The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1893-08-20

United States would adopt a free coinage
bill and would come to a silver basis, be-
cause then she would get our $3.50, 600 600
of gold. The United States could not
affOrt to adopt free coinage policy now
NO country alone could maintain such a
coinage. The only path to free coinage
was through international agreement,
and the only way to reach that path was
to repeal the purchasing clause of the
Sherman act. AS a bi-meltalist, he did
not wish to see this country reduced to a
silver basis.
To ana inquiry from Mr.. Bland why
the international monetary conference
had postponed its meeting from May
until November, Mr.. McCreary replied
that it had been postponed in order to al
low the policy of bi-metalliSm to grow in
England. 1t has been postponed in the
interest of bi-fnetallism.
Mr.. McCreary expressed his regret that
the question of a change of ratio between
gold and silver had been injected into this
discussion. He had no sympathy what
ever for those who now desired to change
the ratio from 16 to 1 to 20 to l. To
change the ratio would be to strike down
and destroy every prospect of interna-
tlonal agreement. To change the ratio
would be to discredit every dollar of sill
yer in the United States.
REPEAL WITHOUT DELAY THE FIRST DUTY.
The first duty of congress was to act
without delay; to repeal the purchasing
clause of the Sherman act. The second duty
was to let free coinage alone for the pres
ent. Its third duty was to stand by
patriotic President in his efforts to ad
vance the prosperity of the people and the
welfare of the nation.
MIR. Catchings, dem, Miss, said that he
would vote for the unconditional repeal
Of the purchasing clause of the Sherman
act, and he would vote against any prop
osition, directly or indirectly looking to
the free coinage of silver, in this country
at this time, at any ratio that could be
suggested. He had come TO this determi-
nation after consideration and after care
full study of the Chicago platform
1t had been said that no democrat would
vote against free coinage. He was dem
ocrat. His democracy was as good as
that of any man on this floor, and he
would not allow aDy man to challenge or
question it. He stood by every plank of
the Chicago platform; but that platform
nowhere demanded the free coinage of
silver at this time. He reviewed the sill
yer legislation of the country, and ex-
pressed his opinion that the act of 1878,
miscalled demonstration act, had not
demonetized one dollar of silver on the
whole globe.
If we threw our mints open to the free
coinage of silver, would not the eX-
perience ofIndia be repeated in this coun-
try, and would there not be repeated here
fall in the value of silver dollars2 The
United States was the greatest nation on
the face of the globe and contained the
products of all people. Every man who
took a silver dollar to-day knew that this
great and proud people did not
intend to have it deprecated in
value. Every man who took a
silver dollar knew that it would
be redeemed, even if the government had
issued bonds to draw gold from other
countries The silver dollars were obli
cations of the gold, just as were green
backs. The reason that the world did
not take silver was that the world did
not want it, except in limited quantities.
He was in favor of the repeal Of the pur-
chasing clause of the Sherman act be-
cause it would tend to restore confidence.
REPEAL WOULD RESTORE CONFIDENCE.
He would go further and say that
it would restore confidende and
unlock the money that had been
boarded up. To the Sherman act he at
tributed the present depression. He did
not believe that the failure of Barring
Bros. was responsible for the panic in this
country. There was no panic in England,
which would naturally be first affected.
He did not believe that the panic was at
trbutable to the failure of Australian
banks. There was no panic in Australia
or in Great Britain. He therefore dis
regarded both these events as being
the cause of the situation in which the
United States found itself. He contended
that it was absolutely impossible for this
country, slngle-handed and alone, to dra g
down the price of gold and enhance the
price of silver. He knew that his people
the people whom he represented-wou
credit him with honesty and sincerity of
purpose, and he knew that they would
have the same contempt for him that he
would have for himself if after investi-
cation of the financial question, he had
not the courage of his convictions. Ap-
plausel.
THE QUESTION ABOVE PARTY.
Mr.. Livingston concurred in the senti-
ment expressed by the gentleman from
Mississippi, that in considering this ques-
ton represen tatives should rise above
party. On this subject there should be
no republicans nor democrats nor popu-
lists There was no reason why men
should not rise above partisanship and
discuss and dispose of the pending ques-
tion as sensible men and patriots. He
favored bi-metallism, and the plain
question now presented was De-
tween a single gold standard and
bi-metallism The Chicago platform
had denounced the Sherman
act as a "cowardly makeshift.n A make
shift for what2 For a single gold stand
ard? No A makeshift for free coinage
of silver. The bill for the repeal of the
purchasing clause of the Sherman act did
not place the Democratic party where the
Chicago platform proposed to leave 1t.
He denied that the purchasing clause was
responsible for the present financial and
business troubles. A fewyears ago the
farmers had come to congrss asking for
relief and they had been greeted as Ca
lamity hoWlers' - He had then predict
ed to the present governor of New York
that within two years the calamity howl
ers would come from another quarter
Who was now bowling for reliefs The
farmers2
THE FARMERS HAD BEEN SQUEEZED.
They had ceased to be calamity howl
ers. They had been squeezed till there
was nothing more to squeeze from them.
The howl now came from the banks and
bankers. 1t was now proposed by placing
the United States on single gold stand
ard to put this country into the hands of a
receiver and turn it over to England. The
money men and the business men of Eng
land were getting shaky, and they said
now that this gold craze had taken deeper
root than they had expected. He made the
prediction that if the purchasing clause