Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1892-04-05
name a rIinr uI-,tr-pIng ru,cr qucotruu
he would take his part in the debate
"Draps" Into Argument Himself

"Draps" Into Argument Himself
He had listened to much that had been said by
| the senator from Alabama, to some of it with
| pleasure, but to some OF his statements he felt
inclined to reply. The senator had arraigned
| the treasury for not coming more silver bull
lion into dollars. 1t was worth more as bull
lion than coin. If coined there wound be
added the cost of coinage, and ii would
have tn be stored up in bags. Why should it
De coined In advance of the necessity or de-
mand for its use? The senator had closed his
remarks by praising the act of 1S90-justly
praising it-because that act, with proper
amendments and restrictions, could be made
in his (Shermans) opinion the fulcrum of the
whole financial system of the nation.
The Law of 800 Defined.
No bank in the world was so strong finan.
cially as the treasury of the United States to-
day. Its reserve of gold was greater than that
of the bank of England. Every one of its treas
ury notes had a dollars worth of gold behind it.
Every one of these notes was based upon
enough silver to be equal togold, SO that the
United States has for every silver certificate,
dollar for dollar in gold. But there lay behind
this act the fundamental principle which
ought never to be departed from, and that
was, all our money should be ofequal purchas.
ing power, not only here, but in the markets OF
the world; and we had declared in this law
or else he (Sherman) would never have touched
it-tlat these two metals should be maintained
at a parity-at gold standard, if gold were
the higher; at a silver standard if. as had hap.
pened before and might happen again, silver
should rise above gold.
Says Uncle sam Can Do 1t.
And we could do it. because we had at least
dollar for dollar behind every treasury note.
The silver dollar was now only worth 60 cents.
lie asserted that on this principle of maintain
ing dollar behind every dollar certificate the
United States could maintain 4 parity between
these two metals, On the other principle now
sought to be established this was impossible.
Ever since Alexander Hamilton and Thomas
Jefferson agreed upon common ratio for gold
and silver, whenever that ratio had varied only
per cent. the cheaper metal had filed the
Golfers of the treasury, The market price of
silver had been going down for four centuries
When America discovered it required only
eight ounces of silver to equal one of gold
Now it required twenty-three ounces of silver
to equal one of gold.
No, Jehn, Evidently You Are Not.
He repeated that he was not averse to dis
cussing the silver question, but he wanted this
done in an orderly manner.
Morgan-Cannot this be done now?
Sherman-If you say so, yes
Morgan-Then let US go ahead.
sherman suggested that the question was
whether the senate had not something else to
do. There were the appropriation bills to be
disposed of. But ii was for the senate to de.
eide. He only asked them to fix day when
the question could be taken up in an orderly
way, not by desultory debate. and disposed of
But the debate closed without any arrange.
ment being made.