The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1893-08-27


tained the agricultural proanota shipped
abroad in order to bring back Enropsan
gold necessary to sustain the pubiic credit.
he would nnderstand why the gentleman
aud himself 40 radically differed In their
viewa. IL WAS true. M the gentleman said,
that it WAS to tho products OF tho soil OF
thia country that tho fnanciets of this gov
@rnment looked TO bring back the gold OF
Europe in order to maintain our prosenS
financial system.
Bland said gll tho dogmhtic utterancss Of
the gentleman woro made in the face OF
history and truth. lie did not defend the
Sherman law. and IL he could ut in lts
place provision FOR the free coinage of
silver nt the ratio of sixteen TO ono ha wonid
vote for its repeal. He saw no reason
Whatever for changing the existing ratio
sixteen TO one. The production Of silver
hnd gold for tho last Lund cd years had
been at tho ratio Of about l514 to one, and
TINT is the ratio OF the silver coinage Of tho
different nations of the world. The propo-
sit,ons TO be substituted were for the free
coinage of silver at ratios fixed. That
meant that the people should issue from
their mint their own money, and not let IL
DO isBned by banks. SO far as tho opera
tions of the Sherman bill was concerned.
tho people lssned theix own money under il;
ana what harm, after all, did tho ri yer in
tho treasury dot Although the Sherman
act ia not in conformity with bimetallsln,
yet under il thirty or forty millions of
Rretnbncks yenr are put in circulation.
lie had sent to the clerks desk and had
read dispatch referring to an article in
New York Evening Post, as to- the applica-
tton or pressure in favor Of the repeal of
the Sherman act, the pressure sugQcsted
being the threat to withhold credits from
country merchants. IJo denounced the
article, and declared it notorious fs OF
that the people of the south and west. who
had money on deposit in New York banks
nnll II how &Inrr aha - l{
is being done to weaken western banks and
to have an influence upon repregen tativas
in the house.
silver men in the house had offered sew
eral compromises. II those compromises
are rejected. thore would never be another
standard meant to demonetize silver and
20 lower the prices Of labor. Wilson asked
the United States congress to 80 legisate
IA to add to the prosperity of Eng
land and Australia, and to add to
the distress and adversely of the farmers
and miners of America. He had not
advocated the Sherman law. He had voted
against 1t, but it is now the last bulwark of
silver. 1t WAS proposed to demonetize sill
YER. Now was the time to let the country
see who we're the friends of silver and bi-
netallisn in this house. To strike down
silver would mean a political revolution
that would strike down both great political
parties. For one he was willing to join the
people, even though the democracy would
have to 20 to the wall. [Applause.l
Wilson, Of West Virginia. author of the
bill. closed the debate with a speech in sup
port of the measure By unive sal consent.
he said, the so-0alled Sherman act failed to
Justify the expectations of those who
framed it. 1t had been expected to raise
the price of bullion throughout the world.
That expectation had proved a false one.
It had Ceen expected that expansion of the
currency and renewed prosperity would
follow the enactment of the law. That sx-
pectation had been equally falsified. In
stead OF producing an expansion of cur
rency, it produced a contraction of il. No
one could doubt that the Sherman law was
largely responsible for the panic that had
suddenly overspread the country.
" has been argued from tho first speech
to the last made against the pending bill,
that it would. while stopping the purchase
of silver, throw the country upon a gold
basis. The bill proposed here would not
demonetize single silver dollar to-day cir
cnlating in any part of the country. The
bill had come not to destroy but to save.
Applause. 1t had come. not to strike
down silver but to place it at once and for
ever on an inipreRnable basis with gold in
the circulation of the country. Applause.
Martin inquired whether the passage OF
the bill would necesstate the sale of bonds
in order to secure gold. Wilson said he
passage of this bill would at once and for.
ever resto g silver TO parity with gold and
there would be no necessity for the govern-
ment to issue bonds for any purpose. Ap-
plause. 1t carried with It not only the
promise of the maintenance of parity be-
tween gold and silver. but carried parity.
lApplause.
McMillin inquired whether the gentle
man proposed to follow this bill up with
proposition for free coinage. Wilson re-
joined that he WAS satisfied that it WAS the
earnest desire of the democratic admins
tration not only to support the existing
silver circulation in this country, but to
increase the issue OF silver currency to the
utmost extent. 1t would be safs to do 80
and to keep silver on a parity with gold.
Applause.