The herald., 1893-08-26
THE DEBATE ON SILVER
Senator Hill Declares for BIZ
metallism.
The House Debate Will Close
This Week.
Speculation as to the Position of the
Vice-President.
The Senate Adjourns Until Monday-An
Incident in tho House Over
Former spsech-Wash-
ington Notes.

WAsHINeToN, Aug. 25.-The chief In.
terest in the senate today centered in
the spesch of Senator Hill, who defined
his position on the financial question In
an address of nearly two hours dura-
tion. Nearly every member of the sen-
ate was in his seat and an attentive
listener, and many members Of the
house crowded over to hear the dis
tinguished senator. ST am q Demo-
crat," which has now become proven
HAL, was recalled today. by his forcible
declaration on the financial question.
when, as usual, he epitomized his silver
views in the single sentence, 81 am 9
bimetallisti" said he. II do not be-
lieve in a single gold standard or sim
gle silver standard, but do believe in
the use of both gold and, silver as the
standard of money In this country and
in their free coinage in our midst at q
proper ratio. and without discrimina-
tion in favor of one or the other"
The chief surprise of the speech OF
Senator Hill was the position he assumed
in minimizing the Importance OF the
revision of the coinage ratio, and his
suggestion that international bimetal-
lism might be. sought by holding out in
ducements to the Latin union countries
to recoin at q profit rather than at q
loss, gave greater satisfaction to the
western free coinage people than even
the most sanguine had expected from
his argument. There was dead silence
in the senate when the speaker referred
to the statements that President Cleve-
land was attempting to lead the country
to monometallism. and made his COM
ment thereon, concluding with his de-
fiance to presidential domination.
II shall refuse" said he. ito follow in
the footsteps of any administration that
seems to place the Democratic party In .
iuiav Pveitiens that Heekr to lead it away
from Democratic principles and plat.
forms and into the very camp of the
enemy. The president must rely upon
Republican votes to carry out any such
suicidal policy"
The Democratic senator's looked
gloomy and unhappy, but .amile of
amused satisfaction covered the faces of
the Republicans.
There were those. Hill said, who do
not wholly agree with the president In
his diagnosis of the malady now affect
ing the body polite, and who did not
hastily join with him in the rosy con-
clusion that financial millenium,is is to
come the moment the sherman law 10
removed. There were some who had
given the subject attention who be-
lieved the cause of the present depres-
sion was deeper and beyond the Sher-
man bill; that its foundations were
laid in the evil hours of 1873, when the
country unwittingly laid aside the finan-
cial policy that had been its guide since
the foundation of the government.
THE EXISTING DISTURBANCE,
Hill found, was attributable to three
distinct causes:
First--It was the natural and inevi-
table result of many years of real or
fictitious prosperity.
Second-Some portion Of the present
panic could be traced to the concerted
effort on the part of the monometal-
lists to produce it, in order to discredit
silver.
Third-But no matter what else may
have contributed to the present finan-
cial condition it would not be denied
that the silver purchase law had been
at least in part and possibly most large
~ instrumental in producing the exist
ing complications.
TAKE MANY YEARS TO RECOVER.
Hill did not believe simply the repeal
of the Sherman law would at once re-
store abundant prosperity, but that
many years will be required to recover
from the present disturbance. He COM
pared his own course in declaring for
repeal with the presidents course in
failing to refer to it until this late day.
He was bimetalliet and stood for free
coinage at the proper rates. If the
Sherman law had been repealed at the
last session or in the special session on
tine 9th of March, the United States
would have escaped the present panic
and prec]uded the closure of the Indian
mints. Independent free bimetallic
coinage in the United States is not con-
sistent with counsels of monetary sci
ence. While repeal would not bring
parity, it would facilitate it by bringing
that new-fangled monetary theory, GOLD
to an unequivocal test.
The permanent remedy for our financia!
was to return to bimetallism
that existed prior to 1873.
Hill favored an increase of the ma
tional bank circulation as proposed in
The pending bill. Continuing, he said
be regarded the question of the ratio as
not timely and as of the least conse-
luence, but if changed at all it should
lot be enlarged, but diminished to 151a
the Latin union ratio.
Vest sent to the clerks desk and had
cad communication from the director
# the mint, giving statistics Of the quan.
ity of silver bullion purchased since
876, the date of the Bland-Allison act,
ts cost and the amount coined. Vest
ummed up all these figures to ahow il
II the silver dollars and subsidiary sill
'er were recoined at the ratio proposed
n the bill t20 to u, there still would be
profit to the treasury on the whole
liver transaction since 1878 Of over fif-
cen and quarter million dollars. He
minated pretty broadly that Carlisle,
his letter to Senator Voorhees, on the