The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1895-02-26

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demonstration in the Senate. makes tho
following review Of silver in Congress, TO
show that the craze is really subsidirg:
The issue was made sharply In the
senate during the summer of 1890. The
| silver purchase act favored by the Har-
| rison Administration, was passed by the
House of Representatives on the Eth of
June and came up in the Senate a few
| days later Mr.. Plumb. OF Kansas. moved
| an amendment providing for free coin
| age, and it was carried by A vote OF
| Is to q. This a far larger majority
on the wrong side than exists In the
| same body to-day.
| Bad as was the showing OF 1880, how
ever. the situation was far worse in
| 1S7-'18. when the first silver legislation
| was enacted. On the 5th of November,
| 117, Mr.. Bland moved in the House OF
| Representatives, TO suspend the rules and
! pass a bill to authorize free coinage, and
| the motion was carried by the perfectly
! overwhelming majority OF 1874 to "a, only
ten members from any other part Of the
! country than New England, New York,
| New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, voting
against it. The Senate under the lead
| ership Of Mr.. Allison, substituted a pro-
| vision. which was accepted by the House.
| FOR the purchase of SILVER bullion and it's
| coinage into silver dollars of not less
| than S2OOO,0O0 nor more than 5000 900
! worth per month. President Hay = veto
ed the act in a brief and forciblc mes
| sage but both branches again passed il
| over his objections the vote In the Sen
| ATE standing 10 yeas TO 10 nays, consid-
| erably more than the necessary two
thirds Allowing for pairs the full Sem
ate would have stood 80 yeas to % nays.
and IL Of these - were from New Eng
/ land. New York and Pennsylvania.
In seventeen years, therefore, We have
| advanced from a situation i'm which
| absolute free coinage was endorsed I'm
| the House by vote Of almost five 10
| one. and the Bland-AlisOn act was pass
| 81 over the Presidents veto by more
| than two-thirds in the Senate as well as
| the House. TO the rejection Of free coin
| age in the House on the 18th Of August,
| 1893. by a vote of 226 TO 125. and the sink
| ing of the free coinage strength I'm the
| Senate to a majority of only nine As
! for the silver purchase act OF 1890 We
! have sec ired its repe II lring the pres
| ont Congress. and everybody knows that
! 70 such measure can get through the next
| Congress.
The gain in public sentiment Is still
| more pronounced. 1t seems strange now
| TO remember that only four years ago
| last fall Republican conventions were
| warmly praising the silver purchase act,
| the platform i'm President HarrisOns own
! state, which had previously been indOrsed
| in the White House, saying of the law
| which had to be repealed within three
| years:
Under it's benehcent Influence silver
| has rapidly approached the gold standard
! Of value. farm products are advancing
in price and commerce is feeling the
| impulse of increased prosperity. 1t wiz
| adj more than 900 annually Of
| sound currency to the amount in circula-
| ton among the people, and is a long. yet
| prudent. step towards free coinage"
The condition of public sentiment was
! vastly worse in 1871 than in 1890. for
| i'm their attitude toward the silver ques-
ton at the former time both parties re-
| fected a feeling that was very general
| throughout the country. except in the
| northeastern corner. In 1871 the Iowa Re-
publicans demanded that "the law under
which silver coinage was suspended
| should be repealed at the earliest possible
| day, and silver made with gold a legal
tender for the payment of all debts. both
| public and private" The Ohio Republic
| cans resolved that both silver and gold
shall be a legal tender for the payment
| of all debts, except those specifically pro-
| vided for by law. and we demand the
| reconciliation OF silver" Even in Penn
| sylvania the Republicans adopted a plat
| lOlIl WHICH " tCSiS AtNidA'i tlldN We
favor "A return to the free use and I'M
restricted coinage Of dollars of 179S'
The New York journal Of Commerce
makes the following remarks upon the
case, on February 22d:
The cause of free silver has already
declined percepubly. 1t has lost Inucn of
| its regularity with the voters where II
used TO be dominant; ii will pc weaker in
the next House than in the present one.
/, has still power for evil only in the
Senate, and there only because that body
has been so freely recruited OF late from
the mining tgions. 1t has not the
! strength i'm the Senate that It has pre-
tended to have. It has had temporarily
the advantage of an alliance with the
personal ard political enemies Of the Ad-
ministration 1t is no longer aggressive;
IT dares not fight it gives way for the
appropriation bills; IL wth1raws from a
contest with time, though 1t has a
numerical majority. 1t has had its DAY.
We are frank TO admit that the facts
in this record had passed out of our
mind, but it is most gratifying TO have
them recalled II is not possible to re-
view them without perceiving that the
|
greatly decreased. Fifteen years ago It
was allowed to have its way. because
sensible men had not begun generally TO
perceive its lurking power Of evil and
they simply stood aside and permitted II
TO roar and career because it was trou-
bIesome to oppose 1t. But as time pass
ed, and its fatal meaning began to be-
come apparent. those OF the people who
had something and desired to hold on
TO and improve it, began TO rouse them
selves for a contest with II. Its advocates
have steadily decreased from the day a
serious contest was commenced. and its
adversaries have steadily increased until
we feel the fullest assurance that in 1896
it Will be trampled under foot beyond all
power of recognition.
We said a day or so back, that the
probability now seemed that the dele
| gates from the South and the silver
States to the next National Democratic
Convention would combine to impose a
! free-silver man on the party as its nomi-
nee, upon a free-silver platform. With
in the past few days. Congressman Bland
| has had an interview in Washington, in
which he declares that the free-silver ele-
ment of the party will make a separate
nomination if the regular Democratic