Mexico weekly ledger., 1895-02-07
LOOKS MORE HOPEFUL.
Chances of Passing the Administration
Financial Bill in the House
Greatly Improved.

better spirits to-day than they were
yesterday. At least they are not as
hopeless as they were yesterday and
many are beginning to believe that it
is yet possible to pass n bill in accord
ance with the Presidents recommen
| dations before Congress adjeurns.
The House committee ON Banking
and Currency will report back to-mor-
row the bill introduced by MIR. Spring
| er few days ago embodying the rec
concentrations of the Presidents mes
sage.
The committee were not unanimous
in agreeing to report the bill back to
the House. Four Democrats and all
the Republicans agreed to report the
bill with amendments and four Demo-
Gratis protested against reporting it.
Springer of Illinois, Cobb of Missouri,
Warner of New York and Sperry of
Connecticut favored the bill, andClark
of Missouri, Cobb of Alabama, Black
of Georgia and Cox of Tennessee op-
posed it.
Some important amendments to the
bill were agreed upon by the majority
of the committee. The clause that all
customs dues should be paid in gold
was stricken out. The section retiring
the greenbacks from circulation was
also materially modified and as agreed
upon will merely provide for retiring
greenbacks with the same rapidity that
national bank notes are increased.
This amendment made it unnecessary
ing for the payment of customs dues
in gold, as so long as the greenbacks
are in circulation the importers could
take gold out of the Treasury to pay
the customs duties. These are the on
ly material alterations that have been
made in the measure. The Republi-
cans of the House are still undecided
as to their course. Many of them are
utterly opposed to retiring greenbacks,
while favoring an unlimited issue of
bonds. These Republicans, of course,
are pleading for the greenbacks in the
interest of the gold gamblers. They
talk of the "war scare greenbacks," j"
the "saver of the Union," "the peo-
ple's greenbacks," with straight faces
and pretend to be serious. They are
trying to convince the Democrats that
they take sentimental and patriotic
interest in the greenbacks because, as
they say, ''they saved the Union" "
The friends of currency legislation on
the Democratic side being hopeless
without the aid of the Republicans are
forced to concede practically whatever
the Republicans demand.
Tomorrow when the bill is reported
to the House it is probable that an ef-
fort will be made to set time for its
consideration. 1t is likely that the
committee ON Rules will bring in a
-szaae'al -ore'ar limiting the time for de-
bate and providing for time of taking
vote.
The preliminary skirmish, of course,
will be over the adoption of this rule
and the sense of the House on the sub
ject will be to certain extent deter
mined. There seems to be feeling
this evening that the bill will pass the
House. There is no prospect of solid
Republican vote in favor of the meas
ure, but a majority, perhaps two
thirds of the Republicans, will support
it. Partial Canvasses of the House
have been made and the friends of the
administration are sanguine that the
bill can go through by reasonably
good majority.
At the Senate end of the Capitol, of
course, things are different. There has
been a good deal of activity among the
Senators to-day, too, and the friends
of the administration in the gilded
chamber are by no means hopeless. OF
| course, the threat of Mr.. Teller that he
will not permit avote on the bill hangs
over them, but the Republic cores
pondent learns that the Senators
favoring legislation will sit it out, as
the term is, which means remain in
continuous session and tire out the
| filibusters.