The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-02-20
SENATORS AND FREE SILVER.
THE FIGHT OVER THE JONES BILL
on IN THE SENATE.

President Cleveland and Secre-
tary CarIisIe-The senate Refuses
TO Fix Time For Voting ON the
Jones Bill and Long and Tire
some Debate Follows.
Washington, Feb 19.-Senatcr Villas,
dem. of Wisconsin, made long, able and
eloquent speech in the Senate to-day in
defense Of the President of the United
States and his Secretary of the Treasury.
in the matter of the sale of Ss2, 10000 of A
per cent. bonds for gold. The speech was
made on the bill before the Senate for
the free coinage of silver, but had no
reference whatever to that bill. Mr.. Villas
showed that the President had endeavored
to get congress to act upon the financial
difficulties in which the treasury had found
itself by the drainage Of gold. and that
as congress declined to act, he had to avail
himself of the power which the existing
laws gave him, and to buy gold by the is
sue of bonds. The price obtained for he
bonds. Mr.. Villas contended, was the high
est that could be obtained under the cir
cumstances; or in other words 3si per cent.
was the lowest rate of interest at which
the bonds would be taken by the great
banking houses which had been applied to.
Three and five-eighths per cent. had been
offered in all the great money centers and
had been refused; and all because the
bonds did not provide specifically for re-
payment in sold coin.
After Mr.. Villas speech Mr.. Platt, rep,
of Connecticut, made a speech against the
free silver bill itself.
An effort was made by Mr.. Jones to
have a time fixed for taking the final
vote on the bill; but as it's antagonists
refused to fix any time, the debate went
on.
Another proposition to have the vote
taken at O'Clock tomorrow was made
by Mr. Jones and objected to by Mr.. Aid
rich who said that when the bill was
first introduced by Mr.. Jones it contained
nine sections, including one for the issue
of $500, 100000 in bonds and one for the
retirement Of greenbacks; and he thought
that the Senate was entitled to an eX-
planation as to why those eight sections
had been abandoned
AS all attempt to have an hour fixed for
taking the vote met with objections, Mr..
Platt went on with his speech He gave
it as his belief, in which he knew many
of his republican associates would not
agree with him that the vice of the whole
financial situation in this country lay in
the paper currency issued by the govern
ment
There was an unusually large attend
ance of senators this morning probably in
view of the expected contest over the free
silver coinage bill: and the galleries were
also well filed with interested spectators.
The routine morning business, however,
consumed the first half hour with mat
ters of little public concern.
A conference report on the diplomatic
and consular appropriation bill was pre-
scented and agreed to. The differences be-
tween the two Houses on that bill have
been arranged, except as to the appropria-
ton of s50O00O to begin the construction Of
the cable to Hawaii on which the con-
ferees were unable to agree. A further
conference was ordered on that item.
Mr.. Call presented the memorial to con-
gress of ''the Worlds Arbitration League"
signed by Bishop Newman as president,
with the signatures of $50 members of the
British parliament and asked that it be
printed in the record. 1t was SO ordered.
Mr. Bate, dem, of Tennessee, introduced
a bill to aid the Tennessee centennial ex-
position at Nashville, Tenn, in 1896. 1t was
referred.
The Senate passed a bill to aid in the
erection of a monument to the Maryland
heroes of the revolutionary war. 1t APP
propriates $4,000 to be expended by the
Maryland Society of the American Rev
olution, to aid in erecting at Baltimore
a suitable monument to the memory of
the patriots who aided in establishing the
independence of the United States.
The credentials of Mr. Wilson, the new
senator from the state of Washington,
were presented, and he was sworn in-thus
completing the full Senate member
ship to IS.
The hour of meeting tomorrow was
fixed at IL a. m.
Mr. Jones of Arkansas then moved to
take up the regular order, his free coin
age bill, and it was agreed to by vote
OF SO to 27, as follows:
Yeas-NIessrs. Allen, Bate, Berry,
Blackburn, Blanchard, Butler, Call, Cam
eron. Clark, Dubois, Faulkner, George,
Hansbrough, Harris, Hunton, Jones of
Arkansas, Kyle, McLaurin. Martin,
fer. Perkins, Pettigrew, Power, Pugh,
Roach, Stewart, Teller Vest Voorhees,,
Walsh, White, Wilson of Washington, and
Wolcott-36.
Nays-AIessrs. Aldrich, Burrows, Caffery
Camden, Carey. Chandler. Dixon, Frye,
Gray, Hale, Hawley, Higgins, Hill, Hoar,
Lindsay, Lodge, Mcmillan, Mcpherson,
Manderson, Mitchell of Wisconsin. Nor
ril, Palmer, Plat, Proctor Ransom,
Villas and Washburn-H
Then the tug of war was on. The bill
was read in full. In the opening skirmish
Mr.. Jones said the friends of his bill were
willing to put the matter to a test now,
without a word of debate.
If the opponents of the bill saw fit to re-
sist, and to discuss it, Of course its friends
could not help it; but they had to make
an earnest effort 10 get a vote.
Mr.. Jones added that he did not propose
to jeopardize any appropriation bill. There
was plenty Of time TO pass them all.
It was apparent, however, that no vote
could be taken at once, nor at any time
that could be definitely stated, so Mr.
Jones said he had only TO request that the
debate would proceed as rapidly as pos
sible and that the vote might be had at
the earliest possible hour. He would, there
fore. ask the Senate to remain in session
to-day until a vote was got, if that could
be accomplished.
The general debate was opened by Mr..
Villas. the tenor Of his remarks being
given above. While Mr.. Villas was speak
ing. Mr.. Aldrich sought to read a dis
patch Just received but Mr.. Villas de-
clined to yield for that purpose The
dispatch he intended to read was as fol-
lows;
London. Feb. 1e.-The prospectus for the
new bonds was issued at 6 p. m. here