The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1892-02-10
Bland Will Report 1t to House
From Committee Today.
1T WILL BE PUSHED AHEAD.
The Seattle Public Building Bill
Likely to Pass the Senate.
Anti-Chinese Bills by Representative
Wilson and Senator Sherman-The
Economy Point Raised on the Mill
tary Academy Appropriation.

issue OF the Fnty-second congress has
been defined. and the Bland free coinage
bill is to be ordered favorably reported by
the House committee on coinage. weights
and measures tomorrow This has been
formally decided upon by the free coinage
members of the committee, and Is the re-
suit of series of conferences of free coin
age men which closed today 1t has been
determined that not only shall the Bland
bill be favorabiy reported, but that
speedy consideration shall be forced
in the House The free coinage
men tonight claim that of the 232
members of the House they will have 90
votes in favor of the bill. Ten or eleven of
these, they say, viii be Republicans, and
the remainder Democrats. OF the op-
ponents of free coinage, about forty will
come from the Democratic side The bill,
as 1t will be reported, is substantially:
SECTION l. The unit of value IN the United
States shall be the standard silver dollar as now
coined, of 4l2]3 grains of standard silver, the
gold dollar 25S grains of standard gold, stand
ard gold and silver coins OF the United States to
be legal tender in payment of all deb,s Any
holder OF gold or silver bullion to the value of
500 or more of standard fneness will be en-
titled TO have the same struck in any authorized
standard coins of the United States
free of charge at the mints of the United
States, or may deposit the same at such min;s
and receive therefor coin notes equal in amount
TO the coinage value of the bullion deposited,
and the bullion shall become the property of
the government. The coin notes SO issued shall
be in denominations OF not less than 81 nor moro
than $1,000, and shall be also legal tender.
Sec. >. After the passage OF this act it shall
not be lawful to issue reissue the gold o. sill
yer certificates or treasury notes provided for in
the act of July II, 1899. All such notes received
in the treasury shall be cancelled and destroyed
and the coin notes provided for in the first Sec
tion issued in lieu thereof; provided. that this
shall not alter the legal tender character OF such
notes now issued
Sec. 5. The coin notes herein authorized may
be re-issued, but the amount at any time out
standing shall not be greater or less than the
value OF coin and bullion at coming value
held in the treasury; said notes TO be redeemed
in coin on demand at the treasury or any sub
treasury, and the bullion deposited shall be
coined as fast as necessary for such redemption.
See 4. Any holder OF full legal tender gold or
silver coin of the United States to the amount
OF $40 or more may deposit the same at the
treasury or any subtreasury and receive there
for the coin notes herein authorized.
See. 5. The act of July ii, 1880, is repealed.
Sec 6. As soon France shall reopen her
mints TO the free and unrestricted coinage OF
silver at her present ratio, fifteen and one-half
pounds OF silver to be worth one pound OF gold,
troy. it shall be the duty of the president of the
United States to make public proclamation of
that fact, whereupon said ratio shall be the
legal ratio of the United States, and thereafter
the standard silver dollar shall consist of 400
grains of standard silver.
In an interview this evening Bland said !:
The bill is different from ell others introduced
in one particular-it eontemplates the convert
ing of all our silver money, silver certificates
and treasury notes issued on bullion. and gold
certificates issued on gold into coin notes re-
deemable in coin, thus converting our paper
into bi-netalic paper, instead OF keeping up the
distinction between gold and silver in our paper
issues. This conforms to the idea of coming
both metals on an equality, gold and silver free.
Ny bill also differs from others in the
provision about France. 1t is claimed that
France will not resume free coinage now be-
cause the difference between ratio of 16 TO |
and the French ratio OF i5l2 to would cause all
our silver to go to the French mint There can
no longer be pretext on the part OF Franco to
coin silver free because oar ratio is different
Personally, care little for this, but there are
many people who think we ought to have a COM
mon ratio. and have no objection to it.
At hearing before the House commit
tee on coinage, weights and measures to-
day, Leonard L. Hone, representing the
legislative committee of the National
Grange, said the American farmer is ask
ing that silver be restored to the position
it occupied prior to 1873. An increased
volume of money, he said, meant the en-
hancement of prices. He wanted congress
to protect the legal qualification of the
money issued by the government, so he
could not be compelled to make his pay
ments IN one form of money alone.
He said the free coinage of silver
would 60 a great way towards bringing it
to a parity with gold. Even if all
that is said against free silver coinage were
true, the farmer would not lose anything,
because there was no time when the
farmer Jared so well as in 1865, when there
was deprecated currency. He favored
the free coinage of both gold and silver.
Bland asked if any secretary of the
treasury would dare to pay out gold for n
silver certificate. Taylor replied: mo
secretary dare do anything else"
Bland-Ihen he violates the law every time
he does it and is liable TO impeachment, for tho
act distinctly says they are Feieemsbie in silver
| dollars ana in nothing else.
Bartine said the director of the mint
would not state that he would pay out
gold for silver certificates. He might say
| he would, on demand, pay gold for treas
ury notes. Taylor and Williams insisted
that the practice of the government was
to pay out gold for any Of its obligations
| whenever demanded. and Williams OF
| Illinois and others insisted that the silver
| law by its terms made the certificates re-
| deemable in silver.
ASTICHINEsE LEGISLATION.
| Bills introduced by Representative VIII