The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1894-02-12
BLAND'S FIGHT FOR SILVER.
The Old Battle On Again and Apt TO
Be a Long One.

The Champion Of the White Metal I'M
bued with the Idea that He was Or
dained to Put 1t on Par with Gold.
A Talk with President Cleveland.
The Probable Outcome of the Fight.
Washington, Feb iI.-Representative
Bland always fills up the gaps when a
dull period threatens congress. He knows
that he can, at all times, get up a fight on
silver, and proceeds to do 50 the very mo
ment there is lull in the House. The
tariff out of the way, Messrs. Boutelle
and McCreary having secured three days
for the Hawaiian debate, and after taking
up most of that time in talking, captured
a vote, the House was settling itself down
to rest on the appropriations bill, when
the silver-headed champion of silver put
in his appearance with another silver
bill. MIR Bland sees only silver in the
stars, and works in It's behalf with the
firm belief that he was fOreordained TO
place this much-despised metal on
an equal footing with gold. 1t is the
only cause for which he will fight, and
though conquered so often, he seems to
get renewed strength with age, and each
defeat inspires him to more strenuous
efforts.
BELIEVED HONEST BY THE HOUSE.
The House believes In his honesty, and
he has gathered about him a devoted
mum Der of followers who will champion
him as often as he will enter the ring for
his beloved metal. When he called on
Mr.. Cleveland the other day to tell him
that he intended to introduce his present
bill, it is said that the President put his
hand on MIR. BANDS shoulder, and,
looking kindly in his face, said; "Mr.
Bland, the only difference between you
and myself is that we are working on
different lines. You are doing what you
believe to be right. | want to stand on
one question with you, and after n
pause) | believe would trust you to pick
the question
"Mr. President" Mr. Bland replied.
''if you will only put that in the form OF
a proposition l will accept at once and
forever commit you to the free and un-
limited coinage of silver
OF course they did not strike bargain,
but MIR Bland paid that respect to the
chief executive in which he never fails.
In all his onslaughts on gold bugs, Wall
street and other conventional pet aver
sions, Mr.. Bland has never said anything
at which the President could take ex-
NOpblDu BbloOudlAy AiG hCNCA ldlAS W
keep the white house informed as to his
intentions and the President returns this
respect with confidence
LONG FIGHT.
So it happened that in spite of the pro-
longed struggle over the tariff and the
WEAKNESS of the mem bers, another fight
has been precipitated which will be as
fierce and last probably as long as that
which opened congress. Mr.. Bland has
opened the old wound of the extra ses-
sion with a deep lance aud there will be
good many elements of that trouble in
the present contest before it is close l.
There are comparatively few persons
who really know what Mr.. Bland wants
coined or what the "seigniorage" really
is The seigniorage is merely the differ
ence between the price the government
paid for silver bullion which 1t piled up
in the vaults and the amount of money IL
will make when coined at the standard
of 4l2 IL grainsof silver to a dollar, or
at ratio of sixteen to one when com
pared to a gold dollar.
THE BULLION IN THE TREASURY.
The present silver bullion in the treas
ury cost the government $l26, 158 ,2S0, and
| its value when coined will be SlS1 9l4, ,06l ,
the difference, or seigniorage in favor of
the government being S55 l56, SOL. This
| Is the amount which the government
will make by the transaction when the
seigniorge is coined. The government
makes a little more than 60 cents
worth of silver at the present
market rates worth 81 as
currency. The opponents to the bill
claim that Mr.. BANDS seignior-
! age is myth, that in fact there is no
seigniorage at all. They argue that the
market value Of silver bullion, for which
the government paid Sl26,7 81, ,2S0, is only
! s97, 1856. .O52. They claim that the seignior-
! age can only accompany the coinage of
| bullion, for the reason that the law only
refers to it as product from the act of
coinage. They insist that Mr.. BANDS
proposition is for the government TO put
out so much fictitious paper in the form
Of silver certificates, which have nothing
of an intrinsic nature back of them.
THE PROBABLE OUTCOME.
There is a strong probability that con-
gress will authorize the Secretary Of the
Treasury TO coin the seignorage, and TO
this Mr. Carlisle is not averse. There is
little hope except in the fevered brains OF
Messrs. Bland and Bryan, that the
second part of the bill, authorizing the
coinage Of the silver bullion itself pur-
chased under the act Of July, 1880, will
pass. But which ever way the fight goes
the result will be reached only at the
end of a 'silver battle, carrying with it
all that the term signihed in the past.