The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1896-04-29
SOME GOOD BILLS.

weeks are the following by Senator Butler
A BILL
ITO prevent discrimination between var
ious kinds Of legal tender money Of the
United States, and to maintain the equal
.debt-paying and purchasing power
thereof and for other purposes.
BE 1t enacted by the Senate and House
OF Representatives of the United States in
Congress assembled that any note. bill,
BOND. draft, check, exchange, contract,
mortgage. public or private obligation, or
pecuniary liability, hereafter made or con-
tracted. which may provide for its pay
ment in specific kind or kinds OF legal
tender money of the United States, may
be paid or discharged in any kind Of legal
tender money Of the United States, current
at the time of it's maturity, or collection,
at its face value, such stipulation or agree
ment to the contrary notwithstanding.
In presenting this bill Senator Butler
said: by its title it will be seen that it is
bill to maintain the equal debt paying
and purchasing power Of all the legal ten
der currency of the country. I see that
the various state conventions now being
held to elect delegates to the Republican
National Convention are declaring in favor
of this policy, and pledging their party to
give the people such a currency Both Of
the old parties declare it their policy in
their last national platform, and will prob
ably so declare again this year. In order
that we may be able to turn these promises
into performances before another cam
paign, 1 hope the Committee on Finance
will report this bill promptly. We shall
then be able to redeem, before their next
National Conventions are held. the prom
ises which both of the old parties made.
so they will not have to make these prom
Uses over again. The Peoples Party stands
ready to help either party to redeem this
promise. We are ready to do it now.
NnJ onvfc CO., NJnr Avn6~
town and hamlet in this country, and near
ly every man today who borrows money is
forced to give q gold bearing mortgage
note. No Government should allow such
discrimination against any Of it's legal ten
der or lawful money. It is not only an in
cidal governmental policy. 1t Is all wrong
and no party can defend it. Both the
Democratic and Republican parties say
they are opposed to such policy but have
done nothing to correct it. They can cor
rect it by passing this bill. The law as 1t
now stands, instead of maintaining the
equal debt-paying and purchasing power
OF all lawful money actually makes gold
dearer. How can the Government DELHI
erately legislate to increase the purchasing
power of gold, and then insist on paying
it's own debts in this dear money. and
force private debtors to do the same. The
money lender and the bond holder are the
only people benefited by the present law.
1t is to the detriment Of everybody else.
The bill which / offer will correct this
wrong"
FREE RURAL DELIVERY.
Senator Butler also, succeeded in securing
the following amendment to the post office
appropriation bill:
provided that fifty thousand dollars of
this amount be used to defray the expense
of experiments in rural free delivery un-
der the direction of the Postmaster Cen
n~o1 1,oI No ot<fO ny,V
ated for this purpose, and still unexpenGed
be available for said experiment.
During the fifty-second Congress Hon.
Tom Watson secured an amendment to
the post office appropriation bill providing
ten thousand dollars for two years to make
an experiment in rural free delivery, but
every Postmaster General since that time
has steadily refused to apply this money
for that purpose. Senator Butler became
acquainted, with this fact and sprung the
above amendment, which he followed with
vigorous speech, demanding at least
some consideration for the farmer and
gained his point by narrow vote. He
showed that free postal delivery was being
experimental in small towns and villas es
and declared that the farming communi-
ties were entitled to similar privileges.
The twenty thousand dollars secured by
Mr.. Watson, and the fifty thousand dol
lars by Senator Butler will furnish suf-
ficent fund to make the experiment. and
without doubt establish this much desired
system among the agricultural portion of
our people. This is a purely Populistic
measure in every particular, and the farm
ers of this country should recognize it as
such and appreciate the efforts Of those
who have brought it about.
TO LIMIT THE VETO POWER.
The third measure proposed by Senator
Butler is equally, if not more important
than the others. It's aim is to limit the We
to power Of the President. 1t proposes an
amendment to the Constitution providing
that a majority Of Congress instead of
two-thirds as now, shall be sufficient to
pass any measure over the veto Of the
President. In presenting this amendment
Senator Butler said:
This veto power is one provision where
the Constitution, we might say is defec-
tive. 1t is relic of monarchy. When our
forefathers framed the Constitution they
lacked just this much of being weaned
from English ideas. They could not fore
see the tremendous patronage that would
so into the hands of the President in adj
dition to this vetOing power. They could
not fOresee, and did not intend. that this
veto power should be used to kill any bill
that the President did not himself like. In
fact the veto power was intended to be
used very sparingly, and we have the tes-
timOny of a number of the farms OF
the Constitution to that effect. It is an
English idea, but in England the Crown
today does not dare veto bill passed by
Parliament 1t has fallen into disuse in a
kingdom, but in this country it flourishes
and is used more frequently each year
The people elect their Representatives fol
both Houses of Congress directed to en-.
act the will of the people into law, yet one
man, not even a legislator, has the mon
strous authority and power to nullify Con.
gress. A bill is passed after the most care
full and deliberate consideration by the
representatives of the people, yet 1t can be
vetoed and nullified by stroke of the per
in the hand of one man. This is danger
Gus power. When we consider today the
tremendous patronage the President has
with which he can influence legislation
in addition to the veto power to kill what
is passed, it makes him almost an auto
crat: 1t gives him more power than any
crown head of England. or we might say
than any monarch in Europe. We saw here
in the last Congress how this power anC
the patronage of the President were uset
to change the opinion of Congress and te
defeat the will of the people. We saw II
the same Congress how the veto power
was used to strike down a bill that wa:
passed by Congress to coin the seigniorag SO
Nearly every administration since the Civ
il war has used the veto power and the pat
ronage of the Government the same way
This abuse and danger grows greater eacf
year."
It is such measures as these which dis
tinguish reform legislation from machine
politics, and the great plain people of thi:
country should recognize this fact, and bt
constantly informed of what the Populist!
in Congress are doing. The campaign i:
now on and the efforts of all of our Sena
tors and Congressman should be wei
known and held for reference.