The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1893-08-22
.RA films SPEECH
Utah's Delegate Answers the
Question in the House.
What Is a Dollar?
FIGHT FOR WHITE METAL.
Congress Has Express Power to
Coin Money and Regulate
It's Value.
WHAT LANGUAGE MEANS.
The Construction Of the Constitution
Regarding Money Cannot Be
Misinterpreted.
He Spoke for Constituency, Larger Than
bers Whose Interests Are Linked
with the Common Welfare of
the Country.

On Saturday, August Il, Delegate Raw
Inns of this territory delivered an address
in behalf of silver in the House of Repre-
sentatives which won for him the plaud-
its of even the enemies of white metal, SO
well did he present the matter. The adj
dress in full is as follows:
The House having under consideration
the bill Oh. r. y to repeal part OF an
act, approved July IA, 1890, entitled can
act directing the purchase of silver bull
lion and the issue of treasury notes there
on, and for other purposes"
Mr.. Rawlins said:
Mr.. SPEAKER-The gentleman from
Massachusetts Mr.. Morsel who spoke
this morning complained that the people
from the mining states had an undue
represen tation and an improper number
of votes in the Congress of the United
States. speak as the representative OF
more people, take it, than are contained
IN the district from which the gentleman
himself comes. My constituency is COM
posed of about 240, 600 people. I have no
vote on the floor of this House; neither
have my constituents any vote at the
other end of the capitol.
All that 1 can do here 10 to speak in be-
half of their interests; and desire to say
that while we have number OF people in
that territory engaged in the industry
known as silver mining-or rather they
were engaged in it, for they cannot be
said to be engaged in it now-yet do not
speak for the protection of any industry
in the territory | represent. [ am not a
protectionist. l speak only for those
people as their interests are linked with
the common welfare of the country.
This Congress has been called together to
provide remedy for great financial
disturbance.
In order to intelligently provide some
thing which will operate as a cure for the
ills which affiict us, it is first important
to inquire what is the cause, and, in
seeking for the cause, intelligent men
will find it only In something which has
sufficient potency to create the wide
spread effects which constitute the phe-
nomena or distress not only in this, but
the other nations of the world. The
gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Harter) who
spoke this morning ascribed all these
evils to little act of the American Con-
gress known as the Sherman act, but the
gentleman from New York (Mr. Hendrix)
conceded that that was not an adequate
cause. He said that the Sherman act
could not have caused the general fnan
cial wreckage which began in Australia
In the early part of this year.
He might have said that it could not
have produced the disasters which en-
sued in England upon the Barring failure.
He might have said that it did not cause
that continuous and everlasting decline
in prices; in the value of all productive
industries, which has been going on from
the year 1873 down to the present year.
The Sherman actl Has any gentleman
pointed out what there is in any provis-
ion of that statute which could have had
such baleful influence upon business in
this or any other country-a measure in
volving only the expenditure of the value
of 4, 800, 900 ounces of silver every month.
If such an expenditure were made for the
construction of man of-war, to lie
idly upon the sea at the threshold of New
York harbor, would gentlemen from that
city come here and say that expenditure
was going to work the ruin OF this coun
try?
Silver is not paid for in gold. The
terms of the statute, the contract obliga-
ton of the government of the United
States, did not provide that silver should
be paid for in gold. By the terms of the
contract under which every treasury note
is issued, both parties are bound to I'M
derstand that the option is reserved to the
government to pay either in gold or sill
yer. From no ethical and from no legal
standpoint could any gentleman stand on
this floor or elsewhere and claim that this
government has broken Its obligation or
violated it's plighted faith in exercising
the option which is thus retained.
Every man who originally takes the
note is bound to understand the terms of
the contract. Every man to whom it is
transferred knows the terms. Any En-
glishman, any American knows that
there is trust in behalf of the people of
the United States that the secretary shall
exercise his discretion in the payment
either in gold or silver.
Well, when the silver is purchased and
the note is issued, it is put in circulation /;
and why should not our government have
exercised the option which has been not
only in theory but in pracuice exercised
by the French government for about
ninety years-which has been exercised
hundred times within the last twenty
years by the Bank of France. That in
stitution always exercises the option to
pay either in gold or silver. In that
and about 5000, 600, 900 of gold, whenever
there is an undue demand upon the gold,
the Bank OF France always exercises the
option of rendering silver. France has
nineteen or twenty dollars in silver per
capita for 3S, 900, 600 people. When that
option is exercised, does it drive gold to
premium?
But it is said that this country, with
nearly 70, Zoo, 0OO of people, with but 81
in silver per capita, either in coin or bull
lion, in the treasury, can not, in accord
ance with the terms of contract which
everybody was bound to understand,
offer payment in silver when gold is un-
duly demanded. It is claimed that this
would drive gold in this country to a
premium. Yet the gentleman who so
declare depict in glowing terms the great
ness in commercial power and strength of
this young and aIl-poweriul nation-a
nation which was described by a distin-
guished economist, Jeyons, as destined in
respect to finance and commerce TO grow
in the future beyond even the possibility
of the dream of its citizens. Why, then,
can not this nation do what any other
nation can do under similar conditions?
The Sherman act is not, then, the cause