Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1895-02-14
The Bond Question Up in Both
Branches of Congress.
TIE GOLD RESOLUTION DEBATED
Severe Arraignment of Secretary
CarIsIe's Methods.
MR.. VIII SONS APPEAL

Although it was known that an attempt
would be made today to pass the resolu-
ton authorizing the issue of 3 per cent
gold bonds in the House, the attendance
on the floor was not large when the Speak
er called the House to order al IL o'clock.
This was probably due to the fact that
many members supposed the House would
meet at noon as usual. Despite the small
attendance however. there was much eX-
element on the floor. AS soon as the jour
nal had been read Mr.. Catchings, from the
committee on rules, reported the special
order under which the House was to op-
crate. 1t was as follows: Resolved. Ihat
Immediately upon the adoption of this res
olution the House shall proceed as in COM
mittee of the whole TO the consideration
Of House resolution No. 30 Uhe bond res
oiution); that at the hour of . O'Clock this
day the previous question shall be con-
sitiered as ordered on said resolution and
then without intervening motion votes
shall be taken thereon until the same shall
have been fully disposed Of"
The Order Adopted.
Mr. Catchings promptly demanded the
previous question as soon as the reading CT
the resolution had been completed. On
rising vote the previous question was or
dered-56-11. Mr. Pickler Is. d. made the
point of no quorum, but withdrew it, and
D61Ofe tllIle lOi Codiu NC SA'iiii~N1
under the rule the vote recurred on the
adoption of the order. 1t resulted o6-li.
Mr.. Simpson Q<an) again made the point
of no quorum. .
Mr. Simpson and Mr.. Catchirgs, as tell
ers, took their places, and for over half an
hour they waited patiently for the beiated
arrivals to make up the coveted quorum
With the arriving members came a stream
of visitors into the galleries, and at IL '2,
when Mr.. Catchings reported a quorum, the
hall of Representatives presented an ami
mated appearance. The vote had resulted
-152-2S-in favor of the special order.
Mr.. Simpson, who remarked sarcastically
sotto voce that he was trying to protect
the President against the vindictive as
saults of republicans. recreant democrats
and cuckoos. made no attempt to get the
yeas and nays, and the special order was
declared adopted.
The Debate Opened.
Before the debate began the Speaker an
bers of the committee on ways and means.
Mr.. Wilson and Mr.. Reed in the affirmative,
and Messrs. Hopkins Qll) and Bryan
(Neb.) in the negative, to control four hours
of the time allotted for debate the re-
naming hour to be given to debate under
the fve-minute rule.
Mr.. Wilson. chairman of the ways and
means committee. who opened the debate,
cautioned the House at the very outset
that unless the debate could be restricted
10 the resolution TeEOTtcI from tHc ways
and means committee, to the exclusion of
all craftsmanship. it would be impossible
to vote intellisently on the question at its
conclusion. Mr.. Wilson then proceeded to
carefully state the case. covering the
ground traversed by his report to the
House yesterday. lie spent much time
celebrating the events leading up to and
the conditions which compelled the Secre-
tary of the Treasury to make the condi-
tional contract with the syndicate for the
purchase of gold. He said that there
was no dearth OF revenues in the treasury.
Today he declared, there was an availa-
bic cash balance in the treasury of $780,
GD.WD, a larger balance than on June 80
1872, by $36GtO.mo, when it was I2?.Oo00O0,
including the gold reserve. Today the gold
reserve stood at S42213.6~.
Mr.. Wilson reviewed the history of the
gold reserve, established to insure the re-
sumption of specie payments. That reserve
had not been threatened until the panic of
1890 when in a single month (Novcmber)
s2i0OO,OoO of gold had been withdrawn
Mr.. Wilson then proceeded to contrast
the situation of the treasury in 1852 with
its situation now in regard to the burden
to be borne by the gold reserve. Then no
demption and the reserve was only neces-
sary for practical purposes to support the
outstanding silver, amounting to but $780,,
0OO.0G0. Today it supported the entire cur
rency fabric. s5O,OoDoD of outstanding
legal tenders and treasury notes. $780,
NO,oOO of overvalued silver and all the
national bank notes outstanding.
MIR Dinsley's Interruption.
"You admit" interrupted Mr.. Dingiey
tMe), that Sill, ,oY0GUD of gold have been
purcha sed to maintain the gold reserve.
How did the treasury obtain the money to
meet the deficiency in the revenues of $l09.-
GNGOO?'
Still harping on my daughter" replied
Mr.. Wilson, with wave of his hand; but
ejylO In -S:fp fn
question:. and Mr.. Wilson replied that, aS
he had stated on former occasion, it was
partly true that by the operations of the
erdess-chan process by which gold was
drained from the treasury some of the
money obtained from the sale Of bonds had
been transferred to other accounts and had
been used to defray current expenses. He
called Mr.. Dingley's attention to the fact
that under the national bank act of 1874
the. bank notes, being redeemable by the
treasury, could be used by conversion to
drain the treasury of gold well as the
legal tenders.
MIR. Dingley, however, still persisted upon
more specific answer to his original ques-
tion. and Mr.. Wilson finally admitted that
large amount OF the gold received from
the sale of bonds had been used to meet
the deficiency in the revenues.
Then Mr.. Dingiey, recurring to Mr.. Will
sons former Statement about the trans
fer of the bank trust fund to the available
assets of the treasury, declared that not
cIe dollar of that fund had been used to
defray current expenses.
The difference between your methods
and ours" replied Mr. Wilson amid a burst
of democratic applause, is that when we
needed money we borrowed it. When you
needed it you borrowed it from trust
fund" Mr.. Dingiey insisted that that fund
not used until 1898, whereupon Mr.
Wilson cited him to Secretary WindOm's
report, stating that on September 10, 1890,
the only available cash in the treasury was
the amount of the trust fund turned over
to that acccunt in the preceding July. This
ended the fencing between the opposing
leaders. and Mr.. Wilson continued his ar
gument where it had been broken off by
Mr.. Dingley's Interruption.
AS the bonds will be paid in gold he said,
it was the sense of the ways and means
committee that there ought to be hesi-
tatior. in making these bonds payable in
gold, and saving to the government the in
terst charges. amounting to over $4,000
600. The contract is already made by
which the gold is being put into the treas
ury and placed on vessels for shipment to
this country 1t cannot be set aside 1t
was made under ample provision of law.
The question presented here is whether we
will substitute for 4 per cent coin thirty
year bonds a . per cent gold bond.
Mr. Wilson asserted that for twenty-fve
years the gold standard had been the prac-
teal money basis in this country; that
gentlemen confused the standard of pay
ment with the currency of payment. Two
bod foil 70 volt