Morning appeal. [volume] (Carson City, Nev.) 1877-1906, 1892-10-25
The Compromise Act OF 1890

bill, was better than a free coinage
bill. The charge is false Ny re
marks were not correctly reported OF
understood In speaking of the
treasury notes issued in the pur:
| chase of 0bullion, l said that that
| provision of the bill was excellent,
and that without some such pro-
vision whereby the owner of bullion
| could receive his money on presenta-
ton of his bullion at the mint, free
coinage would be failure. l stated
that every free coinage bill which
had been considered in the senate
since | was a member provided for
the issuance of silver certificates or
treasury notes for the purpose of
enabling the owner of bullion to re-
ceive his money without delay. l
remarked that our mints, with their
present capacity, could coin only
about 10000, 900 ounces a year; that
previous to the demonetization of
silver a bullion fund was annually
appropriated to enable deposltors to
be paid at once; that the hostility of
the gold agitators was such that it
would be difficult to obtain such ap-
pi'opriations if a free coinage bill
We're passed; and that the only safe
coarse was to provide in any free
coinage bill that might be passed the
means of issuing paper money for
silver bullion. : / said that the a.
O00,000 ounces of silver bullion that
were required to be purchased under
the act of 1890 were far more than
would be coined under a free coin
age bill with the present capacity of
the mlnts: and that in that respect
the act of 1890 was better than a
free coinage bill, pure and simple,
VII a1Tlt provision for issuing
I, -:sy notes or silver certificates.
,.li assert that the act of 1890
a ep in the right direction. If
cretary of the treasury had
silver to provide Tor the re-
ION of the treasury notes iSsaed
purchase of silver bullion. and
p; II silver as money as required by
the pledge in the platform of 1898,
silver would not have been degraded.
II there had not been combination
and cooperation between the treas
ury department and European spec
ulatOrs to depress the price of silver |
the increased purchases under the act |
Of 1890 of $4,000, ZOO ounces per an
mum would have advanced and |
maintained the market price Of sill |
yer. Ii must be remembered that |
he United States and few English
bankers are the only purchasers of
silver, and that they have the power
70 regulate the price to subserve the
of spectators in Wall street
and to influence elections and legis-
alton in congress. 1t was this com
which put silver down TO
50 cents an ounce, and it is this
combination which is now advancing
he price of silver for the purpose of
lie campaign.
Decentralization of silver.
You charge me with having
ouarely voted for the demonetiza-
ion of Silver. You know this charge
q be false. The section of the law
which demonetized silver was not
cad or voted upon in the senate.
That provision was a substitute for
ection IS of the house bill. That
ill passed the house ON the 2Tth day
f May, 1872, and was reported to
he senate on the 2Sth day of May
nd referred to the committee on
nance Ga the 29th day of May On
he 18th of December, 1872. it was
eported by the committee to the
enate with amendments; and on the
Th of January, 1873, additional
We're reported. On the
7th day of January the bill was
onsiiered in full senate and
asscd. Each amendment of the
oas,. ittee on finance which was pre-
mi TO the senate by Mr.. Sherman,
le chairman, was carefully consid-
red, discussed and voted upon
fter debate on the fifteenth section
ie presiding officer said:
The question is on the amendment strik-
K out the 18th section. ,
The amendment was agreed to-
The next amendment was to strike out
elton II and to insert in lieu thereof sub
itute.
This is fully recorded: When sec !
u 10 was reached the committees !
offered by Mr. Sherman ,
divided, among other things. that
On the gold dollar and three-dollar piece.
{ silver dollar, half dollar, quarter dollar | :
c dime, five, three anG one cent piece the |
-ur- Of the eagle shall be omitted, and on | :
g reverse side of the silver dollar, halfdo t
+, quarter dollar, and the dime respect /
.ly, there shsll be inscribed the weight
q fiucness of the coin.
Mr.. Casserly of California inquired !
by the eagle was omitted. Mr..
herman gave the reason as follows:
,Ir. Sherman-If the senator will allow 4
:, he win see that the preceding section | .
)vides for coin which is exactly inter 4 Il
angeable with the English shilling and | Fl
: ive-franc piece of France; that is, a five | Fl
nc piece of France will be the exact | a
livalent of dollar of the United States /.
our silver coinage and in order to show
IS wherever our coin shall f1oat-and we
providing that it shall float all over the t.
rld--we propose to stamp upon it, instead | u
our eagle. which foreigners may not un- ::
-stand, and which they may not d stin-
lsh from q buZzard or some other bird the | n
trinsic fneness and weight of the coin. u
No one doubted the truth of Mr.. Q
erman's statement, and no further Z
lection was made. The bill passed d
thout division. II
ninent Men Ignorant of Demone- "
tization.
Whatever may have been printed
reports and bills that were never sc
nsidered, no suggestion was ever al
lde in the senate that the da,nona al