Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1893-09-12
Senator Mitchell Makes a Speech
From a Silver Standpoint.
NOT MUCH ELSE IN The SENATE
The Session of the House Was
Very Brief
AND THE ATTENDANCE LIGHT.
THE SENATE.

A letter from the Treasury Department
in response to a resolution inquiring as to
the redemption of treasury notes in silver,
&c, was presented and read. 1t states that
H,473,s74 of treasury notes issued under the
Sherman act have been redeemed in silver
coin in August and September; that $685..
0S,1S5 silver coinage has been minted, with
a gain or seignorage of s6.691 lO9, and that
the remainder of the bullion purchased
under the Sherman act had not been coined
because no further coinage had been neces-
gary to provide for the redemption of the
notes in silver.
The resolution offered yesterday by Mr.
stewart OF Nevada to Senators being
stockholders in national banks having been
laid before the Senate. Mr.. Stewart offered
to yield to Mr.. Mitchell of Oregon, who de-
sired to address the Senate on the repeal
DILL and his resolution, by unanimous con-
sent, went over until tomorrow
Mr.. White (Cal) gave notice of a post
ponement of the Stanford eulogies until
Saturday next and also that he would ad-
dress the Senate on the repeal bill next
Tuesday.
The repeal bill was then. at 12 20, taken up.
and Mr.. Mitchell (Ore) addressed the SEN
ate in opposition to 1t.
Senator Mitchell Against Repeal
Senator Mitchell said that the funda-
mental problem to be solved was: Are we
to become a nation of nonometalists, and
II so, whether gold or silver monometalists?
1t could not be denied that the absolute
demonstration of silver, as proposed by
the unconditional repeal of the purchasing
clause of the Sherman act, the perpetuation
OF the gold standard and the establishment
OF policy that gold, and gold alone. shall
be the sole medium of ultimate redemption
are to be completely and absolutely over
turned and destroy the policy OF the found
ers of the government, and confine silver
as money metal to indefinite overthrow.
Was the Senate prepared to abandon the
policy plainly outlined in the Constitution
and avowed by every political party that
has existed since the foundat ton Of the
government? If it was prepared to do that
upon what authority? By what COM
mand? Under whose direction and by
what Inspiration? Had the legislature of
any state memorialized in favor of 1t? Not
one. Had the people Of any political party
OF the demonetization of silver and OF a
single gold standard? No declaration Of
any such policy could be found in the plat
form of any political party.
He denied that the Sherman act had
been the cause of a panic The causes
leading up to ii were in part world wide,
and had their origin not in this country
but in speculative dealings between London
bankers and the people of South America,
which resulted-through the Argentine
bankruptcies and the fall of securities
in bringing ruin to the doors of the Bar
ings and other moneyed institutions.
auguration of free trade policy had also
much to do with the panic. Senators, he
said, had been told that ii was lack of con-
fdence that precipitated the recent panic
Lack of confidence in whom or
in what? The trouble was in very large
measure started by the banks. The bank
ers of England early in the spring nudged
the bankers in Wall street and intimated
now Is a good time to forever set the seal
on bimetallism under the pretense of re-
pealng the Sherman act.
The howl was started. The New York
bankers nudged the chamber of commerce
Of the city of New York and the metro
politan press. The chamber of commerce
in turn gave the cue to boards Of trade and
chambers of commerce throughout the coun-
try. The howl started in perfect unison
all inspired across the seas-and finally the
thing got away from them, proved boone
rang and the banks suffered along with the
rest.
1t was expected that Senator Mills would
follow on the conclusion of Mr.. Mitchell's S
speech,