The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1892-07-05
THE SILVER BILL AND THEN WHAT

| HOflQf. where
| all Democrats In favor Of Its passage. III 'he
| regular order of business 1t could not possibly
| he ,a.cbed NJ this session But the rules I'M
do, which tho House now works permit the
| Committee Oh Rules to make special rule at
| anv time giving any particular bill the right
| Of way and fixing day and hour when u
shall be voted on. The Committee on Rules
consists of three members. and two Of them,
Sneaker Crisp and Mr.. Catchings Of Missis-
sippi. are free silver men. 1t looks therefore
as though the bill had tie avenue clearly
opened TO its passage. Mr.. Harrison will OF
course veto it. and what them The crisis IS
AZ serious as it is possible for one 10 be and II
| behooves us all to consider it calmly but earn
estly.
| The Silver bills support comes from the
silver producing States Of the far West and
from the South. Strike out the support 1t
has in these two sections and it would col
! lapse. OF course any one knows why the
silver producing States support it. They are
seeking O market for their silver The war
bankrupted the South. We live under the
suspicion Of fayoring any revolutionary mea-
change would make our situation better thah
it is. Unfortunately the South's course in the
past fifteen years has not been calculated TO
sllay this suspicion. Their methods OF
treating their public debts. their radical rail-
road legislation and such proposed legislation
as our anti-monopoly bills, &c. have encour-
aged rather than allayed the suspicion. And
L. Of 70 N4nU a
dollar with seventy cents to complete the
anti-conservative record which we have made.
We need not be surprised that old and con-
seryative regions should look upon US with
some distrust.
All sane men know that Mr.. Cleveland must
carry the States Of New York. Connecticut,
New Jersey and Indiana OF there is not the
slightest show for his being elected.
In New York. New Jersey and Connecticut
there is an immense independent vote which
belongs TO no party, but votes as the can
didate and issue in any election appeal
10 il. Its strength can be judged OF
By comparing Mr.. Cleveland's vote IN
New York in 1888 with his vote in the
same State in 1884. Ia 1884 he carried New
York by LAG. In 1883 he lost 1t by l4,373.
But he received in New York $1,000 more
votes in 1888 than he received there in 1884.
One hundred and ffty-six thousand more
votes wero cast in the election of 1888 than
in the election Of 1884. This was the reserve,
independent vote. brought out by the tariff
discussions Of 1888. which took no interest IN
the election of 1884, and which divided
nearly evenly on the question of tariff re-
form.
Now this immense vote belongs 10 the
property-owning, conservative classes-peo-
pie who turn with horror from the sugges-
lions of the Silver bill. 1t is matter of small
consequence 10 them whether the man Har-
rison OF the man Cleveland is President.
Both are Northern men and one is rs true 70
all Northern traditions and beliefs as the
other. But whether there shall be anything
like an attack on the property interests of
the country is a matter of the very last i'm
portance to these people. If Mr.. Harrison
vetoes the Silver bill We predict that the last
one Of these voters will rally to his support.
Its passage, accomplished by the South, will
be 10 them in the nature of another Rebel
lion" and Mr.. Harrison will stand TO them as
the suppresser Of this second Rebellion"
In the face of these facts it does look to us
like simple madness for Southern represent
tatives TO vote for the Silver bill at this
time.
What effect will be produced if it passes
and is signed by Mr.. Harrison Many wise and
conservative men contend that it will send
gold 10 a premium. and they support their
contention with formidable arguments No
man is going to exchange gold dollar for
silver dollar with an intrinsic value of only
seventy cents, that is certain. If if should
have the effect of sending gold to a premium
the disastrous effect upon this country would
be incalculable The currency the country.
gold, silver and paper. amounts TO about
LOCO OOO 600. of which about 600, 600, 900. or
nearly one-hslf, is gold. If that amount
of the currency were suddenly stricken out Of
the bulk. money would become so scarce
that the ordinary functions of business could
not possibly be carried on. Men who passed
through the panic Of 1898, and the semi-panio
Of 1890, know what it is to want money when
il cannot be obtained, never mind how much
property they own. Loans would be called.
and the debtor would be unable to obtain
money with which to pay. The property that
secured the loan would be offered for sale,
but because there would be no money. there
would be no purchasers. and the creditor
would have to buy it in at fraction Of its
value to save his debt: and the debtor who
had passed the Silver bill to relieve himself Of
part of his obligations would be swallowed
up in the general ruin that he had brought
on. All this would probably happen if gold
were sent to premium.
We have earnest hopes. however, that this
calamity may be avoided. In the mercy Of
God il so turns out that the minis are of
limited capacity. AS well as we can make
out they are not capable of turning out more
than fifty or sixty millions of dollars a year,
which is not much more of silver dollars than
we have been coming for the past two years.
The bill as it passed the Senate provides that
the bullion now in the Treasury. worth about
800, 0C0 600, shall be coined, and no doubt
the authorities would claim that it had
preference in coming. The bill will therefore
bring on US only little more than fifty mil
lions of dollars a year, and before IL has