St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1892-07-26
Senator Vest Proposes an
Agreement With Three
Foreign Nations
To Establish an Internationa
Ratio Governing Silver
and Gold.
Cotton Futures" and Deal
ers Therein Roasted by
Senator George.
Anti-Option Debate May End
neutrality-suspicious.
Day in the House.

. WASHINGTON, July 25.-Immediately
after the reading of the journal in the
senate today, Mr.. Vest introduced a
joint resolution, providing that for the
purpose of securing and maintaining
the uniform value of silver as money
metal throughout the world, the presi-
dent of the United States shall institute
and carry on negotiations with the gov
ernments of Great Britain and Ger
many, looking to the establishment by
international agreement between those
governments and the United States of
recognized ratio of 1519 or l6
ounces of fine silver to one
ounce of fine gold; and as an
lnducement for such an agreement the
president is authorized to propose
reciprocal arrangement to those gov
ernmentS, whereby. in consideration of
any two of them agreeing to either of
these ratios. the United States will
make reduction of not exceeding 25
per cent on the import duties now i'm
posed on the following articles, prod
ucts of those countries and imported
into the United States: Manufactures
of wool, earthen, stone and chinaware,
hardware, guns and cutlery; glass and
manufactures of silk and cotton. And
the president is requested to make full
report to congress of his action in the
matter. with all details thereof and the
result. The resolution was, at Mr..
Vests request. laid on the table.
Cotton ssFutures.',
The anticipation bill was then taken
up and Mr.. George addressed the SELL
ate. He said he would confine himself
almost exclusively to the effect of "fut-
ure" dealings on the cotton industry,
which was the IN ain industry of the
state which he in part represented.
This year cotton had reached the low
est point of prices reached by it in
many years. 1t was, he said, the sys-
TEN of futures and options that had
produced this effect. The principal cot
ton mart of the United States was the
cotton exchange Of New Orleans. That
institution dealt solely in futures and
options and was composed of about 800
men-nOt one of them a cotton planter.
The only other cotton mart of the
United States was the New York cot
ton exchange.
No man who was engaged either in
producing cotton or in consuming cot
tOn-nO man who was at either end of
the line production or consumption)-
was member of either of these ex-
changes. So that if the bill became a
law, it would not be much of restric-
ton on the natural right of American
citizens to deal in futures. 1t would
only Interfere with 800 gentlemen i'll
New Orleans and about the same num-
Der Che supposedly in New York-men
who never raised cotton, nor handled
cotton III any way.
- Sold Lots of ssVVind.',
Z In the year 1891 these two cotton eX-
changes had sold 35,0O0.00O bales of cot
ton, while the actual crop was a little
less than 5000. 00O. he had the figures
of daily sales in the New York cotton
exchange which showed, he said. that
OH one day in February, 1891, 1,500 bales
of my thical." phantom or "wind''
cotton were sold to the one bale of real
cotton. Was that. he asked. real. gem
uine commerce, or was it gaming?
Having described the operation of
futures" and "Options," he asked
senators whether they would say that
these were not gambling contracts.
The men VINO took part in them might
be, he said, privileged by their wealth,
their responsibility, their church and
Sunday school connections, to do d
gambling business without being called
gamblers; and SO he should not call
them gamblers.
Mr.. George yielded the floor temper
arily at the request of MIR. Allison, who
thereupon presented the conference Ie-
port OH the Sundry civil appropriation
bill. The report, although referring to
the amendments of the bill by numb
ers only, covered many pages
of typewriter letter size paper
and its reading occupied nearly
quarter of an hour. Mr..
Allison made all explanation of the
of the provisions about the worlds fair
there was but one other matter left
open-the provision inserted by the
house prohibiting the employment of
PinkertOn detectives. He went some
what into detail upon other points on
which the senate conferreeS had sur
rendered.
0The report was agreed to and a fur
ther conference was asked as to the
points on which there had been no
agreement. Mr.. Pettigrew introduced
joint resolution (Which was referred
to the committee OH the Quadro-centen
niaD authorizing foreign exhibitors to
the Worlds Columbian exposition to
bring to this country foreign labOrers
for the purpose of preparing for and
making ready their exhibits.
Mr.. CullOm offered a concurrent reso-
luton (Which was agreed toy granting to
the ladies of Washington permission to
give reception in the capitol on the
18th of September, 1892, to the Grand
Army of the Republic and to the Wom-
ems Relief corps.
Reduction In Prices.
Mr.. George then resumed his argu-
ment on the anti-option bill. He re-
ferred to the fall in the prices of cotton
which followed the passage of the Hatch
Ulll by the house OF representatives. and
treated it as an attempt on the part of
the cotton exchanges to brOwbeat con-
gress for doing its duty to the American
pr oduceS. That showed two things; it
showed the will and it showed the
power on the part of those exchanges to
reduce the price. He could not take
away from them the will, but he should
do his best to take away the power
Mr.. George closed his speech with an
appeal in favor Of his substitute for the
anti-option bill, and then Mr.. Wolcott
submitted motion (Which went over
without action to refer the bill 70 the
committee on finance, with instructions