The Portland daily press., 1896-02-03
SILVER WINS
As Was Predicted in the Upper
House.
SENATOR'S PASS THE FREE COINAGE
SUBSTITUTE.

Senator Morrill, Utters Final Appeal for
Honest Money to No Avail-The Presi-
Aent's Call for Relief Unheeded-siiver
Stalks in Brief Triumph in the Senate.
Washington, February When the
Senate met at II O'Clock this morning,
after taking a recess from 10 o'clock last
evening, the attendance was rather slim.
The Wise President laid before the
Senate an estimte of an appropriation by
the Secretary of the Navy of $4,000 for
new practice vessels for the naval acade-
my.
Mr. Allen introduced bill to reduce
public expenditures and for other pur-
poses, which was referred to the finance
committee.
MIR. Morrill,, chairman of the finance
committee. then addressed the Senate in
opposition to the free coinage substitute
reported by that committee for the House
bond bill.
Mr.. Morrill, in the beginning of his
speech remarked that it was proper for
him to say that he did not agree with
the majority of the committee on finance
on the report of the substitute for the
House bill, but he hoped to be pardoned
for occupying the time of the Senate on
topic to which 1t no longer delighted
to listen. The President, he said, asked
Congress to amend the terms of one law
under which he is authorized to sell
bonds and procure gold to preserve the
equal value of The various kinds of
money now in the hands of the people so
that the bonds would bear lower ratt
of interest and mature at an earle date.
Was not that a fair request? He said
the House of Representatives pr omptly
responded to the Presidents demand and
supplemented it with an emergency ta
if revenue bill, as more permanent
remedy against the export of gold. But
the Senate committee on finance have
proposed a substitute fol the bond bill, a
bill for the free coinage of silver, too
much of which is the cause Of our recent
embarrassment. This, said the Senator,
may not be the first time where bread
has been asked for and a stone present.
ed, but 1t was the first time that Senate
pSOAAAo
practical joke almost good enough for
the clown OF Barnums lnenagerie.
Changes of revenue laws, remarked MI.
Morrill,, are advised oniy when demand
ed by potential reasons, which are now
abundant, but he now thought it neces-
sary to mention only one. and that, he
said, is deficit of revenue, and in sup
port of which assertion Mr.. Morrill, quot
ed reports at different periods OF the Sec
rotary of the Treasury since December,
1893, and asserted that If further evidence
of lack of revenue should be asked 1t
could be found in the increase of our
public debt. The deficit should be reme-
died at once.
Referring to the commendatioD by
THE SILVER ORATORS
Of ths financial condition and policy of
France as an example worthy of imita-
tion. the Senator remarked that France
has not recently furnished any market
for silver. and has only kept her old and
usual stock in circulate on and that sill
yer there is maintained at ar with gold
because the governments long ago sus-
pended its coinage and because there is
no clustering silver party and no silver
plated Democratic party there daily striy-
ing to pull down their money standard
to that of deprecated silver, but they
keep silver to the amount Of 1886, COZ, 600
with $722, 600, ,00J of gold ut tile ratio of
Is 1>2 to l.
The United States, said Mr Morrill,,
had been the friend of silver to Its own
hurt and If our late investments OF near
~ five hundred millions in silver have
been VIGOROUSLY improvident and uu-
profiEable, the disastrous results will ap-
pear as drop in the bucket when COIN
pared with what must follow from the
enormlty of the present proposal, which
Is to open all our mints to the free coin
age not only of our own silver product
but that also OF all the world, excluding
nobody from Dan to Beersheba and TO
tempt great increase Of tie annual pro-
duct both at home and abroad by Offering
United States obligations for il at double
the sum it now commands in any other
market. The vast product, said the Sen
ator, once in the possession If the gov
ernment must stay there forever, defunct
AS an Egyptian mummy, as the public
long ago refused to aid in its larger
practical circulation and he thought If an
individual spendthrift were to maks a
like exhibition of incapacity to manage
his financial affairs there is not a court
of any state that would refuse to appoint
q guardian for him.
The Senator then referred to the yari-
ons arguments that have been presented in
advocacy OF free coinage, pointing out
objections to all that have been advanced,
and in response to the views that free
coinage would equali2e financial ex-
change so as to compete with the people
of India, China and Japan, who appear
to be contented with silver money ut
about half its face value, that so far as
free coinage, being a protection against
oriental industrial rivals, we might with
almost equal propriety be invited to in
troduoe
AN ASIATIC PLAGUE
and have it just as logically urged on
the ground that it has long prevailed in
Asia and yet they have not all died there.
Wandering somewhat aside from a di-
rect financial argument ON the topic, Mr..
Morrill, said: ''Some whispered threats
have f1oated in the air that the extreme
silver men now fraternizing here and at
home wi h the Republican party would
band themselves together on one do1ni-
nant idea, forsaking all others and with
auxiliary Democratic aid, hitch on 20
the tail of a great Republican measure at
the first opportunity some tinkl1ng silver
amendment, hoping thereby 10 secure the
silver triumph OF hybrid continuation
although the grand old Republican mart
.X-.l& til Ilt,%