Los Angeles herald., 1892-07-05
SILVER MEN MAKING A MISTAKE
Fault Found With Stewards
Free Coinage Bill.
The Opinion Expressed That 1t Con-
tains a Grave Defect.
Representative Harter Likens 1t to Kill
Ing tho Goose That Laid the Golden
Egg-Bland Says 1t Needs
Amendment.
BY the Associated Press.I

BY the Associated Pressl
New YORK, July 4.-The Times's
Washington special says: Some of the
free silver men are beginning to wonder
whether the free coinage measure which
the senate passed on Friday would really
accomplish what they have been aim
ing to bring about, if it should become
law. Apparently very few of them
know that previous to Friday Senator
Stewart proposed to offer substitute
for his original measure. Most of them
seem to have been ignorant of the pro-
visions of the new bill. Now that the
bill is in cold type, the impression is
growing that, should it finally become
a law, the free silver men would soon
realize that they had been led into a
ridiculous position.
One senator. who voted for the bill
without examining it, said last night to
correspondent of the Times that be
believed a serious mistake had been
made. "The bill, )" he said, provides
that the uncoined bullion in the treas
ury must be coined. Taking the amount
on hand and the capacity of the mints
into consideration, figure that over
three years would elapse before any bull
lion, not yet delivered, could be han
died by the government. The man who
drew up the substitute, which was ac-
cepted, evidently did not not think OF
this."
Representative Harter (Democrat) of
Ohio said; "It is the most bungling
measure which has passed legislative
body. Should it become law the most
ardent free silver men would coon begin
to upraid its trainers. First, it provides
for the stoppage of the monthly
purchases of silver; it also stops
the issue of silver certificates.
This ends the accumulation of silver
month by month, and puts period to
the vicious increase of silver certificates.
Observe, it absolutely closes the
monthly market for silver bullion, and
is likely to cause the price to drop
away below SO cents per ounce. So far,
you see, the free silver people have
killed the goose which laid the golden
| Cor silver egg. If their bill should ever
become law, the curses from the min
ing campo would be loud and deep.
$50 step further and notice that
the bill orders the uncoined bullion in
the treasury to be coined. This will
cost $1,000, 900, which is, go to speak,
thrown away, but will occupy the mints
on government coinage probably not far
from two years. Meanwhile our free
silver friends can keep their silver and
cool their heels on the sidewalke.
Suppose you had 500, 900 in silyer bull
lion and proposed to get the benefits Of
this bill. You would take it to the
mint, but as the mint has not storage, il
would be wholly impossible Though
] legally and in Pickwickian or tech
nical sense possible) for the government
ta take as il 3s Ia ethes be- TSoTds i peg aSoo h
take your bullion. 1t may be five
| years.
But suppose the government does
! take it. will it be kind enough to tell me
! when you would get your silver dollars
in return? Here is nice sum in arith-
metic for the silver men, and after this
is figured out, they can go buy their
OK teams and be ready to transport
their coin.
81 am satisfied have said enough TO
cause any man to see that the whole bill
is delusion and q snare"