The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1896-02-14
ONLY EIGHTY VOTES
SilVer's Strength in the House Falls
Below Expectations.
ALL AMENDMENTS BEATEN
Dingley Intimates That the United
States May Call Monetary Con-
ference Hall and Dear
mond In Savage Debate

| days debate, the house to-day. by a
| vote of so to 1870 in committee of the
| whole. rejected the senate free coinage
amendment to the bond bill and re-
| ported the bill to the house with a rec
ommendation to non-concur and insist
on the house bill. The strength devel-
oped by the silver men was disappolnt-
| ing. They had been confidently claim
ing over 100 votes. After two hours
debate tomorrow the final vote will be
| taken. Dingley will close for the ma
Jority, and Crisp for the minority
Propositions were offered during the
day to concur. with amendments as
| follows: To coin the American silver
| product; for the retention of the seign-
| forage of the government; to open the
mints to the free coinage of silver at
the ratio of 15Ia to l when Germany
and France should have agreed upon
| similar action. All were defeated by
| large majorities. The last proposition
offered by Towne of Minnesota, mus
! tered SO votes, the largest number of
any. Towne had stated to the house
that similar propositions will be sub
| mitted to the reichstag and the French
parliament at the present session.
The most significant statement to-day
| came in the form of an intimation
from Dingley that a bill might be re-
ported from the ways and means com
mittee looking to the initiation by this
country of a project for another inter
national monetary conference to meet
within a year While Dingley said he
was simply expressing his personal
position i'm the matter, 1t was generally
understood from the manner in which
he said that the suggestion has already
matured into a well defined intention
on the part of the republican leaders
of the house. Although the galleries
were thronged to-day and there was a
good deal of outside interest manifested
in the closing of the debate. as evil
denced by the presence of Senator Sher-
man and others from the other end of
the capitol, the debate itself was only
saved from utter stagnation by very
spirited and very personal encounter
between Dearmond and Hail. both of
Missouri, on differences on the finan-
cial question.
Hall took the initiative, but he met
an adversary worthy of his steel. Dear
mond had criticised the language Hall
had used i'm announcing his conversion
to the cause of sound money" (Ian
in the last congress voted for free coin
age) To-day Hall opened by referring
to the fact that Dearmond had men
toned the names of Benedict Arnold
and Judas Iscariot without the appar-
ent courage to make a personal appli-
cation" Proceeding, he Indignantly
denied that he had been a Washing
ton convert to the cause of sound
money, and adverted to a standing
challenge he had posted in Missouri
last summer to discuss the issue on the
stump. He also denied that he had ina
tended to charge his free silver friends
in the house with personal corruption.
why should the gentleman feel that
he has been hit?" he asked, turning
to Dearmond. II do not know unless
the solution is found In the old adage
that the bird which has not been hit
fiutters." Hall, continuing, replied to
the charge that he had been posing as
the author Of the income tax BY this
time the house was intensely interested
and the members crowded around the
combatants.
Dearmond had fire in his eye when
hearose to reply. He did not feel, he
said, that anything the gentleman had
said had struck him but he felt, as one
of the representatives from Missouri. /
that when the newest convert from
that state to the so-called sound money
doctrine saw proper in making his
platform, TO class the Chinese the peo-
pie from the East Indies and the depths I
Of Africa, and the lower animals In the f.
category of those who did not chang .
their opinions, perhaps IL might not Z.
be Inappropriate to suggest that there F.
might be changes of opinion that would D
evidence no tremendous exaltatiOn /
above those referred to. As to the in /
come tax business. he said, the gentle I
man had allowed himself 10 be paraded 4
as the author of the bill when he knew .
he was not. He said he had been in .
formed and believed that eight sena- /
tors who had voted for free coinage" I
continued Dearmond, had said they
believed il would bring bankruptcy .
and ruin t. the country. IL did not .
identify them, he did not name one:
he never will 60 il. If eight tors. .
or one senator, made any such remark F..
he merely did what the gentleman lin-
self does not ana will not dare deny
that he has done The gentleman talk
ed about Gladstone. / might Il / had .
chosen. have commented upon the ex-
qusite modesty that resigns in my
collea que when talking about his con-
version. his elevation, his own prog
ress. he thrust into such Close connec-
tion that liltle incident about the
change Of opinions in Gladstone. ANY
man has a right 10 change his o9ln-
ion. But my impression was that when
a man changed his opinion and dep srrs
from his old associates NJ ought hardly
70 pirate al the first opportunity about
the courage which LED him 10 DO il. or
talk about the 'cowarIlce' Cwithout
or specification that re-