The evening times., 1897-03-03
SILVER CHAMPIONS DEBATE
international Monetary Move
ment Hopeless and Headless."
WOLCOTT'S MISSION A FAILURE
Mr.. Teller Asserts That the IncoH-
ing Administration Is Unfrtendly
to BimetalIism and Contrasts the
Inaugural Splendor With the Suf-
fering Among the Pauper Classes.

An interesting discussion arose yester-
day, when the House amendments to the
International monetary conference were
laid before the Senate. 1t was opened by
Mr.. Dubois, who arguedthat the billseemed
to be political proposition and nothing
else. All admitted that nothing could be
the consent OF England. He should vote
for the bill, and hoped that it would avail;
but he was convinced that Republicans
did not intend to, and would rot, accont-
plish anything by the bill. 1t was play
ing politics. and nothing else.
Mr.. Dubois read extracts from letter
received by him recently from Mr.. MoretOn
Frewen, OF London, stating that the move
ment Ia England for currency reform
was apparently hopeless and headless.
That even Balfour seemed to regard the
opposition to it within the cabinet and in
the city as quite inyincihle; and that
the prospect for international action de-
pended entirely on whether some country
could he found brave enough to put its
foot down. THE only way Mr.. Dubois
continued, ito reach an international agree
ment is for this nation to stand out, as in
177e, and say; We will regulate our own
affairs Whenever we do that, European
nations will, in my Judgment, sue for an
inte national monetary conference. IL
not they will lose the trade of the world"
Talking OF the silver Senators, Mr.. Du-
bois said that they had left their Repub-
lican friends for good. ado not" said
he, addressing the Republican side OF the
chamber, LAY the flattering JUNCTION TO
your souls that they will come back. Ten
of your party will come 10 us for one
OF US that will go to you, so long as you
adhere TO the gold standard. You will
fool nobody by your pretended intema-
tional agreement. You VIII fool nobody
any more by planks in your platform. The
issue is squarely Joined, and you must meet
it squarely. / mean that you must de-
clare for the free coinage of silver at
the ratio of 16 to /. And when your
tariff fails and prosperity does not return,
then you will be brought face to face with
this question, and in my Judgment the
result will crush you out as party"
Mr. Cannon, silverite of Utah, called for
the reading of the House amendment,
which provides for sending special ENJOYS
to European nations to seek for an inter
national agreement through diplomatic ne
gotiatioDs; and when it was read he de
clared that the adoption OF that amend
ment would be an official confession of
the absolute failure OF Senator Wolcott's
mission. If the Senate bill was, as sOIIe
people suggested, nonsense, 1T came back
from the H ouse ''costly nonsense" IN con-
clusion he said that the next administra-
ton would be, so far as the money ques-
tion was concerned, the same as il Grover
Cleveland had been elected for O third
term
Mr.. Teller said that the only result of the
bill would be to convince the American
people that bimetallism could not be Sc
cured by international agreement 1t was
beyond the bounds of reason to hope or
expect that Great Britain would change
her attitude on the money question-that
attitude which she had maintained since
1916, and which she was Of late more de-
termined than ever to MAINTAIN. He did
not care to occupy the time of the Senate
in discussing the question now, but he
would discuss it in the next session. He
for it was the greatest question that the
American people ever had to consider. In
order to have a successful monetary con-
ference there would have to be prelimin.
airy diplomatic negotiations.
A Republican administration was coming
into power, and it was known who its
Secretary of State and Secretary of the
Treasury were to be. Their selection in
dicated the policy of the administration.
There was TO reason to suppose that the
Secretary of State, Mr.. Sherman, would
enter into arrangements for the purpose
OF restoring bimetallism. Nor was there
any reason to suppose that the new secre-
taTy of the Treasury had any sympathy
with an international agreement. There
was no reason to suppose that the Pres
idcnt-eIect had any sympathy for it. No
one could find an utterance of his after
the nomination which indicated that he