Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1896-01-24
SENATOR BUTLER'S SPEECH.
Continual from 6fh Dage.

fA- - h'NHF 80 Ef-
market value Of 25.S grains Of standard gold
shall be greater than the market value of 4t2la
grains OF standard silver, he shall pay the in
terest and the principal of said coin oblfga-
tons as they become due in silver coin, and
continue to pay the same in silver coin until
the market value OF 4I2la grains of standard
silver shall be equal to the market value Of
25.S grains of standard gold, and said notes,
commonly called grcenbacks, when So redeem
ed, shall be reissued, as provided by the act Of
May 81, 1873.
Mr.. BUTLER. Mr.. President, certainly
every man who is opposed to further increas-
ing the public debt favors this amendment.
vor a further issue of bonds can oppose it.
The effect Of it is simply to prohibit the presi-
dent from issuing more bonds without the adj
vice and consent Of congress. deny that he
has that power now, but inasmuch as he claims
he has that power, and inasmuch as some
senators on this floor admit the same, while
many others deny or question the authority,
we should promptly pass this amendment and
settle the controversy. II the president has
power to issue the bonds which he has already
sold, under this law Of 1875, then he has the
power to issue a thousand million of such
bonds without the advice or consent of con-
gress. Such tremendous and dangerous power
can not safely be put in the hands of any one
man. 1t is the power to bankrupt a nation at
one stroke Of the pen.
The power to control our finances was
vested by the constitution not in the president,
but in congress, and we should lose no time in
assuming our sworn and constitutional duty in
this respect. The language of the c%onstitu-
ton is as follows
g. Congress shall have power to borrow money
on the credit of the United States.
But nowhere does it give the power to the
president, and nowhere does it authorize us to
delegate that power to the president. 1t is the
duty OF congress to deal with these questions.
1t is the duty Of congress to decide, first,
whether or not bonds shall be issued to Dor
row money, and if they are to be issued it is
the duty Of congress to determine how and
under what conditions.
| offered a bill containing this same provi-
sion before the president made his last call for
bonds. If congress had promptly passed it
then S~Ioo,ooo,ooo OF debt, with the interest
that will accumulate, would have been saved
by the American people. We do not know
what day or what hour the president may scc
fit to again burden the people with debt with
out their consent or the consent Of their rep
rescntatives IN congress.
II We are opposed to bonds let us be honest
and say SO; let us pass this amendment, and
do it now. Neither the Democratic party mon
the Republican party can escape responsibility
by claiming not to havea majority OF this body
| pledge sly People, party votes in this cham
Der to either party that will vote to stop the
further issue Of bonds, and ,iN vote, will give
to either side a majority. In fact, either party
can have a majority in this body any hour tina
they desire to pass any law in the interests %
the american people. The Democratic part!
had Il majority in both houses OF the las
congress, and vet they sat still and saw thu
| president issue over SI~02,oOo.ooo Of interest
bearing bonds without raising a protest %
T. passing any law to prohibit it. only the othc
day we were confronted with the rcmarkabl,
spectacle of Republican leaders crticising thu
l president in his course. They seem to b
J criticising him and the Democratic party 70
having indorscd and pursued, in the main, tn
financial policy fastened upon this country b.
the Republican party. and when they wcr
asked to 60 squarely ON record in favor q
: bonds or against bonds ON an amendmcn
which offered to the resolution submitted b,
the senator from West Virginia, we found
= impossible to bring the question to 4 vote. '-
! Thi, body did not act at that time. Tn
, next day the president issued a call 70
, bids ON the SIoo.OOo.ooo bond issue. and h
called it "a popular loan The distinguishes
i senator from Nevada MIR. STEWART ehowe'
a conclu,iyely in his mastery speech a few day
ago that the terms ofthe call are such that
i, next to impossible for the people to sub
: scribe or pay Tor the bonds. The dcnomina
a.. tion of the bonds is too large; the price a
= which the bond, are to he sold is not fixed
a any bid may be refused, and, lc,idcs, n
Kind of money will he taken for the bonds c>
. cept gold, while there i, probably not As niue
as S"roo,ooo,ooo of gold in circulation anon
the people ofthc whole country. Everybody ao
i mits that the gold is concrcd by a synd
cate.
o What would senator, say if the prc,idcr
was to advertise to sell bonds Tor wheat onl,
u a,I ,b.,. ,,,.r.. Il, discover that had rornt