The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1892-07-02
FREE SILVER VICTORY.
{,
The Senate Passes Mine-Owner
SteWart's Coinage Bill.
DAVID 3. HILL VOTES FOR IT.
So Do Squire and Allen, and Most Of
the Western Senator's.
tngtOn Canal and Dalles Railway
Project-A stir Battle Expected in
the House ON the silver Question.


Months ago Morgan undertook the task
of smoking out" the senators who hung
doubtfu1ly aloof from a vote that would
commit them on the silver question. He
succeeded, and has overthrown more than
his enemies, for he has obliged the reluc-
tant Senate to pass . bill as radical in abb
solute free silver coinage requirements as
the most devoted friends of the white
metal could desire. The bill now goes to
the House, and that body. which
buried the question, as it sup
posed, for the present session at
least, will again be obliged to face the is
sue. The bill will turn up in the House
tomorrow. and If the usual course of legis-
lation is followed, will be referred to the
coinage committee. A prompt report is
expected on the bill from the committee,
and it will take its place on the calendar,
following hundreds of other bills and with
about as much chance of being reached
under the ordinary course of business as
bill to bridge the Atlantic, but the friends
of the bill have been stimulated by the
action of the Senate to point near de-
termination. The House is Democratic
by large majority, and they hold that it
would be bad politics to allow silver bill
passed by Republican Senate to fail in
Democratic House. Besides, they are
sore from the last failure, when they
attempted to get q rule to force vote on
the House silver bill. So they are
going to insist on special order from the
rules committee that will give the House
chance to vote squarely on the free
silver coinage proposition, and some
Southern members tonight assert that not
wheel shall turn, not an appropriation
bill pass, and not even q further extension
Of appropriations shall be made until they
get q special order. On the other hand,
the phalanx of Democrats under the lead
of Tracey and Williams, who successfully
resisted the silver men before, now feel
full of confidence. They feel that they
can now have the active support of Repub-
ican members who do not, wish to force
the president to pass upon the bill before
election day, and they are already pre-
pairing for q test endurance. That is what
it will amount to, from present indica-
tions, and the question narrows down to
one point, and that is the ability of the
silver men to secure . quorum in the
House.
The united Democracy have not been
able to maintain q quorum for an hour
during the last six weeks, and 1t is not
easy to see how portion Of the Democ-
racy can do more. They think they can,
and the other side are sure they can not,
and this is the situation tonight. 1t is
early yet to talk about the prospects of
veto. but one argument the silver men are
making to meet the point that their fight
is uselessly embarrassing now was set out
by Mr.. Morgan yesterday when he said
the president was too high-minded to re-
sist the will of the people in SO important
q matter.
The bill passed today reads as follows:
That the owner of silver bullion may deposit
the same at any mint of the United States, to be
coined for his benefit 1t shall be the duty Of
the proper officers, upon the terms and condi.
tions which are provided by law for the deposit
and coinage OF gold. to coin such bullion into
standard dollars authorized by the act of Feb
ruary D. 1s.S entitled "An act to authorize the
coinage of standard silver dollars and restore
its legal tender character" and such coins shall
be legal tender for all debts and dues public
and private. The act of July IA, 1890, entitled
"An act to direct the purchase of silver bullion
and the issue of treasury notes thereon. and for
other purposes" and all of the acts conflicting
with this act are hereby repealed; provided, that
secretary OF the treasury shall proceed to have
coined all the silver bullion in the treasury pur-
chased with silver or coin certificates.
IA measure authorizing the issue of treasury
notes upon deposits of silver was introduced in
the House by Conger of Ohio, June 20, 1889, and
reported from the coinage committee on March
26 On June a substitute adopted by the Re-
publican caucus was passed by the House. On
June Is the Senate passed an Out-aud-out free
silver bill as substitute for the House bill, but
the House refused to accept the Senate bill, and
on a conference the Sherman law, now in force,
was adopted. It provides for the purchase
monthly of 100000 ounces OF silver bullion
and the issue of treasury notes in payment
therefor. The election of 1890 resulted in
defeat of the Republicans by the fusion
of the Farmers Alliance and Democrats,
and the House which net last December had a
radical free silver majority. Mr.. Bland last
spring introduced q free silver bill, which would
have been passed had not Grover Cleveland,
the proprietor of the Democratic party forbid.
den IT. The Senate has for years had free sill
yer majority Jones and Stewart, of Nevada;
Teller and Wolcott of Colorado; Felton, and
Stanford, of California; Shoup and Dubois, OF
Idaho, and other Western senators are largely
interested in silver mines, aud 90 are many
Southern senator's The House will not pass q
Y~AS