Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1892-01-14


pers had been presented and some bills i'll
troduced and referred, tho vice -president
laid before the Senate three messages from
the president, transmitting agreements made
by commissioners with the Indians Of Col
vile reservation, Washington, with tho
Wickita and affiliated bands OF Indians in
Oklahoma and with the Tonkawa Indians in
Oklahoma. They were read and referred.
Mr.. Stewards bill for the free coinage of
gold and silver bullion was then taken up
and Mr.. Morrill, addressed the Senate.
Mr.. Morrill, was now and ever had boon,
he said, in favor Of maintaining both gold
and silver in circulation, and silver to the
EXTREMIST boundary that could maintain 1t
on parity with gold. 1t would be real
joy for him to have silver greatly increased
in actual value. He had not voted for the
silver act OF 80 for the reason that silver
bullion was neither to be paid for nor paid
out in accordance with the safer proposal
of Secretary Window, and that the silver
to be purchased was fixed, as 1t appeared to
him, at too great amount He was not
unwilling to strain point in order to salts
fy his silver friends, but they appeared to
demand too much and some seemed unlike
ly to be long restrained from demanding
more or the whole earth.
National bank notes be thought, were
rapidly being made to step down and out to
give room to silver paper. Like Naboth,
they had a vineyard which Ahab wanted
and therefor were stoned and killed. The
original United States notes or greenbacks
were likely to be the next sacrifice demand
ed and stoned in order to give the whole
field to silver paper.
No expedients had been, left untred ami n 0
cost Withheld to push CT carry silver dollars
into circulation; but it had been demon
stratsd that no more than about 90, 900, 900
dollars of over 400, 000 600 could be- coaxed
or kicked outside the treasury. There was
in the treasury to-day in silver dollars and
silver bullion over 12, 900 tons which even
burglars had almost ceased to covet, and
only express companies appreciated its value
when they logged it across the continent.
But the government was requested to hold
and guard it night and day together with
all forthcoming monthly additions. Was
this, like the river Of the poet, to run on for
ever and should this inundation be further
aggravated by unlimited free coinage NO
silver certificates or treasury notes issued
for silver bullion have been presented FOR
payment in silver but they were paid in gold
when SO demanded. How long they could
be thus kept on parity with gold was al
ready matter of public and profound con-
Germ, and largely dependent upon the honest
and proper Interpretation OF the law and
courage and skill of the secretary of the
treasury.
Whenever the gold in the treasury should
vanish (aud it might vanish under a cloud of
silver well as under a cloud OF
adverse exchanges) these certificates and
notes could then be paid only in standard
silver dollars, and they, us money, were
IN Lo ot bair 20 A.
security for silver certificates or treasury
notes, which were to circulate at a par with
gold, they were VIGOROUSLY Inadequate, as
4l25 grains of silver, nius-tenths fine, would
fetch no more than "a cents. 1t will be
hardly less safe and certainly equally honest
TO base such certificates and notes and cir
culate them as good money upon iron or
copper, or upon wheat or tobacco, pur-
chased and accumulated in like manner
at 80 j per cent above market value as to
base such circulation upon 30 called stan
dard silver dollars under free coinage.
Mr. Morrill, thought the experiment which
was now being made to have the govern
ment purchase, on compusion, fixed
monthly amount Of silver had complicated
and more or less retarded any international
compact relative to silver, and perhaps con-
tributed to degradation of its value by
largely restricting the demand to one coun-
try alone and by the practical exclusion of
any popular demand from any other.
The menace Of unlimited coinage with SWELL
ing accumulatons of coined and unconed
silver in the treasury, which might in some
financial contingency De thrust upon any or
all other markets, not only tended to per-
petuate its present uncertainty Of value
but might further tend to sink it to low er
depth. Certainly unlimited coinage would
indefinitely postpone all hope of an interna-
tional compact. The total output of silver
Including the large increase in Mexico and
Bolivia, Australia and the United States,
had more than doubled even since 1878,
while the legitimate demand for it, though
ostentatiously promoted by the United
States, appeared to have fallen off elsewhere
more than ons-haf. The law of demand
and supply was automatic as that of
gravitation, and silver was not exempt from
its all psrvading power.
Silver was large product of the, sill
yer States, happily not dominant In all, but
1t was doubtless more remunerativs and like
ly so to continue than any other mining pro-
duct or any product OF agriculture or Of
Manufactures BY the existing law the
United States government had been buying
and was bound to buy silver at its going
total production OF American mines leaving
the consumption for the arts almost wholly
dependent upon foreign supply. No other
Industry claims such rotund and gigantic
protection.
The silver propagandists OF whom the
president OF the Montana Granite Mountain
company, Mr.. Rumsey, appeared to be an
honored and distinguished member, from
their Astounding Resources maintained here
year after year an expensive literary and
oratorical bureau to propagate and dissent
nate their silver theories and financial dog
mas
They innocentiy declared with one eve
brow drawn up and the other drawn down
that they only sought to have silver placed
on an equality with gold, knowing, as they
did, that their inequality had been displaced
from age TO age and was as wide as that be.
tween the sun and moon and that silver for
many years appeared to have been aping
the unstable satellite by its restless monthly
changes.
II they did not suppose that the free coin
age of silver would give it supremacy and
Danish gold from circulation, it would be
safer to belisye their Iowa for tha siIvar dol