The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1893-08-27

/ SA"'o auu h0puDllCaOS III In0 SENATE udu
agree to drop tariff reform to secure the
passage of the repeal bill. He would pro-
test against such an arrangement. The
dividing lines were the money power of
the East. with foreign backing. against
the toiling masses of the West and the
South
Williams of Illinois opposed repeal. and
contended that the Sherman law was not
responsible for the panic, though the panic
was the legitimate offspring of the Repub-
iican party. To repeal the Sherman law
would be to break the last link binding
gold and silver.
Williams was followed by Allen of Mis-
sissipp IN opposition to repeal in speech
| full Of humOr.
Cochran of New York was the next
| speaker. After some preliminary remarks
j he said the Democratic platform did not
declare for the free coinage of silver. An
attempt had been made In the convention
by delegate from Colorado to commit the
party to that principle. but it failed to
secure ten votes. Colorado and Nevada
were declaring the party was departing
! from the platform in this matter. If that
is so why did those States take to the
woods in the election of 1892? 1t was be-
]
! Democratic platform that Pence was
elected to the House from Colorado
! Cochran declared he was standing on
the platform with both feet, and defed
Bland to prove otherwise. There was no
| instance IN the history of civilization
where gold and silver circulated side By
side at any ratio The fluctuations are
such as will constantly drive out the
/ 4 apHA
| 0O0,000 Of gold TO maintain parity, and
the United States would have to do the
same under like circumstances.
Cochran controvsrted the assertion of
Bryan of Nebraska that silver was still
the basis of value for the farmers prod
uctS, saying: IF that were so, why do you
not give him the full value of it? You
would give the farmer 81 4 grains of pure
silver. while [ would give him 651A. The
proposed detasement of coin would re-
| duce the dabits 45 per cent" Bryan
assumed the loss would fall on the banks,
but the fact was the banks and the corpOr-
atoms were debtors of the country and the
workingmen the creditors. He denied
that gold had appreciated. Never before
did the laboring man of America receive
so much gold for his labor. Bland and
Bryan propose in their plans to make the
bankers of New York present Of S21 ,00O,-
600 in the settlement of accounts with de-
/ positOrs and deprive the lab0ring man of
45 per cent of the value of his work.
Bryan. interrupting. asked if that were
so, why had the New York banks de-
nounced himself and Bland, and why was
Grand Master Powderly with them?
/ Cochran replied that the banks had
| a.
esty was the best policy. He claimed that
business depressions were always due to
! the initiation of The currency or of credit
beyond the capacity of business interests
to support. The operation of the Sherman
| law proved this. 1t increased the cur
reney and now stringency follows. Bands
proposition to give 371A grains of silver
/ for 65iA wGuld be called robbery if re-
| lated to wheat or corn. The farmer suf-
tered most in depreciation OF prices under
the Sherman law and it WAS strange
friend of the farmer who desired its con-
tinuance.
@Cockran spoke of the unity of interests
of the whole country and the efforts to
sectionalize it on any basis would result in
benefit TO no one. He closed with an
eloquent appeal for equity and justice as
|
awaking a wbrlwind cf applause and
cries of vote" The speaker was over
wheimed with congratulations on his mag
nifcent effort. The excitement on the
floor was so great the Speaker had to call
on the officers of the House to restore
order.
Bland then began the closing argument
in behalf of the silver men. He said that
! har Na,,, ~
whose financial theories were evidently
gained from the manipulation Of the stock
exchange. would only go to that country
where he had said were obtained the agri-
cultural products shipped abroad in order
to bring back the European gold necessary
| TO sustain public credit, he would under
stand why the gentleman and himself so
radically differed in their views. 1t was
! true, as the gentleman said, ir was to the
products of the soil of this coun try that
the financiers of this Government looked
to bring back the gold of Europe in order
to maintain the present financial system.
Bland said that all the dogmatic utter
ances of the gentleman from New York
were made in the face of history and in
the face of truth. He (Bland) did not de-
fend the Sherman act, and, if he could put
[
| of silver at the ratio of IS to /. he would
vote for its reIeal. He saw no reason
whatever for changing the existing ratio
Of 16 TO 1. The production of gold and
silver for the last 100 years had been at the
ratio of about 1515 to l, and that was the
ratio of the silver coinage of the different
nations of the world. The propositions to
be substituted were for the free coinage of
silver at any ratios fixed. That meant
that the people should issue from their
mines their own money and not let it be
| issued by the banks.
| So far as the operations of the Sherman
bill were concerned, the people issued their
own money under ii; and what harm, after
all, did the silver in the treasury do?
Although the Sherman act was not in con-
formity with bimetallsm, yet under it
| $50. 200. 600 or $40 100000 in greenbacks a
year were put into circulation.
! He sent to the clerks desk and had read
a dispatch referring to an article in the
/ New York Eynninp Post Tn fha opnIioo