Idaho County free press. [volume] (Grangeville, Idaho Territory) 1886-current, 1891-03-27
CONGRESSMAN SHEET.
:He has been MisqnOted, and is a
Pronounced Adrocdte of
Free Coinage.
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,

You for the clipping from your paper;
not so much because | enjoy being
Grounded up" as for the reason that
your article contains the statement upon
which all this stuff is based. Letters
from friends, and finally, an editorial in
che Lewiston Teller informed me that l
had made speech against silver. 1t
was all Greek to me until the arrival OF
your letter to-day. ] do not know who
sent that telegram to the Reute,o and
Oregonian; nor can + possibly account for
the motive that inspired it.
The resolution referred to was sug-
gested by the following facts; we were
struggling to bring the silver bill to q
vote in the House, and as a matter oil
course, using every means in our power
TO strengthen the cause of silver. Mean
while, our enemies were equally active
in their efforts to beittle silver as
money, and to prevent vote in the
House. Excitement ran high, and sill
yer was all the talk in the cloak rooms.
in discussing the question with a sena-
tor he said to me; IF you do not stop
this agitation you will ruin the country.
The banks down town now require all
payments to be made in gold" ] had
heard OF such talk before the coinage
committee, but had not given it any at
fention. Then, member from the
country told me that if one of their lit
tie banks sent credit of five or ten
thousand dollars to its city correspond
ent, guaranty that the credit should
be payable in gold, must accompany
the deposit.
The government is now issuing 4.5OO-
BOO ounces per month in the form of
silver certificates. This money is at
par with gold; but ifthe enemies of sill
yer could succeed in driving silver Ger,
tificates to discount, they would not
only take from us one of our strongest
arguments, but would secure and turn
ppon us one of our heaviest batteries
Again, the people of Idaho are paying
from cent and quarter to cent and
p half per month for money. Once in
debt, with such rate of interest to pay,
and Q man is lost. We have little
enough in circulation now, and pay too
much for what we have, to allow half
Of our circulating medium to be driven
70 "a discount,
thought that banks created by the
government, bearing the prestige of a
pational name. and the medium through
which the government issued portion
Rf its money; banks doing business un-
der national charters and beneath the
shadow of the Treasury department,
bad no right to attempt the injury of
the cause of silver by pursuing course
that tended to degrade portion of the
rational currency, and as l believed,
and still believe, for the purpose of de-
feating silver coinage. l therefore in
PRODUCED the following resolution which
you will find in the Record of Feb. 10,
page S06S:
Whereas certain national banks in
various parts of the United States are
now refusing to loan money except upon
contracts payable in gold; and that
many city banks are refusing to accept
rreditp from country banks except such
rs are payable in gold; and
Whereas such course is unpatriotic
and tends to discredit the currency of
the country, whether based upon gold
pr silver; Therefore
BE M Resotrcd, That it Is the sense of
this House that any national bank at
tempting to disparage and degrade the
currency of the United States by de-
manding other than lawful money of
the nation In payment of debts due said
pank should forthwith forfeit its charter.
Referred to the Committee on Rules.
The above resolution was offered with
p view of counteracting the assault up
pm silver certificates by the banks. The
following from the Washington Star of
Feb. 10, (the evening of the day upon
which the resolution was introduced)
will give you some notion of the view
taken of the resolution at this end of
the line;
TO CHECK THE GOLD MEN.
Representative Sweet of Idaho YES.
terday introduced resolution tho pre-
amble of which sets forth that certain
national banks in the country are re-
fusing to loan money except upon con-
tracts payable in gold, which course
tends to discredit the currency of the
country, whether based upon gold or
silver The resolution therefore pro-
yides that any national bank attempting
TO degrade the currency of the country
by demanding other than lawful money
ehall forfeit its charter.
The heading shows hoy the resoIu-
tion was interpreted here. The New
Work Tribune. New York Nation and
New York Evening Post made savage
attacks upon it, the latter paper claim
ing that ! would next demand that
money be issued on silver in the mount
aims. The San Francisco Chronicle de.
Tended the resolution, while the silver
men here gave it their unqualified sup
port, III live until the next session
shall introduce it in the form of a bill.
II was 0 defense of the silver certificate.
and the only person who ever saw any,
thing else in it vas the astute ass upon
whose telegram your editorial was based.
You discuss at length my vote on the
point of order and declare that | voted
against free coinage with other free
coinage republicans because the Force
pill had baen killed ip the senate. You
give as your authority the National