The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1894-11-14

Can you give me the vote in Congress
on the silver question in 1888 and "a
This win include the voting on tn:
Bland bill. Yours truly,
A H L.
We suppose our correspondent want;
the figures of the vote in both House;
of Congress on the repeal of the bulior
purchase clause of the Sherman act
1t stood as follows on the question OF
unconditional repeal: House-For The
bill: Democrats 129; Republicans SO
against the bill: Democrats So, Re
IpubMcans IS, Populists g. Senate-Fol
the bill: Democrats 30; Republicans %
against the bill: Democrats 10, Rapubll-
cans 8, Populisas 4.
There were several attempts to obtain
the insertion of clauses for the free
coinage of silver at different ratios
but by the large majority Of Republican
votes against it. aided by a minority oil
Democrats, each effort failed.
Mr.. BANDS final effort was made in
moving for an amendment to the Sun.
dry civil bill His amendment pro-
vided for the free coinage of silver
The chair ruled the amendment out
of order. Mr. Bland appealed from thai
decision to the House. The vote stood
! 1874 to sustain the decision of the chair,
127 against it. All the votes to sustain
/ the chair and thus defeat the motion
for free silver were cast by Republi-
cams excepting T. The votes in support
of the amendment were all cast by
Democrats but II. That was the final
effort in the first session Of the present
Congress to restore silver.
All the movements in its behalf were
made by Democrats and supported by
a majority of Democra S in both Houses,
and were opposed by a majority Of
Republicans in both Houses, Who were
assisted by a few Democrats in their
successful efforts to defeat free silver.
On this the Salt Lake Tribune said at
the time:
The Republican party by its repre-
sentatives in Congress has shown itself
base1y, idioticaIly recreant on the sill
Yer question, without sense or party
advantage indeed contrary to both.
The Republican representatives could
at any stage of the vote carried the
day. They could have forced free coin
age at 20 to /; they could have secured
lit at 16 to 1; they could have defeated
the Wilson repeal bill
In regard to that repeal, it must be
remembered that the Democratic party
was placed in power under a pledge to
repeal that miserable makeshift'' the
Sherman purchase provision. II was
believed by millions in both parties
whether correctly or not-that it was
the prime cause of the financial dis
turbances which, even in 1892, were
shaking seriously the business of the
country. The Democratic Congress
and administration were bound to
effect that repeal. Earnest endeavors
were made to substitute for it a silver
coinage measure at some acceptable
ratio, but they were defeated by a COM
bination of a large majority of Re
publiaans and a small minority of
Democrats.
The purchase clause Of the Sherman
act was wrong in principle and detrf-
mental in practice. 1t resulted in piling
up bullion in the Treasury vaults, not
Treasury notes which were payable in
coin, meaning either silver or gold at
the option of the holder. and the conse-
quence was that gold was paid out for
them while the bullion was stored up
like 50 much pig-iron without a market.
1t was right to repeal it, but it ought
to have been supplanted by free coin
age measure. The government had no
more rational or constitutional right to
buy silver bullion for storage than to
buy iron, grain or coal for the same
purpose. Both parties Joined in the
work of its repeal. the Republicans in
greater majority than the Democrats
in proportion to numbers for its uncon-
ditional repeal. That is the position
taken by the respective parties in Con-
gress as shown by the record.