St. Paul daily globe., 1893-08-27

GiolI VIEWS. IL was true, as the
gentleman had said. that it was to the
product of the soil OF this country that
the financiers of this government looked
to bring back the gold of Europe in
order to maintain our present financial
system. But the gentleman had failed
to tell the house the difficulties under
which the farmers labored in order to
DO this patriotic service. He had not
told the house that there was corner
in the gold of the world. As long as
the gold of the world was cornered by
the legislation of the United States, the
gold men of the South and West could
exact their own price for gold. All the
dogmatic utterances of the gentleman
from New York were made in the face
of history ana III the face of truth. He
(Mr. BlandD did not defend the Sher
man act; and if he could put i'll its
place provision for the free coinage
OF silver at ratio of 16 to 1, he would
vote
For ITS Repeal.
He saw no reason whatever for
changing the existing ratio of 16 to 1.
The production of gold and silver for
the last hundred years had been at the
ratio of about 1519 to 1, and that was the
ratio of the silver coinage of the differ
ent nations of the world. There were,
he said, two hostile forces on the floor
on the whole money question, and
gentlemen would sooner or later have
to arrange themselves on one side or
the other. The propositions to be sub
stituted were for the free coinage of
silver at any of the ratios fixed. That
meant that the people should issue from
their mint their own money, and
not let it be issued by the banks. So
far as the operations of the Sherman
bill was concerned, the people issued
their own money under it,. and
what harm. after all, did the
silver in the treasury do? Al
though the Sherman act was not in
conformity with bimetallism, yet under
it thirty or forty million greenbacks a
year were put in circulation. As to
Mr.. Cockran's argument that one of the
causes of financial trouble was a redun-
dancy of money; and yet that gentleman
would in all probability be found voting
for the senate bill. allowing national
banks to increase their circulation to the
amount of S2l.000,0O He sent to the
clerks desk and had read dispatch re-
ferring to the article in the New York
Evening Post as to the application OF
pressure in favor of the repeal of the
Sherman act-the pressure suggested
being the threat to withhold credits
from country merchants. He denounced
this article, and quoted what Mr. Ben
ton once said in congress on a some
what analogous proposition. He then
| declared that it was
A Notorious Fact
that the people of the South and Yves
| who had money Oh deposit in New York
banks could not have their checks paid.
This was being done to weaken the
| Western banks and to have an influence
| upon the repre- sentatives in the house
| Mr.. Warner inquired whether the
banks of New York had not reduced
their reserve in order to meet the de-
mands of the South and West lower
than the banks of the West and South
had done.
Mr.. Bland replied that the gentleman
could put the statistics as he pleased.
but it was notorious that the money of
the banks of New York could not be
drawn by Southern or Western banks
The silver men in the house had offered
| several com promises. Ii those compTo-
misses were rejected there would never
be another compromise offered. ZAP
| DIanSp l To maintain cold cto I'D
meant to demonetiZe silver and to lower
the prices OF labor. The Wilson bill
asked the Uuited States congress to Sc
legislate as to add to the prosperity OF
! England and Australia and tt
the distress and adversely of the
farmers and miners of Amer
lea. He had not advocated the
Sherman law. He had voted against it
but it was now the last bulwark of sill
yer. 1t was now proposed to demone-
| tie silver. Now was the time to let the
country see who were the friends o
silver and bimetallism in this house
To strike down silver would mean {
political revolution that would strike
down both great political parties. Fol
one, he was willing to join the people
even though Democracy would have Il
go to the wall.
| Mr. WcMiIlin,
of Tennessee, was the next speaker
He had listened, he said, with much in
terest to the very able presentation O.
his side Of the question by the distln-
guished gentleman from Maine, but ht
could not agree with him that the effect
of the repeal of the Sherman act would
aid to bring back him (Mr. Reed anC
those who went with him. That gem
tleman was not his tMr. McMillin's
kind of Democrat. Laughter. Their,
were three kinds of currency in the
country-gold, silver and paper-and he
would keep those three kiuds OF cur
rency, each of them e quail to the other
And he would resist, as he woulC
resist the pestilenee, any effort to legis-
late the destruction of either of theS,
kinds OF currency. He could conceive
of no greater disaster than that which
would drive from circulation the $780,.
10000 of silver. 1t was new doctrine
to the Democratic party that any of tin
three kinds of currency was to be pu
out of circulation. 1t was a new doctrine
to the American people. He did no
want monometallism in either silver o.
gold. He wanted bi-metalliSm. FO
bi-metallism he had voted in the past
and would vote in the future. He in
tended to offer an amendment to the
silver coinage proposition to the effec
that there should be collected on all sill
yer not mined and owned in the United
States the actual cost of coinage, and Cir
addition) the difference. if any, between
the face value of the coin and the mar
ket value of the bullion. That wodlo
cut off the foreign product of silver. lie
was even willing to vote for change il
the ratio. There certainly was some
point where gold and silver
Could Be Coined
together and where both can be the
l i E.. ~.