St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1893-11-21
RENEW The SILVER FIGHT,
REPEAL Has NOT fMPR3KED TIE
FINANCIAL CONDITION.
SO THE SILVER MEN THINK.

Clear Majority for Free Coin
age in the House-PIans of the
Silverites for the Coming Com
test Discussed. ~
WASHINGTON, Nov. 20.-The indiea--
lions are that the free coinage fight will
be renewed with rather increased vigor
at the opening of the regular session of
congress. The men who waged such a
warfare for silver in the two
houses during the extra session appear
o have gathered confidence by the
events which have followed the repeal
OF the silver purchase act, and all or
ganiZatlon of their forces is now being
perfected. For the past. two or three
weeks the silver men have been Singh
larry quiet. The reason for this has
now become apparent. The silver men
were waiting for a sufficient period
to elapse after the repeal of the Sher-
man act, IN order to demonstrate to the
people that the silver purchase law was
not the cause of the great financial de-
preston, and its repeal would not prove
IL PulioSC0 LII al IIC GNll&
which accompanied the times. Thev
contend the demonstration of this fact
is apparent to the American people
now, so the silver men are preparing TO
say to the two houses of congress next
month that the legislation demanded
by the administration has been a fail
ure in restoring commercial prosperity:
hot M NF Gil
urging free coinage at the late session
has been vindicated, and that now the
DEMOCRATIC PARTY
in congress should devote itself to re-
deeming the remaining pledges of tie
last Democratic national convention on
the subject of silver and financial legis-
latiOn. With this object in view Chair
man Bland, of the committee on COIN
age, weights and measures, is preparing
a bill which he, as the leader OF the
free coinage men, will introduce at the
opening or the next session. 1t is fur
ther declared by Mr.. Bland to be his
intention to afford no loophole of escape
for those Democratic congressman who
have talked for free coinage to their
constituents at home, but voted against
1t on plausible preteXtswhen the matter
came up for consideration in the house.
Scores OF congressman, he says, de-
clared themselves devOtediy attached
10 the free coinage cause during the
recent session, but explained that they
thought the wiser course at that time
was torepeal the silver purchase act and
then to take up the free coinage queS-
ton, pure and simple, and consider it at
the regular session. BY reference to a
carefully prepared list, Mr.. Bland de-
clareS that there is clear majority for
free coinage in the house of represent
atlveS-if their private declarations to
him during the extra session are to be
relied upnn-and he purposes now to
bring these gentlemen to the crucial
test.
The measure which Chairman Bland
WlllintIoduce at the opening of the SeS-
sion is practically re-enactment OF the
law of January Is, 1887. 1t is the belief Of
the silver men that Il bill re-enactiEg this
law will command greater strength, and
afford less opportunity for evasion than
any other measure which could possibly
be presented. The act of 1887 was
simple and brief. 1t provides for the
silver dollars of 41215 grains, and de-
ciareS that the dollars, half-dollars,
QuaIter-dollarS, dimes and half-dimes
shall be legal tenders according to
their nominal value for any sums what
ever"
In regard to his position and the plans
of the silver men,
CHAIRMAN BLAND SAYS:
Il do not see that the repeal of the
Sherman law has changed the situation
for the betteF-indeed, it appears rather
to have changed it for the worse. The
truth is-and the people now thoroughly
realize 1.-THE silver purchase law has
had nothing to do with the hard times.
The hard times came, on and they are
with US, and they cannot be waved
away by the wand of any magician,
however potent his charms or however
essential his personality. We have
simply got to go through a process OF
liquidation before good times can come
again, and that was necessary whether
we repealed the Sherman law or not.
This panic, like all other pancs, finally
reached point where the people got
afraid of the banks and afraid of each
other, and there has now got to be a
general liquidation and blotting out and
beginning anew, The repeal of the
Sherman law will only tend to make
liQ uidations harder for the debtor class
of people, because it contracts the cur
reucy and leaves the business interests
of the country without a sufficient vol
ume of money TO supply a growing pop
ulatiOn and development OF industries.
One of the great mistakes those people
seem to have made about repeal is that
their plan was 10 promote schemes in
Wall street, bonds and mortgages and
things of that kind. 1t was supposed
that repe al would do this, because 1t
was thought that the
EUROPEAN CAPITAL
would be invested here more readily bv
the repeal of the silver purchase act
than by letting it stand. But it seems
that even in that they have been greatly
disappointed. There seems to be now
less confidence in our financial condi-
lions than before. They are sending no
money here, and continue to draw
away ours. If the gold basis which we
have here now tends to contract cur
rency. it is making the times harder
everywhere. The contraction of the
currency and gold basis will tend to
make sharp demand for gold in Europe
as we'll as here, and will injure our pro-
ducers by causing lower prices for ev-
erything we send to Europe. This also
makes lower prices here, and hence,
since the passage of the repeal act,
wheat and cotton have gone down in
the market instead of going up. If we
can reduce the tariff very largely so as
to make trade easier and freer, the ex-
change of our commodities for COM
mOdities abroad will tend somewhat to
relieve the farming interests of this
country. Hence, think we should at
least impose large income tax. and
greatly reduce the duties OH imports"
eve expect to undertake to pass a
free coinage bill before congress adj
journs," continued Chairman Bland
decisively. "What success we will have
is very uncertain. l shall introduce a
bill reviving the act of 1887, and thus,
providing again for the free coinage Of
standard silver dollars. My position is
that we should repeal now all of the :
SHERMAN LAWS i
on silver, and have the law of 1887 re-
enacted, and thus put silver back to
where it was before he put his hand on
it. Since we have repealed one of his
laws. let US repeal ali of them. l think
that a majority of the committee on
coinage, weights and measures will
favor such bill as l am pre- pairing. /
think the late election will stimulate
some of them to belief in the wisdom
of such policy. The last election.
seemed to be a general want of conf