The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1890-07-09
Western States Accept it, but
Democrats Object.
roo RADICAL. SHERMAN SAYS.
Voorhees, Admits That Cleveland Was
q Wall Street Ruler.
The Wyoming Bill Finally Passed-AIis-
sissippi Democrats seated-Assistant
District Attorney sullivan-The Irri-
CATION Dinaculty.


WAsHISeroN CrrY, July Sin the Senate
today the conference report on the silver
bill was taken up. Vest stated the reasons
Why he should vote against the report. He
said:
large majority of the Senate has voted for
free coinage OF silver, but the conference report
absolutely does away with all idea of free COIN
age and Is intended to continue the system un-
Der which silver has been persistently and con-
sistcntly degraded since 1873.
Continuing, ne said that he was anxious
to see absolute parity between the two met
ais as money metals. He would like to see
the time when sixteen ounces of silver
would purchase an ounce of gold. and
when an ounce OF gold would continue, az
at present, to purchase sixteen ounces of
silver. He read the closing clause of a sec
ton of the conference bill, lit being the es-
tablished policy of the United States to
maintain the two metals on q parity
with each other" and asked why
that declaration had been made
and why that stump speech had
been inserted into the stomach of the bill.
1t had been put in, he said, for the purpose
OF saying to the treasury department that
Until silver came to parity with gold it
should pay out gold and public business
should be conducted on gold basis. He,
for one. would never vote to maintain and
continue that practice. He had never been
a silver man for the purpose of booming
silver or increasing its price. He was
against that and all other forms of subsidy.
The conference report might give an in
creased market to silver. but the principle
for which the Senate had voted, that the
two metals should be on parity, had been
given away IN that bill absolutely and COM
pletely.
Coke expressed concurrence in the con-
clusion reached by Vest. He could not
support the conference bill. The senate
conferees had not represented the bill of
the senate which had declared for free and
unlimited coinage of silver. On the con-
trary, they had assented to q bill which
provided definitely for the cessation of
further coinage of silver. There was not
any compulsion on the secretary of the
treasury to coin silver after July /, 1891.
Silver coinage was left to the discretion of
the secretary, and such discretion was
equal TO stopping the coinage of silver.
That was q fact well known and admitted
in debate. He was much opposed to buy
ing single ounce of silver to be coined, as
he was to the United States going into the
warehouse business for silver or for any
other product If silver was not to be
coined, why should it be purchased? If
the object of the bill was to advance the
money power of silver, why should its
coinage be stopped, when coinage
alone conferred upon it the power
of money? Two-thirds of the people of
the United States, who were in favor of the
unlimited coinage of silver, and majority
in the Senate, were checked at every turn
by the executive and the secretary of the
treasury. He proposed to vote against the
conference bill because he preferred the
law as it now stood.
Sherman defended and explained the con-
ference report. The question had arisen in
the conference committee, he said, as to
whether the two houses could be brought
to an agreement on the two bills passed by
them respectively. In the first section of
the conference bill, the language of the
first section of the house bill had been re-
tanned somewhat, but the amount of sill
yer TO be purchased was increased, much
to his regret, it had been fixed at larger
amount than the entire American product
of silver. 1t had been made mandatory,
not permissible on the secretary
of the treasury to four and
half million ounces of silver each
monthly which, at the rate of $1.29 an
ounce, or sixteen to one. would amount to
a yearly issue of $4,000 900 in treasury
notes. The legal tender clauses in the
House bill and in the Senate bill had been
somewhat different and somewhat alike
also, and the question had come up in the
conference whether it would be right to de-
prive the citzens of the United States of
the right to contract for payment in gold
or anything else. 1t had therefore been
agreed that the treasury notes to be issued
for silver, like the silver dollar, on which
this was based. should be legal tender for
all debts, public and private. unless where
otherwise stated in the contract. That
same clause was to be found in the Bland
bill.
Voorhees, said the trouble about the con-
ference bill was not whether the secretary
would obey the law, but that every single
section OF the bill gave discretion to the
secretary of the treasury, who was
''packed" against silver. Every single Sec
tion of the bill conferred and was intended
to confer on the secretary of the treasury
power by which he could destroy. dishonor
and degrade silver as money. He did not
reflect upon the present secretary of the
treasury. The treasury department had
been packed against silver ever since he
(voorhees) had been member of the Sem
ate, not merely under the Republican
party, but under his own party, until he
was weary of it.
Teller said that much as he disliked the
adoption of half way measures he was
obliged to support the conference bill as
the only measure which could bring relief
to the people for the next few months.
| Congress would assemble in December
next, and if the bill did not work well il
could be reformed at the next session.
| He was restrained BY the courtesy due TO
another body-the House of Represents
| tives-from expressing his opinion with
regard to its course. A body which had
| been considered q representative body oi
the American people absolutely threw
back in the face of the American people
| the demand made on it by Wal
street. disregarding public sentiment
| There had been no lobby in either house
| but there had never been such
pressure brought on congress as wa.
! brought on it at this session to defeat the
| free coinage OF silver. He believed it wa.
| impossible TO secure free coinage at th,
present session. Tne voice of the majority
| OF the people was stihed. and would never