The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1892-06-01

Convincing Speech By the Ohio Senator
Against Unlimited Free Coinage.
The Bill Before the Senate Denounced in Wig
orous Terms-B Blaine Absent from q Cab.
met Observation-Disclosures Evils.
WOULD DEGRADE THE CURRENCY.

Mr.. sherm~n's View of the Free-Coinase Bill
Now Before the senate.
WAsHINGToN, May 31.-Mr. Sherman's
speech in opposition TO the bill for the free
coinage of gold and silver was the feature
In the Senate to-day. The first two hours
of the session were given. as usual. to the
morning business and to consideration of
bills on the calendar. of which abont thirty
were passed. There were few of them,
however. of any public Importance.
During thist wo-hour session the usual
listlessness prevailed in the Senate. the
average number of Senators present being
not more than twenty-five. But
that listlessness disappeared and
the Senate chamber nlled up as
Mr.. Sherman proceeded with his
speech. All around him on the Republican
side of the chamber his colleagues settled
themselves in their chairs. and faced him
with an air of marked attention. 1t was
the same OH the Democratic side. During
the two and a half hours that Mr.. Sherman
spoke, but few Senators left the cham Der.
Fully seventy OF them remained in their
seats nearly aIl the time, paying close at
teDtiOn TO the argument. Mr.. Shernan's
manner was fOrcible. his voice clear ana
strong. anu he spoke ike one VINO IeiG
deeply the Importance of carrying convlc-
ton to his hearers. Although he was IN
terrupted on several occasions, he did not
allow himself to he diverted from the
course which he had marked out for HIM
self.
Mr. Sherman prefaced bis speech OH the
silver bill by saving that he did not regard
1t as q partisan measure, or as u political
measure. on which parties were likely to
divide. Ii was largely q local measure.
Thara w q No laayInn IN hO ma rad with
IL in the Importance of its effects on the
business interests of the country. Five
States were largely interested in the pro-
ductiOn of silver. and we're ably and zeal
Ously represented in the Senate. The South
seemed also TO have caught something of
the spirit that actuated the mining states,
because 1t desired not exactly free coinage
of silver, but expansion of the currency.
cheaper money. a broader credit. 1t was also
represented largely IN the Senate In favor OF
the free coinage of silver. And so in other
parts of the country. He. representing a
state nearly central in population. had
tested the sense OF the people of Ohio.
and they, he believed. were. by q large ma
bnt in the Democratic party. opposed 20
the tree coinage of silver. They believed
that 1t would degrade the body of the cur
rency. reduce its purchasing power ONE
third. destroy the biInetailic ystein of the
country and reduce the country to the
single monetary standard of silver. meas
ured at the rate of 31l grains to the dollar.
He went on To defend the financial action
of the Republican party and his own part
in 1t.
In a passing allusion to the national
banking system Mr.. Sherman said hat
those banks will soon pass away-nOt be-
cause they were not the best banks in the
world, but because the United States
bonds on which they rested would be paid
OF. No man had ever lost q single dollar
on the notes of Il failed national bank.
dep0sit0rs had lost something here and
there bnt very little. The system. there,
the dropping of the silver dollar from the
coinage in 1878 and the substitution of the
trade dollar for II, he said that il was done
on the representations and petition of the
Legislature of California. the people of that
and the other silver mining States want
ing to transport their silver to China.
The total amount OF silver dollars coined
from the foundation OF the gov
eminent MP to 1873 had been only
that time the silver dollar was obso-
Iete, dead and buried. No one wanted
II. 1t was. therefore, unfair and unmanly
IL arraign the gentlemen W no had charge of
the bill which had demonetized silver. The
only trouble about that law was that Sem
ators were not as wise as the Almighty, and
could not see ahead. If 1t had been known
that silver was gong to fail as rapidly as
IL did he would have kept the silver dollar
and put il on the same footing as the frac-
tional silver. The suspension of silver
coinage by the Latin Union had given an
other blow TO silver and the increased pro-
duction of silver had given IL another
blow. 1t was not true that he was I'M
friendly to silver.
Nh. Sherman then went on to denOunce
the bill under consideration as wrong in
principle, wrong in detail, wrong in every
sspect-a fraud on the creditor. o decep-
tion to the debtor and a decentralization of
gold. The very threat OF the free coinage
of silver. be said. was doing more than
ANYTHING else TO disturb the business IN
ton to adjOurn.