The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1893-08-09

WASHINGTON, Aug 4-As soon
after congress meets as it becomes prac-
ticable, Mr.. Bland. the leader of the sill
yer forces in the house, will introduce
q bill embodying the views of the silver
men. 1t will provide cor the repeal Of
the Sherman purchasing act. and sub
stitute therefor the free coinage Of sill
yer at the present ratio of 16 to 1.
THAT" said Mr.. Bland, will be the
ground upon which we will make the
light, although there has been no defin-
ite plan agreed upon"
He recognized that men could honest
~ differ as to the ratio, but that it was
a matter that should be settled in the
party itself. Upon the use of both gold
and silver as money at a parity the
democratic party could not differ. If
q compromise measure increasing the
ratio was reached, he said, he saw no
reason why the present dollar should
not be kept in circulation as it was now.
He proposed, however, with all his
power to resist any increase in the
ratio.
The attitude Of the treasury depart
Enent in refusing to buy silver was arbi-
trary and uncalled for. Mr.. Bland said,
but there was no ground for the talk
that the secretary could be impeached.
The law gave him the discretion he was
exercising and that one of the
mistakes of a law, that was, as he
looked at it, full Of mistakes. He had
warned the friends Of silver on this
very point when the bill came up for
consideration in the house. The Bland
Allison act was superior in that it did
not give the secretary this power, but
required him to purchase a specific
amount. If the United States, Mexican
and South American countries, together
with the countries of Asia on our West,
were to agree upon a common ratio, Mr..
Bland thought, we would have all the
trade we wanted and would thereby
force Europe to come to the use of
silver as a money.
Mr.. Bland said that he had not seen
the speaker, and when it was suggested
TO him that some Of his friends in the
East would be glad to see him off the
committee on coinage, he only smiled
and replied that they could not at any
rate, run him off the floor of the house
The champion of silver declared that
there would be a bitter fight against
any attempt to change the rules so
that a cloture provision might be in
cOrporated.
Mr.. Henderson's Plan.
Representative Henderson of North
Carolina has a plan for the adjustment
of the silver question that he holds
out to be satisfactory to the persons
who wish to see the democratic platform
declarations carried into effect without
creating divisions in the party. AS the
platform calls for the equal treatment
of gold and silver, and as some demo-
Gratis do not deem it safe to provide
for the free coinage of silver he would
withdraw that privilege from gold and
provide for the coinage of both metals
on account of the government exclusive
ly. This might be accomplished, he
thinks, by passing a bill requiring the
absolute purchase of a certain proper
ton of each metal every month and
the coinage Of all the metal purchased.
Congress might, from time 10 time,
change these proportions the needs
of the country seemed to require and
thus adjust the circulation to the de-
mands of business
Representative Cultivate of Ohio is
one Of the few Western men who declares
himself in favor of an immediate and
unconditional repeal Of the silver pur-
chase section of the Sherman law. But
after that is done, he says, he would
Immediately turn his attention to some
lie rdsIation intended to secure the more
extended use OF silver as money metal.
One point upon which Mr.. Cultivate
takes strong ground Is that the silver
bullion now in the treasury should be
coined at once and put into circulation,
and thus relieve the money stringency.
He says that as the secretary of the
treasury has taken the position that coin
notes in payment for silver bullion pur-
chased are redeemable in gold alone IT
does not appear that there is any reason
20 retain this bullion in the treasury for
redemption purposes
Contest from Michigan.
One Of the first contestants for a seat
In the house has arrived in Washington
IN the person of Mr.. Belknap, republi-
can, Of Michigan. Mr.. Belknap is a
contestant for the seat for the fifth
Michigan district, and asserts that he
vas elected by the narrow margin Of
nineteen votes. He has the certificate of
the state court and claims that Mr.. Rich
ardsOn, his opponent. should have been
required to make the contest but the
clerk of the house has placed Mr.. Rich
ardsOns name on the rolls and that puts
the onus of the contest on Mr.. Belknap.
The latter. however, expects TO have
an objection entered when Mr.. Richard
son comes forward to take the oath OF
Office and thus throw the case immedi-
ately into the hands OF the committee
on elections or a special committee ap-
pointed to deal with the matter.
The canvass for the nomination for the
two contested places in the house organi-
zatiOn was resumed this afternoon with
renewed vigor by the candidates, the
incoming of personal friends putting
more life into the fight than has yet
appeared Mr.. Hurl for the first time
comes out with the positive statement
that he viii win i'm the race for door
keeper. while Mr.. Smith appears TO be
as sanguine as ever. Amos Cummings
is doing some energetic work against Mr..
Turner of this state. The friends OF
Turner say that Mr.. Cummings oppose
ton Is due to personal reasons, and that
II will not affect his canvass.
In the contest for sergeant at arms.
Mr.. Cultivate and three other Ohio