The Wadsworth dispatch. [volume] (Wadsworth, Nev.) 1892-1899, 1893-07-08
WASHINGTON LETTER.
From Our Regular Correspondent.

10 be Issued since the foundation OF the
government, and the third calling Con-
gress together especially to deal with
financial matters, the first having been
called by President Van Buren, to meet
September 4, 1887, on account of the
suspension Of specie payments, and the
second by President William Henry
Harrison, who died before it met, to
meet May 81, 1841, to deal with the
threatening condition Of the country's
finances and This being the
case it is not to be wondered at that
extra session talk has dwarfed every
thing else since the proclamation was
made public.
There is no difference in public opin-
ion, so lar as it is represented at Wash
ington, and 1t is unusually well rep
resented for the season of the year, as to
the necessity for Congressional action,
but when II to defining what par
ticular action it shall be there are many
differences, not marked. however, by
political hiss, but by personal opinion.
No member OF the administration claims
that the unconditional repeal of the
Sherman Silver law is certain, although
Q table has been made which shows q
majority OF 81 in the House for repeal,
but that is what the administration
hopes for, and will work for. 1t will
ask that a bill repeating it be rushed
through % loon as' the organization Of
the House is complete and that the
question of q substitute dealing with
silver be left for future action, and If q
count of noses shows that IL cannot be
repealed it will ask that . resolution
authorizing the President to suspend the
silver purchase clause ofiathe Law be
passed. The acknowledged obstacle to
the carrying out OF this program is the
free coinage m~en--Senator Vorheea-is
already an outspoken advocate of the
unconditional repeal of the Sherman
law, and mysterious hints are given by
friends of the administration Of other
free coinage Senators who will vote the
same way.
The silver men are organizing for the
fight OF their lives and the majority in
the Senate which is a stumbling block to
the administration program is regarded
by them - IN ~inpregnable fortress from
which will be dictated the only terms
by which any financial legislation can
get through the Senate. They say that
they have no special love for the Sher-
man law, but that If they should agree
to its unconditional repeal they wonld
never be able to get any satisfactory leg
islation afterwards. as the country
would then be practically if not actually
upon q single standard gold basis,
just where the opponents OF silver wish
to get it. For this reason they will OPP
pose either the repeal OF the entire law
or the suspension of the silver purchase
clause, unless accompanied by silver leg
i~slation that is satisfactory TO them, and
il silver legislation be included it will
lose the votes Of the Senators and Rep
resentatives who would vote for either
proposition, standing alone.
That is the exact situstion as It Is
figured out here to-day. Five weeks Is
sometimes 81 long as . life time, when
judged by accomplishments, and it may
be that great changes wiiIstake place be-
fore Congress gets together, or that after
it's meeting personal conferences will
bring those together who ere wide apart.
While these things are possible, there
are not visible at this time any indica-
tons pointing to enough changes among
the Senators who are on record as free
coinage men to warrant any strong be-
lief iH them. 1t looks now as though
the House would pass q bill repeating
the Sherman law and that the Senate
would send the bill back to the
House with q free coinage amen
dment, and that nothing but a
compromise of some sort in which both
sides will have to make concessions can
break the deadlock and secure financial
legislation After all there would be
nothing strange or usual in such an
outcome Of the present situation, as
nearly all of the important legislation
ever adopted by Congress has been the
result Of compromises between what was
demanded by the radicals on both sides.
There ia rs much diversity Of opinion
about the probable length Of the extra
session IS there is about what IL will do.
Some think that it will confne itself
70 financial matters and others that it
VIII 90 into general legislation. The
Senate is already organized and will be
ready to get right down to business the
day 1t meets. The House will have to
organize, but as there will practically be
no oppotition to the reelection OF Crisp
as Speaker, and as he has probably
already settled the principal chairman Of
committees, it ought not to require
much time. There may be q protracted
| fight however, over the new rules as the
silver men will resist the proposed cur-
tailment of the rights OF the minority.
The 6ght over this proposition will in
reality be the beginning of the silver
fight, and its length is doubtful.