The morning call., 1894-02-10
FLAP THEIR EARS.
Mr.. Harter's Very Unkind
AIIusion.
STILL TALKING OF SILVER.
Bland Believes That His Bill
Will Pass.
OPPOSITION FROM THE EAST.
The Two Great Sections Once More
Pitted Again Each Other in
the House.

WASHINGTON, Feb. 9.-The entire day
10 the House was consumed in debate Oh
the Bland silver seigniOrage bill. the speak
ers being Bland, Stone of Pennsylvania,
McKeghan, Harter and kllgore, The
debate will be interrupted tomorrow at
2 o'clock by a special order setting aside
the rest Of the day for euloges upon the
late Representative O'Neill of Pennsyl-
vania. 1t is expected that vote on the
bill will be reached by Tuesday, at
iurthest. and Bland is confident that it
will pass. This opinion is generally shared
by leaders on both sides. although prob
ably there will be some notifications of
the bill that will make it more acceptable
to the Democrats now opposing t.
The House was in tangle Immediately
after the opening, several members insist
ing that they had been wrongly recorded,
and it looked at one time as if yesterdays
proceedings in the committee Of the whole
might be vitiated. 1t appeared that Bah
cock. recorded as voting on the rollcall for
going into the committee of the whole, did
not vote, which would have broken the
quorum; but Marshall and Smell, lot re-
corded as voting. declared they voted,
which restored the quorum, and the incl
dent ended.
The House then went into committee of
the whole on BANDS seigni0rage bill
Bland explained In a few words that he
never agreed, as stated in some of the
public prints, TO the striking out OF the sec
ond section of this bill, which provides
for the coinage of all the bullion in the
treasury. Aside from the question OF
raising revenue he regarded the second
section more important than the first.
IF we are to deal with the bullion in the
treasury" said be. "let US deal with ii as
whole. We have already repealed the
purchasing clause of the Sherman act.
No more bullion will come into the treas
ury. Why should we not coin what Is
there? To coin only the seigniorage
| (S55, ,OO0. 0O0) would be tantamount to declar-
ing that the rest should remain there as
worthless. 1t should be dedicated TO
monetary use. as far as am concerned.
never viii consent to stop halfway"
What advantage" asked Coombs Cd
of New York, would accrue from the
coinage of this bullion when no one wants
it?"
1.-The people want every dollar they can
| get," replied Bland. The difficulty is
there is not enough money in circulation" 3"
"Is it the intention after this bill goes
into effect" inquired Tracey D) of New
| York, ''to redeem silver certificates in
gold?"
"Do you understand that silver certif-
| Gates are redeemable in gold?" asked
Bland in turn.
81 do
"Well." replied Bland, "the Secretary of
the Treasury never so held. The Secre-
tary of the Treasury maintained that all
that was necessary to keep all classes of
our currency at par was to keep green
backs at par. They are gold obligations,
and therefore interconvertlble; and, while
silver certificates have not been redeemed
in gold, greenbacks have never been re-
fused for them. This keeps all our cur
reney at par. am speaking now from the
standpoint OF gold mOnometallist."
He declared it was necessary to keep
enough gold in the treasury to meet foreign
exchange. Under the Sherman law he
insisted that every dollar of treasury notes
outstanding is redeemable in silver land
If l were the Secretary of the Treasury, |
should so hold" he added, emphatically.
II would not use my discretion in the
interest of the gold gamblers in this
country.
This bill. however," he continued.
"does not go as far as the Sherman bill in
this respect 1t only provides that having
| been redeemed in gold or otherwise, these
notes shall not be reissued but DESTROYED.
and coin shall take their place. In other
words, The holders will no longer be able
to force their redemption again and again
in gold" Applause.
C. W. Stone OF Pennsylvania, at the
head OF The minority of the Committee
on Coinage. replied to Bland. He agreed.
he said, with Bland, that II the first Sec
ton of the bill were passed, the second
section should be. II we are prepared
to asree to practical embeZzlement of a
trust fund in the first section we should not
hesitate at the irregularity contained in
the second section. He coptended there
was no existing seiguiorage. That was
purely imaginary as yet. Seigniorage.
he said, was the profit arising to the
Government out of the coinage of bullion ;
but the bullion not having been coined
there was no seigniorage. There might be
in time. but there was not now. One
| might as well take out OF tank ten gallons
of oil and say this is paraffine and tie
other oil, or chop off fifty pounds of a
| bullock and say this is leather and that is
beef, because in future processes so much
paraffine or so much leather can be sep
arated from the tank of oil or the bullock.
as to claim there is SO much bullion and
so much seigniorage before the bullion
was coined. To attempt to use this imag-
mary seigniorage before the bullion was
coined would be breaking faith with the
holders Of treasury notes issued against all
bullion. He declared 1t should be held sa-
cred for their redemption.
"There are in the treasury" he said
'I40. .699, ,S53 ounces of silver, on which
have been issued S153, 0S5. 151 IN treasury
notes. 1t cost the Government SIPS, ,75S, 6SC
and its coinage value is S1S1 .914 961, and
its present market value but S97, 156, ,072
To coin this alleged seiRniorage will be the
virtual embezzlemen. of $50 000, 600 worth
OF bullion behind the treasury notes."
| His apprehension was that this polcy
would involve the country in financial
ruin, and he contended that the coinage Of
! the seigniorage was in effect watering