St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1893-09-30
WILL WIPE OUT SILVER.
EFFECT OF THE PkSSkGE or THE
REPEAL BILL.
SENATOR MORGAN. ALABAMA
tionaI agreement Governing
the Coinage of SiIver-Phila-
delphia Manufacturers Pre-
sent a Petition in Favor of
Silver Coinage.

sent FeCltlOn III rafOr OI
Silver Coinage.
WASHING TON, Sept. 29.-In the sem
ate today two of the most prominent
members on the Democratic side ad-
dressed the senate in opposition to the
bill repeating the silver-purchaslng
clause Of the Sherman act-Mr. Harris.
of Tennessee, who took the ground that
its passage meant the demonetiZation of
silver, and Mr.. Morgan, of Alabama,
who rldiculed the proposition of an in
ternational agreement governing the
coinage of silver, and made what he
called an argument in favor of the con-
stitutional rights of the people.
Thete are now three unfinished
speeches in the senate, all on the side
of the opponents of repeal-those of
Senator Teller, of Colorado; PETER, of
Kansas. and Morgan, of Alabama.
Mr.. Cameron Rep., Pa.) presented
petition in the senate this morning,
signed, he said, by IA manufacturers
of Philadelphia, representing S75.000.-
600 capital, employing 100000 men, with
yearly product of S150,000, COO, in favor
of legislation to preserve the protective
character of the tariff and the integrity
OF silver as money metal. The petit
tiOn favorS the admission of Americafi
silver bullion to coinage upon the pay
ment by the owner of a seignorage alb
SOrbing three-tourths of the difference
between the London price of bullion
and its value when coined. 1t was
printed as a document. The repeal bill
was then taken up, and Mr.. Harris
Dem., Tenn.) addressed the senate in
opposition to the bill. He said the pass
age of the bill meant no more legal ten
der silver dollars hereafter, and that
silver should only be used as fractional
currency. which meant practically the
decentralization of silver, for monomet-
allism, the
GOLD STANDARD.
Mr.. Harris said while ne knew Voor-
hees was true bin etallist, he wanted
to say to him that when he passed the
repeal bill he in effect demonetized sill
yer and left 1t supported by no word of
law. After its passage he would find
that his present allies who were most
earnest in their efforts to pass it would
be the most earnest and active and de-
termined opponents of any measure
which might be presented to in any way
utilize silver. "When the senator from
Indiana" said Mr.. Harris, 'Shall have
passed the bill. as probably he may
with the aid of the Republican vote and
the Democratic contingent, ho will find
himself utterly powerless to enact any
other law for the use of silver or the re-
peal Of the 10 per cent tax en- state bank
circulation, to increase the volume of
money. Most of those who aid him now
want to diminish the volume of money.
Pass this bill. which will have accom-
plished their object, and they will de-
sert and oppose the wishes Of the sena-
tor from indiana. This is a trap in
which do not inte nd to be caught"
Mr.. Morgan (Dem., Alal then ad-
dressed the senate. He began by dis
cusslng the probability of securing
treaty with Great Britain on the silver
question, which, he said, was very re-
mote. Outside of the question of prob
ability, he had totally misconceived the
treaty-making power if it had the slight
est control over monetary question af-
fecting the people of the United States.
Congress alone. by virtue of the consti-
tuition, had the power to provide the
coinage of money ana to regulate the
value thereof. An international agree
ment in respect to monetary matters
was
AN IDLE DREAM,
a tub to a whale. 1t was impossible of
execution and almost impossible of con-
templating in legal sense. In this
critical period it would not do to offer
such hopes as the solution of the
trouble.
Referring to the repeal bill, Mr.. Nor
gan said: why this haste? DO you
believe that these astute men (the New
York bankers and financiersl, so full of
information, so thoroughly possessed of
knowledge upon every topic in any way
connected with their affairs, are not
wide awake to every aspect of the case?
Congress had better undertake to Sc
cure something within tLeir view of its
constitutional power. We had better
again declare our independence of
Great Britain and maintain it, than to
undertake, by treaty agreement,
finesse caiolerY, fiattery and the like,
TO persuade Great Britain to allow us to
IOL Jul pCOPlC Jllc way lHdI
government ought to legiSlate for its
people.
After talking two hours, Mr.. Morgan
suddenly diverged from his legal argu-
ment, that the right of the owner of
silver bullion to have it coined tree and
without limitation still existed, and
said: mo man in office, however high;
no man of wealth, however rich; no
monOpolist invested with power, how
ever supreme and eXtensive; no man,
whatever his power may be, can exon
crate me from the
DISCHARGE OF MY DUTY
TO grant to the people all of their consti-
tutiOnal rights, nor can any man crowd
me into silence when l choose to speak.
This is an arena i'll which l have the
honor to be one of the ambassadors of
sovereign state, whose suffrage shall
not be taken away from her without her
consent: and where l have, if | have
it anywhere in this world, the right of
full and free speech. Although it may
make the ears Of charlatans sore to
| listen to me; although my words may
burn them like cinders, yet it is my
doubt, my duty here, in the presence of
God and this august presence, and my
duty to the United States, whose am
bassadorial credentials hold, to stand
here, as L shall, and defend the consti-
tutional rights of my constituents, the
citizens of Alabama, as long as in my
poor judgment. and according to my
conscience, defense is appropriate and
necessary. Nobody need be astonished
or surprised at the sluggishness of the
senate, nor should any one suppose that
because they think they ought to have,
| and having the influence, that there
upon | will subordinate myself like
| cricket or mouse and run into a crack
and conceal myself from the august
| presence of authority. No. the least
man in Alabama, tne poorest negro in
! Alabama. is entitled to his constitu-
tional rights
AT MY HANDS
| as much as the president of the United
States. He shall have them, if l knew
how to give them."
In a colloQuy between Mr.. HaWley. Of