Daily Texarkana Democrat., 1893-08-24
VOORHEES, SPEECH.
He Favors Repeal Without Chang
ing His Policy On Bimetalism.

He Favors Repeal Without Chang
ing His Policy On Bimetalism.
The speech of Senator VOORHEES,,
which was played as a trump card by
the administration forces, may be said
to have fallen rather fiat and upon the
whole, lfnot stale, may, at least, be
considered as Improbable. A speech
from the noted Hoosier Statesman is
never entirely devoid of interest or
attractiveness. But in this instance
his effort has proven wholly barren
of results. The native eloquence and
personal magnetism of the "Tall Syc-
amore," than whom there is no more
picturesque character in either branch
of the Federal Congress, had the eff
feet of growing the Senate Chamber
and filing to their utmost capacity,
both galleries and lobby. Interest in
the Speakers utterances was fully
manifested by the fact, that the great
audience listened without moving the
whole time of its delivery, something
over an hour. Only once did it
arouse itself and that was to greet
with enthusiastic applause the encom-
iums with which the orator compli-
mented Mr.. Cleveland. Dozens Of
members of the house were on the
floor in rapt attention. Both the
silver republicans and anti-silver re-
publicans were present. When he
concluded his speech he was the recip-
lent of handshakes from his colleagues
and members Of the house.
The speech covered broad grounds,
too broad, perhaps, but in 1t he took
occasion in the most emphatic way to
assert his unalterable frindship for
silver as u money metal and moreover
that he intended to vote for the repeal
of the Sherman law. He took the
position that his friendship for silver,
his advocacy of bimetalism was the
cause of his antagonism to the Sher-
man law. He favored the repeal Of
the tax on state banks and an income
tax and against national banks.
His speech was received as might
be expected. The latter point to his
silver utterances, which ought to be
sufficient to show the silver people
that the murder of silver is not con-
templated, but that when the Sher-
man law is repealed the matter of sill
yer coinage at a ratio commensurate
with the price of the white metal will
be entered into honestly and fairly.
The silver men shake their heads in
credulously.
The conservative view of the speech
is that 1t covered too much ground
and therefore was weak in its failure
to hammer in the proper way the
main points before the people, the
point of coinage and of the repeal of
the Sherman law.
So far as can yet be ascertained no
votes were made for the repeal of the
Sherman law. In fact the matter of
making votes is impossible Every
man in the senate and house long ago
made up his mind, and the questions
could be Just as well submitted to a
vote now as at any other time. 1t is
preposterous to say that there is a
man with intelligence enough to be
elected to congress who has not made
up his mind by this time on the way
he intends TO vote.
The silver men in the house are
feeling little better. They have
tried to take poll of their body and
they say the repeal men will not have
more than twenty-five majority. Thisis
less than expected by the repeal men.
The silver men say the less the major
ity the less the effect on the senate.
In this calculation they are perhaps
mistaken, because now 1t looks as If
nothing would affect the vote in the
senate. Each member has come to a
conclusion.