The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1894-03-15
TELLER TALKS ON SILVER.
lie Takes Issue With The Statements
Of Sherman.

tary of the Treasury-A Silver Dol
lar Should be Back of Every Silver
Certihcate-He Denies That S364,-
100000 Of Idle Silver Dollars are
Piled Up in the Treasury Vaults at
Washington.
Washington, March l4-After the rou-
tine morning business the Senate at 1880
o'clock resumed consideration of the
Bland seigniorage bill.
Mr.. Dolph, rep, of Oregon, stated that
as objection had been withdrawn to the
printing of the extracts which he had re-
ferred to in his speech yesterday, he
would consider that speech as ended.
Then MIR. Teller, rep, of Colorado, ad-
dressed the Senate in support of the bill
He denied the assumption of MIR Sher-
man and Of other senators who had ar
gued against the bill that the act of 1890
left the coinage of silver to the discretion
Of the Secretary of the Treasury, and he
declared that the act was mandatory and
that under it the Secretary should coin as
many silver dollars as he had issued
treasury notes. If Sl55, 100000 of treasury
notes had been issued, then l55, 900, 600 of
silver dollars should be coined
for the redemption Of the treas
ury notes lie claimed that the
difference between the purchase price of
the silver bullion and its mint value
should be put into money and used for
current expenses, because the act de-
clared that the seigniorage should be
turned into the treasury; and he also
urged that the proper execution of the
law required that there should be for
every dollar of treasury notes, a silver
dollar lying in the treasury ready to be
paid out to the man who demanded it in
exchange for treasury notes.
NO HOARD OF SILVER DOLLARS.
There were one or two other points in
Mr. Sherman's speech, which he de-
sired to contradict. One of them was the
statement that there was a hoard Of 364,
0O0,000 of silver dollars lying idle in the
treasury. There is no hoard of that
kind in the treasury Mr.. Teller asser-
ted with emphasis. "The statement Is
an untruth, Mr.. Sherman spoke of it as
an idle hoard. There is no idle money in
the treasury of the United States There
has been no idle money in
the treasury except that which
lies behind the treasury notes,
i
ment made here by member of the, COM
mittee on finance (Mr. Sherman), and
sent broadcast to the world that we have
a hoard of 1864, 900, 900 of idle silver money
in the treasury is unworthy place in
this Senate. 1t is absolutely untrue, and
is known to be untrue by every member
Of this body And yet that is the kind Of
food that is fed to the people by those
who put this country on the gold stan
do, 4 .Lgs,Q 1.
having destroyed the industries of
the country, but are now attempting 10
disgrace us as senators by showing that
we are supporting bill infamous in it's
character and by misrepresenting the
facts to the people of the world. This
debate has been most unfair as debate
has always been on the part of the men
who advocate the gold standard. 1t has
been unfair in many respects. 1t is un-
fair, or else it lacks in intelligence and
frequently it is unfair and lacks in
intelligence also. Every dollar of silver
money that has been. coined is doing
money duty and is doing it with infinitely
more potency and power than any gold
money that is in circulation in the United
States. A more unfair and untruthful
statement could not have been made"
LEANS TO A SILVER BASIS.
Mr.. Teller went on to say that he
would not consider it very great dis
astcr If the country were on n silver
basis. 1t was on a gold basis now aud
the condition of the country was not a
happy one. And it was a notorious fact
that countries which used silver as
standard money only, were in better con
dition than the United States was in
This was the only country in the world,
Mr.. Teller said, whose legislature depre-
ciated its money. Why was IL that
France could float $500 600, COO or $500, CO.,
coo of silver money! 1t was be-
cause no F'renchman ever dared to
stand up in a legislative body Of that
country and declare that the money of the
country was not good money. 1t was left
for this country alone to have its legisla-
tive members repudiate the government
money. Since 1873 there had been con
tinued attempt by the treasury depart
ment TO depreciate the silver money of
the country. All the great commercial
and banking agencies Of the country led or
supported by the great Metropolitan press,
had been endeayoring TO make the people
believe that silver was unit formOncy and
it could not discharge money duty. The
senators from Ohio, Wisconsin and Ore
gon- -Mcssrs. Sherman, Villas and DOlph-
had told the Senate that the American sill
yer dollar was Is cent dollar. But" MIR.
Teller asked, "has IT anywhere failed TO
buy 100 cents worth Of anything which any
body had to SELF IT is true that measur-
ed in gold, il will only bring 45 cents; but,
measured in commodities, it will buy
sixty per cent more of wheat, of corn,
and of cotton, than it did in 1872. II is a
dollar which is as good as gold"
GEORGE SUPPORTS THE BILL.
MIR. George, dem, of Mississippi, ar
gGed in support Of the BILL although he
admitted that il was "artidcially drawn,
inapt in expression and with some am
biguity in it," 1t was not, he said, free
coinage measure. He wished that it were.
If there was any chance Of it becoming
law The bill proposed only to require, in
specific terms, the coinage Of the silver
already purchased, already owned by the
government and already required by law
TO be coined.
While Mr.. George was still speaking,
the hour of2 O'Clock arrived, and then
Mr.. Harris. dem, of Tennessee, rose and
demanded, in connection with the terms
OF the unanimous consent that the vote
be taken on Mr.. Allison's motion, to re-
consider the vote ordering the bill TO
third reading The vote was taken and
the motion was disagreed to-yeas IS;
nays 45, as follows:
Yeas-Messrs Aldrich Allison, Brice, CAT
ferry Cnrey Chandler. CullOm Davis Dolph
FRYE, Gallinger Hale, Bawey Hoar Lodge.
Mcmillan. Mcpherson, Henderson. Mitchell
OF Wisconsin Morrill,, Palmer, Proctor. Quay
Smith, Stockbridge, Villas, WashDurn and
''Nt-tsDH Nfoesrg Allan Rata perr,, r2IocI,brrr