The daily morning Astorian. [volume] (Astoria, Oregon) 1883-1899, 1893-08-29
FREE SILVER NOT IN It
Blanl'S Amendment, and all The Ratio
Propositions Beaten.
THE WILSON BILL is PASSED
Majority Against Free Coinage Great
Surprise to even the Most sanguine
ofits Opponents.
Associated Press.

Associated Press.
Washington, Aug. 2S.-The galleries
of the house were crowded long before
the time for assembling, by persons
interested in the result of the ballot
ing on the silver question, after the
two-weeks debate. When the speaker
raped for order at noon, nearly ev-
cry seat in the hall was filed While
waiting for the call to order, Bland
freely admitted the claims of the anti
silver men Of a majority of fifty were
we'll founded and might be exceeded.
Weaver of New York, appeared at the
bar of the house and was sworn in.
Then the clerk reported the resolution
containing the order of procedure on
the silver question, providing the vote
first on the free coinage of silver at
the ratio if 16 to 1. Then the Wilson
hill repeating the silver purchase
clause of the Sherman act was read,
and Bland offered his first amend
ment for free coinage at the ratio of 16
to /. 1t was defeated: yeas, 1923, nays,
226, amid applause from the anti-silver
men who did not expect so large a ma
jority The nay vote was composed Of
10S republicans and 11S democrats.
There was great surprise at the ma
jority against free coinage, 1t being
nearly double the largest estimate
made by the anti-silver committee.
Bland from his seat at the extreme
left Of the speaker, smiled grimly as
he heard the result The vote on the
question of free coinage at a ratio of
II to /, resulted as follows: yeas, 100,
nays, 24O. On this vote, beside the loss
Of the populist votes, were several
negative votes from those who voted
in favor of ratio of. 16 to /. The
slight gains were made on the higher
ratios were not unexpected by some of
the leaders and it was the impression
of some that the ratio of 20 to l would
poll the largest vote recorded In fa-
vor of free coinage The result of the
call was: yeas, 119, nays, 222. On the
amendment of 16 to 1, 100 democrats,
13 republicans, and II populists voted
yea Among the republicans were
Sweet of Idaho and Doolittle and Will
son of Washington. Ellis and Hermann
of Oregon, voted with the nays against
the amendment. The Wilson repeal
bill passed by a vote of 239 to 110.
While the senate had under discus
sion the National bank circulation bill,
the house bill repeating the purchase
clause of the Sherman act was pre-
sented and immediately referred to
the committee on finance. voorhees,
stated that there would be a meeting
of the finance committee tomorrow,
when there would be very prompt ac-
tion in connection with the house bill
and with the measure already reported
from the finance committee.
With the close of the roll call, the
clerk announced every single pair, spe-
cdfying with great particularly the
side on which the member would have
voted if present. This is a common
custom in the senate, but very unusu-
al in the house, and IL indicated with
what extreme care the pairing con-
tracts must have been made. 1t is very
uncommon also, to find so few MEM
bers pairing, and the roll call revealed
only eight absentees, who had not pro-
vided to make their votes COUNT in the
total result. With wave of applause
and jubilation which swept over the
hall, as the crushing defeat of free
coinage was announced, the whole
house seemed to take deep breath
and lose interest in what was to fol-
low in the next few votes. Those were
on various questions, but every one
knew that the ratio question was dead.
Man after man who had voted aye on
the first roll call, voted nay on the sec
ond and many others left the chamber,
Indifferent to the result. When 1t came
to the IS to 1 amendment, the chorus
of dissatisfaction which aros when
Hatch of Missouri insisted on the de-
mand for yeas and nays, showed that
the house was in no temper for bluff
or delay. Bland did not join in the de-
mand. The vote on the second ratio
made a slightly better
showing for the silver men. not be-
cause Of any considerable increase in
the vote, but by falling Off in the num-
ber of its adversaries. BY the time the
third vote was called, Bland recovered
wind enough to make demand for
The yeas and nays himself. although he
did not stay in his seat long enough
to see how things were going, and the
silver men who united in their efforts
TO prevent further roll call. con-
cluded to let things go and put every
body on record on every phase Of the
question.