Fort Worth gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1891-1898, 1892-03-23

WASHINGTON, March 22.-The silver de-
bate opened in the house to-day Chairman
Bland began the discussion in behalf of the
free-coinage people and MIR. Williams of
Massachusetts,, anti-free coinage Democrat,
made the opening speech in opposition to
the bill. The bill was called up under the
resolution of the committee on rules and its
reading was requested by Mr.. Bland.
This bill. " said Mr.. Bland, opening the
discussion, proposes to go back 100 years
in the matter of coinage 1t was Just 100
years ago the wise founders of this govern
ment adopted the double standard. Silver
dollars consisted OF 31114 grains of silver,
precisely the dollar called for in this
bill. This bill provides gold and
silver shall be equal at the mintS. APP
plauseI. In order that this quality be-
preserved it is necessary that silver be put
in the same place in regard to the issua
OF certificates at the mint as gold
Continuing, Mr.. Bland stated while this bill
placed gold and silver on an equality in the
matter of the issue of coin notes it also
maintained the equality by providing that
when coin notes were presented for re-
demption the government would be
free to redeem them in either
Notes and bonds we're not money, they
were a convenience. He denounced the pc
riodical attempts made for internal
tional conferences and international agree
ments asking: 'Is our financial system
to be regulated not by our own ideas Of
justice and our own conveniences, but by
the conveniences of other nations.
[Applause.l The moment this great
government declares for the free
coinage of silver other commercial
nations too viii solve the question.
Self-interest will compel them to do so.
The restoration of silver here means the
restoration of it everywhere the world
over The moment you restore silver, il
gold is taken from circulation, prices
go down IN proportion, and that
necessitateS money from abroad 10 pur-
chase commodities here tFat go down be-
cause of the contraction of money. Every
thing Will be cheap. Let silver be coined
once and see what the result will be.
You may have to pays little more
If you have the two metals at par but let US
remember that as a rule when money is
plentiful prices are good. You may have
to pay little more but labor after all is
the only money.
Mr. Williams, opposing the bill, said
many members of the house would feel
obliged TO vote for free coinage, although
they did not believe in it, because their
constituents SO Instructed them. He de-
sired to remind the American peo-
pie that the monetary conditions
OF the world mad entirely changed since
1913, and those conditions were now beyond
our control. Gold is the standard of nearly
all the nations of Europe. Concluding, Mr..
Williams presented the substitute bill Of
the minority providing for an international
monetary conference.
spoke in opposition to the bill, and insisted
that the Bland bill, instead Of increasing
the volume of money in cir
culation, would, in results, actually
decrease it. The day after the president
signed the free coinage bill instead Of hav-
,1.t4sr ~Eau
of the people, we viii have 81, 200 600, COO,
for money viii be deprecated to this eX-
tent. Continuing Mir. Harter said
gold sells in all parts of the
world for 22S6 times its weight
in silver, and if under free coinage we only
give it a value of SIG all human experience
shows we would have no gold in circulation
after the president signed a free and IN
limited coinage bill.
MIR. Abner Taylor of Illinois then took
the floor but yielded to Mr.. Tracey, whosan-
nouDced the election OF Roger Q. Mill s to
the senate.
THE ANTI-sILvER MEN
were particularly hearty in applause as
they regarded Mills as opposed to the Bland
bill
MIR. Raynor of Maryland, also a Deuo-
Graf, said when the mints opened and SO
600 600 were coined into government dhIiars
every dollar of profit instead Of going to
:
ment to the people as It did now, would be
dropped into the pockets of Nevada and
Colorado milllonaires.
Mr. Taylor offered an amendment that
all pensions he paid in gold, and addressing
himself to the bill, opposed il vigorously.
Mr. Compton Of Maryland offered an
amendment to the bill to restrict free coin
age of silver TO that produced BY the mines
OF the United States.
The house then took recess until 7:30,
the evening session for debate on the silver
bill
At the evening session Mr.. O'DOnnell Of
took the floor in opposition to
the bill.
Messrs. Weadock, Powers and Wynne
supported the measure. MIR. Covert Cd
posed It After further remarks by Mr..
Lewis of Mississippi in favor ofthe bill
and by Mr. Post Of Illinois against it, the
house adjourned.
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