, 1891-01-14
SENATE AND HOUSE.
Sherman Talks for Four Hours
on the Silver Question.
He Thinks the Present Law is
Good Enough.
The Army Appropriation Bill
Up in the House.

amendment to the financial bill abolishing
the tax on state banks.
The senate then resumed consideration
of the financial bill and was addressed BY
sherman. The Stewart amendment, he
said, was a radical propos ton that the
United States should pay T.29f for every
ounce of silver bullion that might be
offered frem any part of the would. Not
only this. but it had no option as to the
mode Of payment. The option was in the
hands of the owner. This proposed
measure gave the preference to silver
over gold. Not only this, but it was
not open to further amendment. To-
day the value of silver in the
markets OF the world was something
about LOS an ounce. Here was an or
der to Day twenty-four cents an ounce
more than the market price. Sherman
also criticized the proposition that silver
was to he formed into coin or bars. at the
option OF the owner, without charge"
He said: Now, in all sincerity. that if he
belle sed the free coinage of silver would
enable us TO MAINTAIN the value of silver
bullIop up to that OF gold he would vote
for free coinage today. but if it were ad-
mitted tina. silver could not reach gold,
except by the government paying a bounty
to the producers of domestic silver. he
did not think there was any danger of the
measure passing.
Sherman spoke of the Latin union and
said that the United States was much
more liberal to silver than was even
France, and that wonderful prosperity had
been attributed to Its treatment of ~silvsr.f
He said it was ridiculous to represent
France as a silver country. Silver was
not legal tender there for a higher amount
than fifty francs. He did not see why
his silver friends, nor the people, ought
not TO be satisfied with the present law.
1t was a compromise proposition, made
after grave reflection. Why should the
bullion owners OF Nevada and Colorado
be paid more than the market price for
their silver. The present law worked
well. Last session it was agreed to by the
silver men as all they wanted. 1t con-
tanned the declaration (Which he thought
was a point OF honor that it would be
the established policy of the United
States TO maintain the PARTY of
the two metals. Now, within a year.
a measure was proposed which would dis
troy the parity. The immediate effect of
free coinage would be to increase the ex-
I IOlNdAlpu vi kOlus w Ailt CuIICuCN nOuAu
be expanded by the issue OF treasury notes,
it would be contracted by the expectation
ofSola. Another effrct wnnld be : increase
the importation of silver. When the
market for silver was IN the most disturbed
state possible, when the Latin nations
should step in and buy silver at a price
far above the market value, was it not a
serious thing to make this offer in view of
the great store OF silver in the world.
Continuing, Sherman said he was
ashamed that a great nation like ours
should be content to lower its standard of
value to Join China, Japan and the Soath
American states and to leave the great
company OF Monumental nations which now
hopefully stood by best standard of value.
For whatever might be SAID of silver no
one would question that In the great bust
ness transactions of life silver would not
answer the purpose. 1t would be measured
by the ton. Gold alone was the standard
of value.
He could see nothing in the future of
this measure except d%istrust. fear and
change of values. 1t would injure all
those who depend upon their labor and
upon the production of the farm and of
the workshop. There was no difficulty,
Sherman asserted, in keeping gold and
oilNGI a. u party Will CdCu OlutTs w utu
they separated in market value, and when
it was clearly perceived that either metal
was going down in value, then the ratio
should be changed. He believed the best
money eyer devised by man was the treas
ury notes Of the United States issuing I'M
der the law of the last session-gold Ger.
t~iticates and silver certificates. The com-
non people believed in hard money.
They were willing to have paper money.
but they wanted it maintained at par. He
cautioned the Democratic sena-
tors from the East and the SEN
ators from the Southern states
that if they committed themselves
to the policy of the free coinage of silver,
they would nave the burden of that com
miitment next year when the responsibility
OF legislation would be upou them, and he
reminded them that during the four
years of Democratic administration they
had not dared to propose such a meas
ure, but had kept as quite as possible and
no alliance would have driven them to the
principle of free coinage. For one he
would stand by the legal standard of value
on which public and private contracts had
been based. After speaking four hours
Sherman resumed his seat amid applause.
Teller said the senator's argument had
Dteu III hppehl uRdlust rue mines OF the
country. The question was not one of
compensation to miners. but whether the
world wanted silver as money.
Allison said it was true that the people
of the United States did not favor the use
OF metallic money in ordinary transactions,
whether of silver or gold. They pre-
ferred paper substitutes for coin, whether
the coin be of silver or OF gold. He al
luded to the recent monetary stringencY
and said that in obedience to what he be-
lieved to be the wishes of those who de-
sired to increase the currency, and of
those who wished to give steadiness to
silver bullion, he had voted In favor of
the first section OF the bill in favor of
making an addioual purchase $l2, 900, 900
worth OF silver. but after having listened
to the speeches from the senator's from
Colorado and Nevada he would, when OPP
portunity offered. move to strike from the
bull its first section. The last section of
the bill he declared to be a better one, 1t
authorized the president, when a sufficient
number of commercial nations had
agreed upon a ratio, to make a
proclamation 10 that effect and to
open our mints to free coinage.
That was a statement to the nations OF
the world that the United States was
ready, when they were, to use silver as
money. He argued from historical paral.
lels that under the free silver coinage pro-
vision gold would go practically out Of the
country or would be held at its value
abroad compared with the value of silver