Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1894-03-23
SENATOR DANIEL.

SENATOR DANIEL.
Our esteemed contemporary, the Post, last
week published a letter from Senator Daniel
! thanking that journal for ''the just sense
! which you so cordially manifest as to my
course in the Senate We are glad to see
it in as far as it is recognition of public
opinion by a Senator. but it is to be regret
ted that while Mr.. Daniel promptly and
gratefully recognizes an expression OF
5 opinion favorable to his course in the Sen
great body of public opinion i'll his State
which is adverse to that course.
He defends his course i'll the Senate with
regard to his non-suppOrt OF a Democratic
administration, by saying thath knows not
ssWhat motive other than conviction of
public duty could actllate Democratic
Senator in opposing measures brought for
ward by an administration OF his own
party with which his interests are identi-
fied.'' The political history of this coun-
try shows many cases in all great parties
where Senators have become so estranged
from the head of their administration that
they conceived it to be public duty to
oppose almost every policy presented by it,
even to the point Of voting with their polit
ical enemies against it, Convictions Of pri-
vate resentment have been sometimes mis-
taken for convictions of public duty, and
have carried their posSossor into such a
general opposition as to even include that
of aiding reflections Of the administsa-
TONS nominations.
But the graver complaint held against
Senator Daniel 10y large body of the Dem
ocrats of Virginia, his former fr.enls-for
there was a time in Virginia when every
Democrat was his friends that his course
in the Senate apart from his opposition to
the administration, has been unwise and
injurious to the interests of his party and
the country. His political course has not
had that straightforwardness in the eyes of
the people that it seems to have from his
point of view. When the Sherman silver
purchasing act was passed he voted against
it. Later, when the country was in dire
financial straits, and it WAS proposed to re
peal it as something that might prove a
remedy, he opposed the repeal. He says
his opposition was because he felt that lin
repeating it we should carry out the Demo
cratic platform to coin both metals (gold
and silver without discrimination. He
fails to add that the very clause he quotes
from that platform qualities it thus "But
the dollar unit of coinage Of both metals
must be of equal intrinsic and exchange
able value, OIL be adjusted through interna-
tional agreement OIL 10y such safeguards of
legislation as shall insure the maintenance
of the parity Of the two metals, and the
equal power of every dollar at all times in
the markets and in payment of debts; and
we demand that all paper currency shall he
kept at par with and redeemable in such
coin." Senator Daniel should have been able
to see, with silver bullion declining every
day, as it was doing the days the Senate oh
structed the repeal; with the Secretary of
the Treasury depicting the Treasury Of
gold in his efforts to keep notes issued on
silver, at par with gold-an effort that
finally crippled the Treasury and forced the
government to issue bonds with which to
get gold-Mr. Daniel, we Say, must have
known that there was but one way to bring
silver to a parity with gold, and,that was by
the international agreement" mentioned
in that platform.
But he has persisted in the mistake he
made then. The repeal of the Sherman
purchasing bill showed Europe that the
United States would no longer hold the
bag for silver by itself. and the rapid de-
crease in the value of silver, now that no
body would give it free coinage effected
what was hoped for-Germany appointed a
commission to see What could lie done
about bi-metalsm, and the English parlia-
ment had two OIL three motions on the same
subject referred to the proper committee.
And now, just as these favoring symptoms
of::the restoration of silver appear. we find
Senator Daniel voting fot.the coinage of the
silver seigniorage in the Treasury! What is
this seigniorage 1t means that the United
States bought $50, 100000 worth of bullion
coinage value; that it issued $125, GOO, GOO
of Treasury notes against it leaving $55,-
OOO, 900 coinage value) of bullion in the
Treasury as seigniorage. But in the mean
time silver bullion has gone down so, that
the whole $1S0,0O0 900 would not bring at
market rates to-day more than $s4,0OO,0OO
This $S4 100000 would not redeem the
1926, 900, 600 of Treasury notes at so cents
in the dollar, and yet MI. Daniel has voted
To issue S55, 900, 900 more against that bull
lion-against-as has been happily saba
vacnum. And that is called the financial
legislation of statesmen 1t is precisely