The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1895-02-20
HOW 1T WAS DONE.

In favor OF the resolution, and 50 Democrats
and 62 Republicans and Seven Populists
167 in all, voted against it.
HOW 1T WAS DONE.
A Detailed Report of the Proceedings
in the House.
WASHINGTON, d. c., Feb. 14-Although
it was known that an attempt would be
made today to pass the resolution author
izing the issue of per cent gold bonds in
the house. the attendance on the floor was
not large when the speaker called the
house to order at II o'clock. This
probably due to the fact that many men,
bers supposed the house would meet at
noon, as usual Despite the small attend
ance, however, there was much excitement
on the floor. AS soon the journal had
been read Mr.. Catchings, from the COM
mittee on rules, reported the special order
under which the house was to operate. 1t
was as follows:
Resolved, That Immediately upon the
adoption of this resolution the house shall
proceed a committee Of the whole to
the consideration of house resolution No.
255 the bond resolution); that at the hour
of o'clock this day the previous question
shall be considered as ordered on said reso-
luton, and then, without intervening mo-
ton, votes shall be taken thereon until the
same shall have been fully disposed Of
After some delay in securing a quorum,
the motion was adopted by a vote of 152
to Is.
Before the debate began, the speaker an
nounced that he would recognize two men,
bers of the committee on ways and means,
Mr.. Wilson and Mr.. Reed in the affirma-
tive, and Messrs. Hopkins (Rep, HID and
Bryan Dem., Neb), in the negative, to
control four hours of the time allotted for
debate, the remaining hour to be given to
debate under the five minute rule.
Mr.. Wilson, chairman of the house ways
and means committee, who opened the de-
bate, cautioned the house al once that I'M
less the debate could be restricted to de-
bate about ways and means to exclusion
from all partisanship, it would be impos-
sible to vote intelligently at its conclusion
Mr. Wilson then proceeded to carefully
state the case, covering the ground trav-
ersed by his report to the house yesterday
He spent much time celebrating the events
leading up to, and the conditions which
compelled the secretary of the treasury
| to make the 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
| available cash balance in the treasury of
| $165000,000, a larger balance than on June
| 3d. 1892, by $685. 600, when it was s129 OOO-
| 600, including the gold reserve. Today the
! gold reserve stood at $42,213,OOO. Mr.. Will
| son reviewed the
| HISTORY OF THE GOLD
reserve established to insure the resump-
llOu OIL specie payments. L he reserve mad
| not been threatened until the panic of 1890
| when in single month-November-$2
| 100000 of gold had been withdrawn.
In the course of the panic of 1890 the $751;
| 600, 900 of bank trust funds had been past
| to the available assets of the treasury
| Since then bonds had been sold three times
| to replenish the gold in the treasury, twice
| within six months. The previous opera
tons of the treasury had resulted he said,
| in the United States exchanging it's own
| bonds for it's own gold, and now Secretary
Carlisle had done what Secretary Sherman
| did time and time again. when he was re
| funding the public debt-he had purchased
| gold in other markets than our own. Mr.
| Wilson contrasted the situation of the
| treasury in 1882 with it's situation now in
! regard to the burden to be borne by the
| gold reserve. Then greenbacks were
| being presented for redemption and the re-
serve was only necessary for practical pur-
poses to support the outstanding silver
amounting to but 200,000,000 Today it sup
ported the entire currency fabric, $500 O0O
| 0O0 of outstanding legal tenders and treas
ury notes, $500,00OO00 of over valued silver
and all the national bank notes outstand-
| ing.
"You admit" interrupted Mr.. Dinglev
| (Rep., Me.), 'such Sill 100000 of gold have
been purchased to maintain the gold re-
| serve. How did the treasury obtain the
money to meet the deficiency in the reve-
| nues of $685. 00,000?"
| sui ndrplnS on my daughter, said Mr.
| Wilson, with a wave of his hand but Mr.
| Dingley insisted upon an answer to his
| question, and Mr.. Wilson replied that as
| he had stated a former OCCASION it was
| partly true, by the operations of the end
less chain 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 redeemabe by the
| treasury could be used by conversion to
| drain the treasury of gold as well as the
| legal tenders.
Mr.. Wilson asserted that for Is years
the sold standard had been the
PRACTICAL MONEY BASIS
in this country, that gentlemen confused
the standard of payment with the currency
| of payment. Two experiments had failed
to give relief and the treasury had
been obliged to resort as it had under
Secretary Sherman, to a special contract.
| Mr.. McMillin Oem., TENN asked if it
| would not be possible to raid the gold
reserve in the future as it had been in
| the past.
Mr.. Wilson replied that it has undoubted-
ly been possible since the first days of
the resumption of specie payments but
said it would not be done if we can main
tain confidence so that our currency will
be good as gold.
Mr.. Hopkins Rep., ILL said that the
resolution was, whether the government
at this late day should, by the extraordin-
airy methods of President Cleveland and
his secretary of the treasury, change its
established policy under 80 years of Re-
publican rule and make its bonds payable
in gold. Why did not the president, he
asked, call the attention of these foreign
capitalists to the fact that this country
had a settled policy. Applause.) If the
statement Mr.. Wilson had made had beer
true, that coin was really as good colo
in the contract and meant the same thing
; why had not the president told these cap
italists so?
Il oppose this resolution" he continued
because it will in my judgment, destroy
the credit of the United States. In thu
future it would be necessary to put thu
word gold into every bond.
1.-THE bondholder directly interested
:. in driving this country to silver basil
and sending gold to a premium TIL
RothSchldS by this method could double
, the value of their holdings. Secretar.
: Folger had extended the vast sum of $500,
= 100000 four per cent bonds at three re
:, | cent in the open sunlight before the Ameri
can people. Republican applause) Evel
the loans of this administration had beel
: made in the open market with the Ameri
can people in the light of day. They ha
, been made for 10 years at less than
. per cent. Now there had been made a con
tract with a foreign syndicate by whicl
the government received fO 0O0 less tina