People's voice. [volume] (Wellington, Sumner County, Kansas) 1890-1917, 1892-04-01
WALL STREET IN WASHINGTON.

The present intensely democratic
congress has been carrying itself along
since the election of Speaker Crisp
with little or no uneasinesS about pass
ing a free coinage act. 1t had been
supposed that two votes in every three
would be cast in favor of the Bland
bill. 1t came to a test last Thursday
on a motion to lay the bill on the table.
Imagine the surprise of the friends of
silver when they discovered that it
took the vote of Speaker Crisp to make
it a tie and save it from immediate de-
feat. A special from Washington to
the Kansas City Times gives the fol-
lowing description of Wall street play
in the matter, which will be interest
to our readers:
ITO understand todays history in the
house one should understand the sur
roundings. For three days Wall street
has been in Washington; every bank
in Boston and New York has been
pulling and hauling on the legislative
rope to defeat the Bland bill and turn
down silver.
No such lobby has surrounded the
house in years. The corridors were
thronged and the galleries filled by
men who were in Washington for the
sole purpose of throttling the Bland
bill by any means in their power.
A week ago, it is no exaggeration to
say, the Bland bill was strong enough
to gain two votes in every three in the
house, but stream of Wall street in
fuence has been set flowing through
the house and swept everything before
it. Members have been argued with,
cOaxed, cajoled. bullied and threatened;
they were cOnjured by their hopes of
personal success, their fears for party
safety. Everything, anything, which
promised the end in view-the burial
of the Bland bill-was unhesitatingly
done. kilograms were ordered sent
from every anti-sllver source in the
country to members of the house bid
ding them beware. The telegraph
bills were paid by Wall street. Back
in the closets of silver opposition they
began to dig up new reasons against
the bill. Today BOurke Cochran of
New York unloaded them upon the
house. When the discussion was going
on in the house members were being
called and hauled in ceaseless process.
sion from each of five doors by the
emiSSaries of gold and pinned against
the walls to listen to the whispered
threats of personal political woe to
come if they chung to silver.
There is not member of the house
but knows this statement is doubly
true.
Thus, when the people of this coun.
try have elected their representatives
to congress and sent them up to Wash
ingtOn, pledged to pass a free silver
measure, when they had settled back
in their every day pursuits and were
following their various industrial &C.
equations, trusting in the integ-
rity of the servants whom they had
chosen, too poor to 60 to the capitol to
urge the matter further, if they chose
to, they, (these servantS), are set upon
by horde of bankers and brokers and
robbers, who never lack for. funds to
go to Washington to help defeat the
will of the people, and cajoled and
frightened from the path of duty. Who
says Wall street has no power on con-
gresSiOnal legislation What differ
ence does it make to them which of
the old parties elect their candidates
They can and do influence either. "0f
the AS votes cast in favor of the mo-
ton to table, eighty-two were cast by
democrats and Sixty-six by republicans.
The negative vote showed the names
Of eleven republicans, the other 1877
either democrats or Alliance men.
All of the Peoples party men were
in favor of silver. Clover happened to
be out of the hall when the vote was
sprung, but afterwards VOted'on other
test motions.