Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1892-04-01
MORE SILVER TALK.
A GEORGIA WARNING TO WALL
STREET DEMOCRATS sO-CALLeD.
Bland on the Proposed Closure Rule
Senator Morgan on tho Financial
Situation In General.
lBy telegraph to tho Dispatch.I

| q more serious enterprise than they had
any idea OF. They gave new purpose and
a keener edge to the clamor of the people
They have made 1t necessary for the party,
in convention assembled, TO make q clear,
bold, and vigorous utterance on the sill
yer question. A failure to do this will
naturally be regarded by the Democrats
| VINO are in favor of free coinage as some
| thing more than an intimation that the
| party cannot afford to antagonize Wall
| street and the money power. This neces-
! sity will grow more and more pressing az
| the day for the convention draws near.
| The Mall-street contingent will tnd that
they have not succeeded In suppressing
the issue, but have made 1t more important
than IL has ever been"
A"GRIEyoUs DEMOCRATIC BLUsDER."
The editorial concludes: L" If the able
leaders in Congress-, who nave permitted
| tifty-one Democrats to dictate the sup
| preston of the fIee-coinage bill to the
| largest majority the party has ever had
will visit Georgia and other southern
| States and 90 out into the country places,
| we think they will discover that the stua-
| tion Is not by any means what 1t ought TO be.
| In surrendering to Wall street and in trying
| to bend the party TO the financial views
| of the East, they will find on investiga- |
which thev will have some trouble IN con- |
| trolling. There is yet time for Mr.. Crisp |
| and the Democrats of the House to meet |
| the views of the people in thus matter. |
| They should hasten TO do So They have |
| made a grIevous blunder; they can cor
rect it by retraclng their steps; by taking |
up the free-coinage bill and passing it,
Mr.. BLAND on CLOSURE.
WASHINGTON, March 3l.-Representative |
Bland, the champion of free silver III the |
House, in conversation with a reporter |
to-day, expressed the opinion that consid- |
erable misunderstanding existed through |
out the country on the subject OF the pro- |
posed "cloture rule " which a large num- |
Der of Democratic members of the House |
asked 10 have adopted to expedite action |
on the silver bill.
Mr. Bland said "The difficulty we have |
had with the silver bill is an apparent |
misunderstanding as to the real nature Of |
the rule that the Speaker had intended TO |
report 10 the House. 1t IS not cloture rule |
further than it Is in aid OF the previous |
question. The previous question Is the |
cloture rule of the House. We have had II |
for over fifty years. There Is no cioture |
rule in the Senate. The rule proposed to
be reported. to pass the silver bill, was
simply a rule TO prevent flibusterng |
by declaring it to be out of order
for the Speaker 10 entertain flibus-
tering motions. The standing rule |
that we have adopted gives to the |
Committee ON Rules the power in this way /
to stop fihbustering. That is to say, the |
Committee on Rules reports rule to the
House providing that pending PROPOSE
ton on winch the House wishes to come |
to q vote. the Speaker is absolutely pro- |
hiblted from entertaining hllbustering mo- |
tiOns. When this rule IS reported the |
House Itself must adopt it or reject 1t, 80 |
that 1T is the House that must determine |
whether or not the House wishes to stop |
fihbusterlng.
A DIFFERENCE FROM RERDIsM.
The difference between this rule and the |
rules Of the last Congress is that the rules |
of the Fifty-frst Congress gave 10 the |
Speaker himself the absolute power TO re-
fuse to entertain any dilatory motions. |
The rules of the Fifty-frst Congress vested |
this power in the Speaker. The rules of |
this Congress vest the power In the |
House itself. But the House cannot act |
upon IL without the report from the Com
mittee on Rules. 1t seems that the enc
mics of the silver bill. after ascertaining
that the Speaker intended to report a
rule to prevent filibustering, raised
hue and cry against cloture. A great
many of our members being new members,
were misled as 10 its actual nature. Since
the matter is over. have learned to my
satisfaction that the Speaker was beset by
q good many members who had voted for |
tree coinage. and they told HIM they would
not vote for such rule. Consequently he
was apprehensive that the majority OF his
own party would vote against him. In
view of this fact he changed his mind ana
refused to report cloture rule until ma
jority asked for II. | criticised his action
very severely, but did so without full IN
formal! on as to the true situation. L do
NJ IN a 4
THE Evil OF FILrBUsTERINo.
During Mr.. Carllsles administration
as Speaker filibustering became so com
mon that 1t was impossible to pass bill
where few active opponents tlbustered
against It. and nearly every bill OF impor-
tance was flibustered against. 1t was
notable fact that MIR. Weaver, of Iowa, then
a mern Der of the House, acting alone, pre-
vented the transaction of any business In
tho House for three or tour days, until the
Speaker the House, and the country were
disgusted with the scene. The Democrats
then realized the necessity OF some rule by
which filibustering could be prevented by
the House. and had the Republican rules
in the kifty-frst Congress gone no further
than our rules 60 now. the Democrats
could not have reasonably objected TO
them.
MORGAN on THE SITUATION.
WASHINGTON, ID. c., March 31.-In the
Senate to-day Mr. Morgan offered series
of resolutions instructlng the Committee
on Finance to inquire and report as TO the
effect of the silver act OF 1890 on the prlce
of silver bullion. and as 10 the issue OF
legal tender notes, ETC., and instructlng
the committee 70 report promptly on the
matter, inesnuch as great anxiety exists
among the industrial classes as to the
causes of the depression of prices and the
paralysis of markets
The resolutions having been read. Mr..
Morgan started discussion by stating
that IL was his purpose TO call them up to-
morrow and to bring about Gf he could
some discussion of the financial situation
of the United States. He wished to ascer-
tain the opinions of senators IN regard to
the necessity and propriety of the free
coinage OF silver. He wished to ascertain
whether, on other or on both sides OF the
chamber, there were senators WHO per-
mitted the shadows of coming heroes and
presidential combatants 10 come between
their duty to the people and their votes ON
q question Of the highest possible impor-
tance. He wanted TO know what the
trouble was that prevented the people of
Alabama from getting fair prices tor their
cotton-whether the cause was domestic
and local one or was a foreign one. lie
had his own opinion about 1t, which he
would take occasion to express at the
proper moment.
SENATORS SHOULD DO THEIR DUTY.
There was serious difficulty present
which ought to be attended TO. Ii did not
make any material difference whether Mr.
Harrison or anybody else was to be the
Republican candidate for che presidency,
or whether Mr.. Cleveland or ANYBODY else
was 10 be the Democratic candidate, sena-
tors should march straight up to their
duty and correct the evil as they knew
how. Senators might talk about the post
ponement of remedies, but the people
could not afford to wait for speculative
advantages in the political controversy of
November next Nature itself would not
permit the people to wait, while
thew were in death struggle with
poverty, brought about either by the
faulty legislation OF Congress or by
the neglect of Congress to legislate. II
was subject for free consideration, and
on its consideration there was going to be
neither cloud nor cloture. Free debate
was the duty of every senator. Senators
,b-., M full die |