The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1896-03-18
MIR. PUGH'S WILD CLAIMS
Says Majority Of the Voters Of This
Country
ARE IN FAVOR OF THE FREE
COINAGE OF SILVER.

Silver Advocates Could Elect Next Presi-
dent If They Would Unite-Cuban Reso-
lutions Up Again-House Passes the
Customs Bill-New Immigration Law
Reported.
Washington, March 1.-THE resolutions
offered yesterday by Mr.. Elkins, instruct
ing the committee ON foreign relations
TO report material facts as to the war
| in Cuba was laid before the Senate but
at the suggestion of Mr.. Elkins, went over
| till tomorrow.
Mr.. Sherman, in charge of the Cuban
resolutions, expressed the hope that af-
ter the senators who had given notice of
their purpose to address the Senate had
made their speeches, the Senate would go
on and dispose of the privileged ques-
tion, the conference report on the Cuban
resolutions, without further delay.
Mr.. Chandler, who had given notice
of his intention to address the Senate
on the Dupont case, expressed his will
ingness to yield priority to the Senator
from Nebraska, Mr.. Thurston, who had
given like notice and who would be
compelled to leave the city in few
days. He thought that both the Dupont
case and the Cuban resolutions ought to
receive the permitting attention of the
| Senate.
| Mr.. Pugh then proceeded with bis
speech in favor of the free coinage of siE
| yer.
He attacked the national bank systefih
declaring that banks were known to b6I
the natural enemies of metallic money.
4 The silver craze,' he said, Hwas noth-,
| ing compared with the insanity of the
gold spectators, in trying to establish
despotism on money. to which the pe01
| Pile would never submit unless they were
| really crazed. 1t is not within the scope
Of human power to place the United
States on gold basis, .or to keep it on
a silver basis. If the friends of free
coinage in the three political organiza-
tions could be united on one man, they
| would elect President by an over
whelming majority, for it could not be
honestly questioned that an oyerwhelm-
ing majority Of the whole voting popu-
lation of the United States favored the
independent restoration of silver coinage
on equal terms with gold. Unfortu-
nately the friends of free silver coinage
WE'RE FIGHTING EACH OTHER.
In separate political organizations. This
fact was the greatest and only obstacle
in the way of their success in the next
presidential election and was the main
reliance Of the advocates of gold pluto
cracy. 1t was utterly unreasonable to
expect the free coinage Democrats, who
constituted four-ffths of the party, to
go over to the Populist party which made
up mere fraction of the friends OF free
coinage. One man in the White House
blocked the way to free silver coinage so
that it was perfectly clear that no legis-
lation, friendly to silver, could become q
law, while Mr.. Cleveland was Presi-
dent" s}s4,
Mr.. Pugh continued his speech at 1. As
| Pm, and the conference report on the
| Cuban belligerent resolutions were talk
an up. ssltd
Mr.. Morgan, Democrat of Alabama.
member of the committee ON foreign re-
lations, continued the speech begun by
him yesterday in favor.of the resolutions.
BE began by speaking of the super-sen-
sitiveness OF Spain because she felt the
sand sliding from under her feet while
'fThe Gem of the Antilles'' was passing
| out of her grasp. Spain had
SUCKED THE ORANGE WE'LL
nigh dry, until its sweetness was about
all gone. MIR. Morgan spoke of the "fur-
tive allusion" to sugar in the paper Of
the Spanish minister, made public yes
terday, and said it WAS intended to sweet
en- the invocation for American sympathy
and to aid to crush the rebellion.
He sent to the clerks desk and had read
what he called the Spanish minister's s
''diatribe against the Senate and Sena-
TORS" He spoke of Senor de LONE as "a
supsrticious foreign minister" and said
that 1t was high time for the House and
Senate to close their doors against such
attempts to influence them. This was
the first time, he said, when foreign
representative of monarchy could call
in question the members of those bodies,
for words uttered in debate He spoke
of the censorship of the cable between
Cuba and America by the Spanish autho-
rites and said that as far as the mails
were concerned. he had been informed
by Catholic priest who knew perfectly
we'll, both Spain and Cuba, that the
mails between Cuba and the United
States were constantly opened and the
contents examined. 1t was perfectly
we'll known, Mr.. Morgan added, that all
telegraphic information from Cuba was
doctored, unless it happened to be favor
able to the Spanish cause.
| He lost respect for minister who un-
dertook to MISC uote Senator, as the
Spanish minister had misquoted him.
He read from the Congressional Record
/ the statement he (Mr. Morgan) made in
the Senate and which he said the Span
4 ish minister misquoted.
Mr.. Morgan said the facts cited by him
in that speech stood confessed by Spain
through the lips of her own minister,
who evaded the statements and left them
unanswered. HI dissented from the opin-
ion that foreign ministers in this country
had right to resort to the press for tn g
purpose of affecting any matter pend
ing in. Congress, or in respect to any poll
-