St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1893-09-05
CULL0M FOR REPEAL.
INTERNATIONAL coWaGE OF SILVER
ON AN AGREED RATIO
URGED BY ILLINOIS, SENATOR

The People Want All Our Circu-
lating Medium Of Equal Value
This Country Cannot Main-
tain Silver Free Coinage With
out Driving Gold From the
Country.
WASHINGTON, Sept. An the senate
today there were three set speeches de-
livered on the repeal bill, two in opposi-
ton to repeal and that Of Mr.. Cullum Ill
support of the house bill. Each side OF
tfre~silver question displayed its anxiety
TO secure the advantage resulting from
Nh hour or two of debate. Mr.. PETERS
Entimation that he would prefer TO sub
init his remarks tomorrow was quickly
responded to by Mr.. Voorhees, that III
the present situation he felt compelled
to ask that the senate continue its scs-
sion, while the declaration of the chair
man of the finance committee was as
quickly met by Mr.. Jones (Nev.) motion
to adjourn.
Mr.. VOORHEES,, in charge of the repeal
measure, hardly left the chamber during
the session, and occasionally cast any-
iOus glanceS at the great clock over the
main entrance to the hall. The silver
senators had good quartette on guard
till the last moment in Messrs. Teller,
C0ckrell, Morgan and Jones, of Nevada.
The most notable feature of the days
proceedings was Mr.. Voorhees, failure
to ask the senate to meet at IL O'clock
in the future until the debate on the
silver bill is concluded instead Of II
o'clock.
Mr.. Coke spoke against repeal and
for free coinage of silver "a parity to be
established by reducing the weight OF
gold cOinS) and Mr.. PETERS for the
restoration OF the coinage act of 1878,
and at the present ratio of Is to l.
Among the minor incidents of the
session were the passage or the house
joint resolution making the 18th of Sep
TENDER. 1898. (the hundredth anniyer-
Bary of the laying of the corner stone of
the CapitoD holiday in the District of
Columbia; and the defeat of a resolu-
ton Is TO Al offered by Mr.. Allen Pop,
Neb.) for the adjournment of the senate
In recognition of Labor day.
MIR. CULLoM's SPEECH.
Mr.. President: Opinion is unemImous
that the condition of affairs in this coun-
try demands immodlate attention and
prompt action by congress; unfortu-
nately for the country there is no agree
ment of opinion among the people or in
congress as to the cause Of the distress
that has so swiftly and unexpectedly
come upon us. or as 10 what Is OF para
mount Importance, remedy for it. We
have been admOni5hed by the public
press and from Sundry other sources
that in the present emergency patriot
ism should be superior TO partisan poll
tics, and sectional interests should yield
to the common veal. Sir, if | believed
it necessary that such admoDitions
should be given to the American con-
gress, l should regard a seat in this
body as without honor, and should
deplOre the decadence OF national
spirit. Conscious of no purpose on my
part other than that of securing the
greatest stability to our government:
the highest prosper ty consistent with
. conservatism to the nation and the
! largest sum of happiness to the ind-
other motives actuate my colleagues.
am not one OF those who believe that
the act OF 1890 is In a great degree re-
sporslble for the existing financial con-
dltlOn. Other causes have aided in pro-
duclng the diStruSt. | am for its repeal,
however, because, in my opinion, the
government cannot afford to purchase
silver and coin or issue pa per upon it
and call 1t dollar, when in fact the
silver in the dollar or deposited as Sc
curly for the dollar is worth less than
90 cents. Such a perfor nance long
continued would embarrass
ANY GOVERNMENT.
The act of 1890 was not intended to
represent the well-defned and perma-
nent financial policy of the United
States, but it passed as the lesser of two
evils, the purchasing of bullion and the
issuance of paper money based on it, or
the free and unlimited coinage of silver.
1t was compromise measure, to avert
what majority of our friends on the
other side will now admit would have
been a caiamlty-free coinage of silver.
The abuses and condemnation which
nave been heaped upon it are not iuSti-
fed by the facts. Fearful that the
United STATES alone could not maintain
silver at parity with gold with its
minis open to the coinage of silver of
the world, and hopeful of a fruitful re-
suit from the then approaching none
tary conference, the act was passed. 1t
mas at least given more money 10 our
people, and If. as has been stated, it
has at times driven gold from the coun-
Try, the experience of the last few
weeks demonstrates that while it is vet
In force, the yellow metal under the
operation OF trade, comes 70 our shores.
am not monometaiiSt; | don't be
lleye III the diSuSe of either of the two
metals named III the constitution, but
the closer. commercial relation of ma
tlonS, which marks the advance of civil
lZauon, makes international concur
renee III the free and unlimited use of
Doth metals as money more desirable. if
not absolutely necessary.
favor the free use of silver which
comes from International coinage upon
a common basis or agreed ratio. Gold
EaS no money function Inherent in it.
self, any more than silver. Both metals
are the
CREATION OF NATURE,
While money is the creation of law,
There are no natural laws which gov
ern the science of money. and there is
no theory IN the science which is
capable of mathematical demonstra-
the science is the result OF ex-
periments and experience, and
it Is not certain that what
may today seem pell-defined
principle in monetary science will very
long remain so. The people want sill
yer; so do l. The people first of all
want all our circulating medium. wheth-
fr gold, silver or paper, of equal value:
so do !. The people are more interested
In knowing that their money is all good.
and will continue so, than they are to
know the material out of which il is
made.
On Aug. l, 1898. we had a per capita
circulation OF S24.02, which is about as
much as we have ever had, and more
than we had until recent years. There
would, therefore, seem to be no ground
for believing that the present situation
has been brought about by scarcity of
money in the country. but it is not in
circulation. The trouble is serious i'm
Of