The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1893-08-22
IN THE HOUSE.
The Silver Debate Consumes Nearly
the Entire Days Session.


Washington, Aug. 21.-After the read
ing of the journal, Mr.. Powers, rep, Vt,
took the floor in support Of the repeal of
the purchasing clause of the Sherman
act. He referred to the Chicago plat
form and to the Interpretation placed
upon it by various democrats. The gen
tleman from Pennsylvania (Sibley) had
referred to the Savior of mankind as the
first democrat and had taken the utter
ances of the Savior as his platform; the
gentleman from Massachusetts (Everett)
had taken Grover Cleveland as his plat
form, and had gone around his district
singing at the top of his voice "Oh, isn't
he a dandy2u Mr. Powers went on to
argue that the purchasing clause of the
Sherman bill was vicious in principle and
dangerous in application.
FREE COINAGE GOOD FOR THE GOLD BUGS.
If free coinage were adopted the gold
bugs could corner the market just as cas-
lily as they could to-day 1t did not do
merely to say that the Republican party
was responsible for it. The only solu-
tion of the problem was at once to sus-
pend the coinage of silver, which the
world has discarded, until we could bring
the world to its senses. Then the nations
of the world would come to recognize that
there was not enough gold in the world to
dCJ as CURRENCY anu buey WOulu COlu6 10
a bi-metallic basis. Mr.. Hooker, dem,
Mass, opposed the unconditional repeal
Of the purchasing clause. The President
spoke about restoring confidence. Where
was confidence lackingl 1t was not in the
great masses of the people; it was in the
great money institutions of the
country, that locked up their
money If labor was distressed
it was attributable to the action of the
banks
MCKINLEY MORE THAN SHERMAN TO
BLAME.
The repeal of the Sherman law would
not restore trade or commerce, nor would
it relieve the wage-earner. The present
depression was not attributable so much
to the Sherman act as to the Mckinley
act He would admit that the free COIN
age of silver would not give absolute re-
lief but he contended it would give relief
to a very great extent.
The debate was then suspended to al
low the speaker to announce the standing
and select committees for the present
congress.
Then, on motion of Mr. Bland, Satur-
day next was set apart for general debate
of the Wilson bill, instead of debate under
the five-minute rule.
SILVER DEBATE RESUMED.
Mr.. Cooper, dem, of Indiana, spoke in
opposition to the free coinage of silver.
He would rather favor a policy which
would give the country a safe, recognized,
stable currency than to enter upon ex-
periments at this time. If congress re-
peals the purchasing clause it would not
strike down nor kill silver. In his opin-
ion it would lift up silver and make it the
equal of gold. He suspected that the
arguments that this course ould strike
l. g. 4~A,.
down the silver industry and not the sill
yer money He then argued in support of
the proposition to repeal the tax on state
banks.
MIR. Alexander, dem, of North Carolina,
advocated free silver coinage and spoke
for larger currency. If some Of it were
not given to the country there might be
trouble But he did not think that the
repeal Of the Sherman act nor the aboli-
tion Of the tax upon state banks would
give this relief
THEN AND now
Mr. Sperry, dem, Conn, opposed free
coinage, and advocated the Wilson bill.
He called attention to the fact that when
the ratio of l6 to / was adopted the fight
was upon the question whether the ratio
should be 1598 10 / or 16 to l. Now the
silver men did not seem to care whether
the ratio should be 16 or20.
Mr. Cox, dem, Tenn, argued against
the pending bill, and recounted the hard
ships TO which the people of his district
had been subjected since the war. Never by
his voice or his vote would there be an
other feather weight placed upon their
backs. He was speaking, he said, in be-
half Of the poor colored men of his coun-
try Gentlemen on the other side might
claim to control the negro's vote, but at
last the negroes had got to the right side.
Mr.. Chickering, rep, N. Y, asked if
that was the reason the gentleman spoke
for them.
Mr. Cox replied that he had come to
the conclusion that the North Carolina
negroes constituted the best part of the
Republican party
FOR COINAGE OF THE AMERICAN PRODUCT.
Mr.. Settle, rep, n. c., said that in his
canvass he had opposed the free coinage
of silver. The farthest that he would 90
was the coinage Of the American product
He believed that the voice Of The
laboring class of his state is
not for free coinage, but
simply for the increase Of the circulation