Omaha daily bee., 1896-01-14
SILVER IN THE SENATE,

Most Of the present week is to be
given up in the United States senate tic
Il useless and time-wasting discussion OF
the free silver substitute for the bond
bill which Il majority of the finance com.
mittee agreed upon last week. This
measure provides for the opening of the
mints to the coinage of standard silver
dollars of 412h grains, as provided by
the act of 1887, and upon the same
terms and subject to the limitations
and provisions of law regulating the
coinage and legal tender quality of gold,
certificates to be issued on the coins
whenever they are received into the
treasury. 1t also requires the coinage
into dollars of that portion of the silver
purchased under the act of 1890 which
represents s~eigniorage, this to be used
in payment of current expenses of the
government and to be made immedi-
ately available by issuing certificates
against it, as if it was already coined
and in the treasury. Another provision
is that greenbacks and treasury notes,
when presented for redemption, shall be
redeemed in standard silver dollars or
in gold coin, at the option of the gov
eminent, instead of at the option of the
holder, as now 1t is also provided that
no national bank note shall be here
after issued for a denomination less
than SO and that all bank notes below
that denomination now outstanding
shall no uifhI,o WIN and nnnnnlInI ~,
soon as practicable.
The introduction of his measure and
the efforts which it's advocates in the
senate will make to pass it simply re-
wives the free silver controversy, which
it had been generally hoped was at an
end at least for the time being, for GER
tainly the free silver men know the
bill cannot become law. 1t is by no
means certain that if brought to a vote
in the senate it will pass that body,
while there is absolutely no chance of
its getting through the house. What
must the country think, then, of men
who sidetrack n revenue bill, framed
to meet n pressing emergency, and put
forward a hopeless measure the effect
of which, If it have any effect, cannot
be otherwise than vicious? The great
need of he government ut this time Is
revenue. the increase of the receipts to
an amount that will at least equal the
expenditures, but this vital matter is
secondary in the consideration of the
silver men to their policy of free and
unlimited coinage of silver at 10 to 1,
and so, regardless of possible conse-
quences, they push their scheme to the
front and compel the senate to waste
time in its discussion, instead of being
engaged In considering the question of
giving the treasury more revenue Such
reckless Indifference to the paramount
requirement of the government cannot
be too severely condemned.
Although the free silver bill cannot
become law Its Introduction and dis
cussion in the senate may do some mis-
chief. Its tendency must be to retard
recovery of confidence abroad in Ameri-
can securities, already Mt n very low
point n exceedingly sensitive. The
fact that the free silver men are strong
enough in the upper branch of congress
to bring forward such Il measure and
force II into precedence, under existing
circumstances, can hardly fail to in
the feeling of distrust with which
everything American of a financial ma
ture Is regarded in the money centers
of Europe and surely this is not the
when it is wise or eXpedient to
east any additional doubt upon our
credit as a people or a government.
What effect this renewal of the free sill
Yer agitation may have upon the effort
OF II government to replenish the gold
reserve by the sale OF bonds is uncer-