the gold interest, and it is warning
to the senator from Nevada (Jones) that
he has abandoned the cause of the
equalization of silver and gold. Under
this conference report the secretary of
the treasury can drive the country to
part with every dollar of gold, and can
lock up in the vaults of the treasury
every silver dollar That is the most
dangerous power given the secretary of
the treasury since the foundation of the
government.
Platt-Does the senator mean to say
that he would not give the secretary of
the treasury discretion as to which coin
he would pay in?
Cockrell-I certainly would give him
that discretion. l would say: ere
deemable in coin."
Platt-That is all that there is to say.
Cockrell-That is true; but there is
within it declaration which is fatal
thing, and that is that the gold standard
still exists and must be maintained.
Taking up the third section of the
conference bill, Cockrell entered most
earnest and solemn protest against it, as
meaning the practical cessation of silver
coinage after July, '91.
Jones, of Nevada-That is all we
want.
Cockrell-In other words, the senator
from Nevada is willing to abandon the
double standard, to make silver mere
commodity, to stop its coinage, and to
tell the people of the country that he
has done something for them in the
restoration of the double standard. The
conference bill is total abandonment OF
all pretensions to double standard.
Mitchell, in the course OF some ques-
tions involving CockrelPs consistency,
remarked that while he was in favor of
the free and unlimited coinage of silver,
he would support the conference bill be-
cause it was all that the friends OF silver
could get.
Cockrell, l believe, if the senate will
end agree to the senate bill. We have
made no determined effort to support
the senate bill. We show no backbone.
We show no disposition to stand by
what we have solemnly done; and we
give truth to the assertion of the mono
metallists of the east that the bill was
only a project to furnish market fol
silver bullion.
Daniel addressed the senate in opposi-
ton to the silver bill. The question, he
said, was a great deal bigger than the
president of the United States, whether
the presidents name was Benjamin
Harrison or Grover Cleveland. Daniel
argued that under the conference bill
$7O,0OO,00O worth of silver bullion would
be piled up in the treasury every
year; that silver stream would be flow
ing in, and not dollar could be coined
to pay the bonds or the obligations of the
United States, which were payable in
coin. Such enormous discrimination
against silver as that never existed in
legislation except when silver was COM
pletely demonetized. He admitted that
it would be better that the conference
bill should become law than that nc
bill on the subject should become a
law. But it was mere makeshift.
Sooner or later, Daniel said, congress
and the executive had got to come into
collision on the silver question. Why
not let the collision come now? If the
friends of silver stood up to the fight
they could win it, and if they ran away
they would lose it. If they believed in
the free coinage of silver Gas he did,
they should stand by the senate bill
and let the president of the United States
take care of himself.
Morgan took the floor, but saw he
could not finish his remarks today.
An informal understanding was had
that vote should be taken tomorrow
and the senate adjourned.
SUNDRY APPROPRIATIONS.