St. Paul daily globe., 1891-01-14
The United States More Libep-
al to Silver Than the Re-
public Of France.
Pacific Railway Officials Ap-
pear Before Senator Frye'S
Committee.
Attorney General Miller Will
Not Discuss Behring
Sea Matters.

ment, he said, was radical proposition
which changed tine whole character of
the bill and excited his feelings some
what. He thought that under the cir
cumstances he was justified in all he
said the other day; and what he said
then he repeated now. But now he
wanted to discuss the measure as a
business question which affected the
rights and property of every citizen OF
the United States. 1t would be per-
ceived that the amendment was prop
Osirion that the United States should
pay $1.29 for every ounce of silver bull
ion that might be offered from any part
OF the world. Not only was the United
States bound to purchase all the
bullion offered at $1.29 per ounce, but it
had no option as to the mode OF pay
ment. The option was in the hands OF
the owner. The proposed measure gave
a preference to silver over gold; not
only this, but (Whether intended or not
this amendment was offered in such a
way that it was not open to further
amendment. The price was fixed at
$1.29. To-day the value of silver III the
markets of the world was something
about S105 an ounce. Here was an Of
fer to pay "a cents an ounce more than
the market price. Mr.. Sherman also
criticised the proposition that the silver
was to be formed into coin or bars at the
Option Of the Owner,
"without CHARGE" He (Mr. Sherman-)
SAID now, in all sincerity, that if he be-
lieved that the free coinage of silver
would enable us to maintain the value
of silver bullion up to that of gold, he
would vote for free coinage today. But
if it were admitted that silver could not
reach gold except by the governmentpay
ing a bounty to producers OF domestic
silver, he didn't think there was any
danger of this measure pass ing. Ii it
were admitted that a parity between
gold and silver could not stand except
by the United States standing as pur-
chaser in the world, he did not think
that this was thing that ought to be
aimed at. Market value was the judg-
ment Of the world. not of any nation.
1t was the want Of the peo-
pie that regulated market. not
the laws of man. When silver was at o
premium it was demOnetized. and re-
manned so for years; and, in order to
get the benefit OF the use of silver, we
had to reduce the ratio. in order to pre-
vent its expectation. When the ratio of
1884 was adopted all the silver coined
here fed from the country because it
was valued more highly in other coun-
tries. Referring to the Bland-Alllson
act, Mr.. Sherman SAID that it was true
that President Hays, with that indepen-
dence which always marked him. hav-
60 +b hot nf with itc lin
itations might lead to the same result as
The Bland Bill.
did veto it; but he (Mr. Sherman) had
not advised such veto. He had heard
much stuff about what he had done III
that connection. He had heard it over
and over again without rising i'll his
place and saying word, because he
had not wished to say anything at all
about what had occurred between him
self and the man whom he hOnored as
president of the United States. Mr..
Sherman spoke of the Latin Union, and
the circumstances under which it had
been formed, and said that the United
States was much more liberal to silver
than was even France, and yet the sen
ate had been told of the great
prosperity of France; and that wonder
full prosperity had been attrIb-
uted to its treatment of silver.
He said it was ridiculous to represent
France as silver country. Silver was
not legal tender there for higher
amount than so francs. He had spent
a month in France during the exposition
of 1888, and had never seen tive-franc
piece the ''dollar of the fathers" They
had ceased to have any existence.
There coinage had been not only
suspended deliberately, but had been
suspended for lite, and could not be
restored unless by the JOINT action of
the five great powers which formed the
Latin Union. He did not see why his
silver friends or the people ought not
to be satisfid with the present law. 1t
was a compromisrs proposition. made.
after grave reflection. Why should
The Bullion Owners
of Nevada and Colorado be paid more
than the market price for their silver?
Why should not the farmer say, when
his wheat went down to less than liv-
ing price, "GiYe me what | ought to
have-the average price per year. Con-
tinuing. Mr.. 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
South American states and to leave the
great company of commercial nations,
which now hopefully stood by the best
standard of value. For, whatever
might be said of silver, no one would
questi on that in the great business
transactions of life silver would not
answer the purpose. 1t would be meas
ured by the ton. Gold alone was the
standard of value. He could see
nothing in the future of this measure,
except distrust, fear and change of
values. 1t would injure all those who
depended on their labor and upon the
production of the farm and of the work
shop.
Allison Against 1t.
Mr.. Allison said he would vote against
the Stewart amendment. 1t was true
that the people Of the United States did
not favor the use of metallic money in
ordinary nsactionS-whether of silver
or gold. They preferred paper substi-
tutes for coin, whether that coin be of
silver or of gold. Therefore he had
some degree of some patience when he
was told that there was piled up in the
treasury 310.000,000 of silver dollars. 1t
was well-known fact that there was
piled up in the treasury almost as much
gold, or it was not piled up there, it was
piled up in the bank vaults of the great
cities. it was because people preferred
paper representation of money that
congress found clamor that this rep
resentation be enlarged.
Mr.. Aldrich argued at length in favor
of the proposition that Mr.. Stewards
amendment, if enacted into law, would
be disastrous to the great interests of
the country, and Mr.. Evarts also spoke
against the amendment.
Mr.. Mcconnell referred to the COM
mercial and agricultural distress which
prevailed in the country, attributing
this condition of affairs to the scarcity
of money, which enabled the few to
control what there was to the detriment
of the many. The remedy was the
making of more money. He then pro-
ceeded to argue in favor of the free
coinage of silver.
The hour then being late various sug-
gestions were made as to an extension
of general debate, and it was finally de-
aidnd thaf Ganafnr Tomas of Nnvo do