The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1893-08-31


which she coined. That Is what he
United States would have done If II
bad desired to maintain the parity Of
the silver we have coined. Referring
to the assertion of Mr.. Bryan thai
silver is still the basis of value O
farmers products, Cochran inquired
'if that be 80 why do we not give him
the full value of it?" You would give
the farmer 81 IA grains of pure silver
while l should give him 651 IA grains
The debasement of coin proposed,
Cochran said, would have the result
of reducing debts to the amount OF
As per cent. The gentleman from Ne.
braska Bryan assumed that the loss
would fall on the banks. But the fact
was that in the very nature of things
the banks and corporations are debt
ors CT the country and the working.
man are creditors. Gentlemen tell us
gold has appreciated, L deny it, said
Mr.. Cochran. Mr.. Aldrich's report
shows that never before in the history
of the world did the laboriug men OF
America receive 30 much in gold for
his labor. [Cheers]. But the gentle
man from Nebraska and the gentle.
man from Missouri propose by their
plans to make the bankers of New
York alone present of $21 ,0OO, 900 in
settlement of accounts with dep0sitors
and deprive the laboring man OF 45
per cent of the value of his work.
Continuing, Mr.. Cochran said the
trouble in this country was not due to
lack Of money, but to lack of re-
dundancy of money. Money is not
wealth, it was made money with
which the trade worked. The opera
lions of the Sherman law, he said,
proved the truth of the statement. 1t
increased the volume of currency and
now stringency was upon the country.
Mr.. BANDS proposition to give 81 IA
grains of silver for 65l IA would be
called robbery If it related to wheat
or corn. The farmer suffered mo t
under the operation of the Sherman
law, said Cochran, in depreciation in
the prices which he received for his
products, and was strange friend of
the farmer who was victim of the
act, who desired the continuance of
the conditions under which he sui
fered. In his perorstion, in which
the speaker pleaded for equity and
justice as basis of governmental pol
icy and asserted that material
growth, unaccompanied by the growth
of moral grandeur, would be neither
permanent nor desirable, awoke q
whirIwind of applause on the floor
and in the galleries. Mr.. Cochran
was overwhelmed with congratula.
lions on his magnificent effort, which
occupied an hour and halt in it's de.
livery, and at its cl Sc there were tu-
multous CRIES of "vote." The excite
ment on the floor was 30 great that
Speaker Crisp was compell-
ed to call upon the Of
ficers Of the house to pass through
the aisles and lobbies and requested
to take their seats, or repair
to the cloakroom in order that public
business might proceed. Mr.. Cock
ran was followed to the cloakroom
where fluctuations OF the hearers con-
tinued TO be showered upon him for
some minutes while Mr.. Bland was
his reply to the argument
of the gentleman from New York with
which the debate in support of the
free coinage substitute for the Wilson
bill was to be closed.
When Mr.. Bland took the floor he
said If the gentleman from New York
(COckran) whose financial theories
were evidently gained from manipula.
ton of the stock exchange, would
only go to that great country from
which he said were obtained the
products which were
shipped abroad in order to bring back
1he Eurol can gold necessary to sus-
tain the public credit, he would under.
stand why the gentleman and him
self were practically different in their
views. 1t was true, as the gentleman
said, it was to the product of the soil
Of this country that financiers and the
looked to bring back the
gold OF Europe, in order to maintain
the present financial system. But the
gentleman failed to tell the house the
under which the farmers
in order to do this patriotic
service. He had not told the house
that there was corner in the gold of
the world. AS long as the gold of the
world was cornered by the Legislation
OF the United States the gold men OF
the Sonth and West could exact their
own price for gold. All the dogmatic
OF the gentleman from New
York were made in the face of history
and in the face of truth. He (Bland)
did no defend the Sherman act, aud il
he could put in It's place a provision
for free coinage of silver at ratio of
l6 to he would vote for it's repeal.
He saw no reason for changing
the existing ratio of 16 to l.
Although the Sherman act was not in
with bimetallism, yet I'M
der it $50, 100000 or $40, 900, 900 green.
backs year were put in circulation.
Mr.. Co ;kran argued that one of the
causes of the financial trouble was the
redundancy of money, yet that gentle
man would in all probability be found
voting for the senate bill allowing
national banks TO increase their Cir
to the amount of $2l, 000,0 900
He sent to the clerks desk and had
read dispatch referring to the ar
ticle in the New York Evening Pc
rs to the application of the pressure
IN favor of the repeal of the Sherman
act, the pressure suggested being a
threat to v ithhold credits from coun.
Try merchants. He denounced the
article, and quoted what Benton once
said 10 congress on somewhat
analogous proposition. He then de-