Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1893-11-22
BLAND IS STILL IN THE RING.
Coinage Fight viii Be RG-0pened When
Congress COnVGneS in December

WASHINGTON, d. c., Nov. 20.-The free
coinage fight will be renewed with in
creased vigor at the opening of the reg
ular session of Congress. The men who
Waged such stubborn warfare for sill
yer in the two houses during the extra
session appear to have gathered conf
dence by the events which have fol-
lowed the repeal of the silver purchase
act, and an organization of their forces
is now being perfected.
For the past two or three weeks the
silver men have been singularly quiet.
The reason for this has now become
apparent. The silver men who were
waiting for a sufficient period to elapse
after the repeal of the Sherman act
in order to demonstrate to the people
that the silver purchase law was not
the cause of the great financial
depression and that its repeal would not
prove panacea for all the commercial
evils which have accompanied the
times They think the demonstration
of this fact is apparent to the American
people now, so the silver men are pre-
pairing to say to the two houses OF Con-
gress next month that the legis-
lation demanded by the admin
istration has been failure in
restoring commercial prosperity, that
the position Of the silver men in urging
free coinage at the late session has been
yindicated and that now the Demo-
cratic party in Congress should devote
itself to redeeming the remaining
pledges of the last Democratic national
convention on the subject of silver and
financial legislation
With this object in view, Chairman
Bland, of the committee on coinage,
weights and measures, is preparing q
bill which he as the leader of free coin
age men will introduce at the opening
of the next session. It is further de-
clared 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
it on plausible preteXts when the mat
ter come up for consideration IN the
House. Scores of Democratic congress-
men, ne says, declared themselves de-
yotedlv attached to the free coinage
cause during the recent session, but
explained that they thought the wiser
course at that time was to repeal the
silver purchase act and then to
take up the free coinage question,
regular session. By reference to
carefully prepared list Mr.. Bland de-
clares that there is clear majority for
free coinage in the House of Repre-
sentatives if their private declarations
to him during the extra session are to
be relied upon, and he purposes now to
bring these gentlemen to the crucial
test.
The measure which Chairman Bland
will introduce at the opening of the ses-
sion is substantially a re-enactment of
the law of January Is, 1887. 1t is the
belief of the silver men that a bill re-
enacting this law will command great
er strength and afford less OPP
portunity for evasion than any
other measure which could possibly
be presented. The act Of 1887 is
simple and brief It provides for the
silver dollars of 4125 grains and declared
that 1.-The dollars, half dollars, quarter
dollars, dimes and half dimes, shall be
legal tenders accordingto their nominal
value for any sum whatever"
eve expect to undertake to pass a
free coinage bill before Congress adj
iourns," said Chairman Bland to-day
decisively. "What success we will have
is uncertain. [ shall introduce bill re-
viving the act Of 1887 and thus provid-
ing again for the free coinage of stand
ard silver dollars. Ny position is that
we shall repeal now all of the Sherman
laws 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 all Of them. [
think that a majority OF the committee
on coinage, weights and measures will
favor such bill as [ am preparing. /
think the late election will stimulate
some of them to belief in the wisdom
of such a policy. The last election
seemed to be general want of conf
dence' in the Democratic party"