Birmingham state herald., 1896-01-04


 origin in 1890.
 At the close of MT. Mills remarks MT.
 Vest democrat of Missouri, asked what
 had become of MT. Sherman's resolution,
 and was informed by the presiding off
 cer (Mr. HilD in the chair that it had
 gone to the calendar.
 MT. Vest said that he desired to speak
 upon it next week, aSnd he asked that
 it lie on the table until then. and it was
 so ordered.
 The resolution heretofore offered by
 Mir. Elkins, directing that no bonds shall
 be sold at private sale or under contract.
 was taken up and Mr. Elkins addressed
 the senate in favor of its adoption.
 Most of MT. Elkins' speech was direct
 ed to criticism of the enormous prohts
 made by the syndicate in floating govern
 ment bonds, and he asserted on news
 paper authority, that the syndicate
 which foated the last loan had made
 profit of SS,000,000, and that the syndi-
 cate which would float the loan now
 pending would make a profit of $12000,-
 00O The bonds which were to be sold
 at 103% per cent were now selling in the
 market he said. at IT, He wanted no
 more syndicates to take government
 loans. He wanted the people to have chance to take them. He asked a vote
 upon taking up the resolution for present consideration. The vote was taken and
 resulted yeas 4S nays 6, as follows: Yeas-Messrs. Aldrich. Allen, Allison, Baker, Bate. Berry, Burrows. Butler, Call, Cameron, Chandler, Clarke, Cock
 rell Cullom, Davis, Dubois. Elkins,
 Faulkner Frye, Gallnger, George Hale,
 Harris, Hawley, Hoar, Jones of Nevada,
 Kyle, Lodge, Mcbride, Mantle, Martin, Morgan, Morrill,, Nelson, Peffer, Perkins,
 man, Shoup, Teller. Turpie, Vest, Voor- hees, Walthall and Warren-4S. Nays-Messrs. Brice, Caffery, Chiffon, Hill Mitchell of Wisconsin and Murphy G.
 MT. IIll moved the reference of the resolution to the finance committee. As to the propriety of his motion 1t struck him that there could be no question. The
 subject was already before the finance committee and was being considered day by day. The resolution would be Of no legal avail It would be like the popes bun on the comet. It merely declared that so and so was the sense of the sen ate.
 MT President" he exclaimed, there | is no sense in it. It proposed Ito tie up | the hands of the executive. We're not the president and the secretary of the treas | ury enough embarrassed already? Were not there not difficulties enough pending on the financial question? What was the necessity of adding to them? It was proposed to deprive the executive author ities of the right to exercise powers which had been exercised by all the au- thorities of the government since the conclusion of the war. I thought 1t un- becoming, at least on the part of the democratic senate, to vote a want Of con | fidence in the executive on this question. He was not especially favorable to syn dicates and would prefer popular loan, but he knew that in what was called | popular loan 1t was taken generally by | the agents and clerks of banking fnstitu- tions and popular loan" was therefore mere play upon the words. The practi- | cal effect of a popular loan will be that | the people who desired to invest in gov ernment bonds would draw greenbacks | from the savings banks, take them to the sub-treasuries and there procure the very gold which the government had now | in the treasury.
 He denounced the resolution as most unwise step and had fling at the "un- holy alliance" which had given the re- publicans the control of the senate. He did not believe that the people would approve of the resolution. He might | think, as he thought, that the bonds should be first offered to the people. l But they did not know the risks; they were not acquainted with the precise sitr uation, as the officials of the government | He knew no reason why MT. Carlisle should seek to do favors for the members of the proposed syndicate. Who, he asked was this man Morgan of New York? He was the man who was lib- eral contributor to the republican cause. He was the man, who in every presiden- | tial election came to the front with the sinews of war in favor of the republi- can party. And was it to be whispered or insinuated that the president or the secretary of the treasury were anxious | to do this man a favor?
 MT. Hill declared that if he were sec retary of the treasury he would not be hampered by the Elkins resolution, but would proceed under the law of 1875, and would issue bonds in sufficient amount heroic remedy. he admitted, for the pur- pose of solving the question. He would issue the bonds to the amount of $200,- O00, ,OO0 and thus would obtain control of the financial situation. That would pre- vent the syphonfng of gold out of the treasury.
 What would be the effect of that course upon the prices of cotton and wheat?" MT. George, democrat. of Mis- sissIppi. asked.
 might depress prices, but if the existing situation continues these prices will con tinue to be depressed. as they are now" Coming to the question of United States notes and greenbacks, MT. Hill declared himself opposed to goverpment paper money. He doubted it's constitu- tionality. He knew that by a close vote the supreme court of the United States had finally mustered courage to say that 1t was constitutional. But he had never heard the reasoning of Chief Justice Chase on that question overthrown. in which the principle had been laid down, in substance that the government had no right to make its promises to pay" money and that nothing Is money ex- cept the gold and silver coin of the con- stitution. That, he thought, was good democratic doctrine. It might not be good republican doctrine.
 Tn conclusion he declared that if the resolution were agreed to he did not be- lieve that the president would pay the slightest attention to 1t; and he ought not to. The presidents duty was to be determined by the stat es-not by a
 resolution of one house of congress-and by the condition of the treasury. The president could not fall back and justify
 himself on the ground that the senate had said, by simple resolution, that the
 bonds should not be disposed of in a cer- tain way.
 MT. Butler populist, of North Caro- lima, moved to amend the Elkins resolu-
 ton by making it read that it is the
 sense of the senate that hereafter no bonds of the United States shall be sold
 for any purpose whatever without furth-
 CT authority from congress"
 (Yt.t -1--