Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1892-06-06
He Talks to the Senate on Free
Coinage.
THE ANTI OPTION BILL PASSED
It is Put Through Under the Sus.
pension of Rules.
THE RIVER AND HARBOR BILL
An Effort Being Made to Get 1t
Into Conference.
THE SENATE.

The Senate chamber presented an appearance
today strikingly suggestive of the general de-
sertlon by Senators of their duties legislators
In order to devote themselves for the time being
TO politics. Whole sections of seats on both
sides were deserted. Messrs. Sherman, Allison
Hale and Chandler were in their accustomed
places, however, and Mr.. Hill was also in his
seat. But all told there was not more than
thirty Senators present, and there appeared tc
be an utter lack of interest in ordinary business.
There was short colloquy as to the proper ref
erence OF some petitions to prohibit the manu-
facture or importation of cigarettes, on the
ground Of their injury TO public health the
question being between the committee on edu-
cation and labor the committee on finance and
the committee on epidemic diseases.
The latter reference was advocated by Mr..
Voorhees, and it was the one which was eventu-
ally agreed to.
MR.. VEST on FREE WOOL
The consular and diplomatic appropriation bill
was laid before the Senate, but was temporarily
laid aside in order to permit Mr.. Vest to ad-
dress the Senate on the resolution heretofore
introduced by him to discharge the finance COM
mlttee from the further consideration of the
bill to place wool on the free list and to bring
it before the Senate for action.
Mr.. Vest said that it was not his purpose to
invade the province of the national demo-
cratic convention to be held in Chicago.
He had expressed his opinion freely and clearly
to democrats in relation to the policy which he
thought the democratic party ought to
pursue. He had no explanation, excuse or
apology to make for any utterance made
by him on that question. He was
responsible to the democrats of Missouri
and not to any self-constituted tribunal inside
or outside OF the Senate chamber. He
was no strategist and no advocate
OF the claim Of any particular candidate for
the presidency. Ii he were member of the
Chicago convention he would cast his vote and
use his influence for the nomination of that
man who couldsucceed in the coming canvass on
the well-known democratic platform in favor of
tariff reform and against all class interests. He
had not believed and did not believe now that the
free coinage of silver constituted the leading
issue before the American people. 1t was hardly
necessary for him to say that he favored BIZ
metaliism. He favored the extension of the
same rights to silver that were now given to
gold. He was unable to see why (when silver
and gold were both the money of
the Constituion) the American citizen
who dug silver out of the ground
should be denied the same right to mint it that
was given TO his neighbor who owned a gold
mine on adjacent territory. But the great and
salient difference that was disrupting both po-
litical parties was not in regard to bimetalism
but in regard to the ratio between the two
metals. The contest between the two great
parties of the country in 1880 had been in
regard to taxation, not in regard to the free
coinage of silver and in that contest the demo-
cratic party had made large gains He be-
lieved that there would be a compromise on the
silver question: that the ratio would be changed
and that free coinage would come, because it
was right and because the overwhelming mass
of the people were in favor of it. But
he did not propose to read out of the demo-
cratic party men who stood by the same flag as
himself because the difference was merely in re-
lation to the ratio.
SECRETARY FOSTERS RECENT STATEMENT
Referring to Secretary Fosters recent state
ment in New York that, in order to obtain gold
to buy silver he would {if necessary issue
United States bonds, Mr.. Vest declared, with
emphasis that if Mr.. Foster did so he would
be impeached by n democratic House of Rep
resentatives and tried by the Senate for violating
the Constitution and the laws.
In the course of a colloquy between Mr.. Vest
and Mr.. Allison the latter stated Gin reference
to vote heretofore given by him) that he had
put himself on record then against the free
coinage of silver, just as he was against it
now, as proposed in Mr.. Stewards
bill, but that the Senator from Missouri
did him injustice in saving that he was OPP
posed to silver q money metal. 1t had al
ways been n money metal he said. and it was
money metal-there being S400, 000, 900 silver
dollars in the treasury.
The democratic party stood together abso-
lntely on the tariff, while it WAS wide apart in
regard to free coinage, and therefore the tariff
question was the one to be pressed upon public
attention. The wool feature was the salient
one in the Mckinley act and the one on which
action should now be taken.