The silver lance., 1897-12-24
WOLCOTT EXPLAINS.
SAYS HE IS STILL HOPEFUL.
He VIII Explain Further After Cnr'''-
Tho Commission Has NOT

Tho Commission ms
Yet.
washington, Dec. TINT. Wolco1
of Colorado. chairman OF the com
mission appointed by President me-
Kinlev to secure, If possible, tne co.
oneratYon Of foreign countries IN =, a.
international conference upon tne 81
ver question, made a brief statemen'
in the Senate. 1t was made IN GU l
nectjon with the discussion OF MI.
Aliens resolution calling upon tne
president for information about tne
instructions given to the 1ntgnauona..
Monetary Commission ana me lepoA'
made to him by the commission.
Mr.. Wolcott said that the commiS-
sion had not made a report to the rres-
ident. The English government, ne
added, has published a resume Oh 'ae
proceedings of the commission IN
Great Britain. That document WIN
soon be here, and, as it covers tine SUD
ject fully, it will be valuable to sena-
tors and others. ...
II hone soon," said Mr.. Wdcott, TO
make statement concerning the VOTE
Of the monetary commission. Quite
naturally, the statement 1 shan maxi
will be unofficial, but it will eontaln
some information that may be OF IN
terest and value to the Senate.
"As l have been absent from tne
country about nine months, nave hoI
since my return, on account OF an az
cumulation of business, been aDie 10
prepare such n statement as l snouiu
like to make to the Senate. Ii tne
senator from Nebraska (Allen) Will
permit, the question might go over un-
til after the recess, when, about tne
middle of next month. shall De apie
to discuss the subject"
Mr.. Wolcott asked, and the senate
ordered printed, a speech delivered
by NJ. Meline in the French ChamDer
of Deputies on the Goth OF November
last, in which he dealt at considerable
length with all subjects bearing upon
bimetallism IN. Meline shows, SAID
Mr.. Wolcott, that the steady depre-
citation of prices Of agricultural PROD
ucts is due solely to competitioi De-
tween gold and silver countries.
Mr.. Stewart of Nevada said ht had
been satisfied from the first thai the
efforts of the commission would 1ali.
He had always advocated independent
action by the United States to secure
bimetallism and he thought that tine
effort to secure the cooperation Oh
foreign nations would not only be un-
necessary, but dangerous. He said
that the cooperation of France WIN
our commissioners was more than ne
had had reason to hope for, but ne
was perfectly satisfied that England
could not be brought to agree to the
free coinage Of silver. In the course
of his remarks, Mr.. Stewart said mat
the utterances of the President and
the secretary of the treasury proved
that this was a gold standard admins
tration.
This statement brought Mr.. Chandler
of New Hampshire to his feet. He
said that Secretary Gage had never
announced that the present admins
tration was in favor of a gold stan
dard, and he did not believe that the
senator from Nevada desired to mis-
represent the administration.
Mr.. Stewart disclaimed any inten-
tion to misrepresent President Mckin-
ley or Secretary Gage. but he insisted
that the words and actions OF the sec
retary established the truthfulness Of
his statement
Mr.. Allen of Nebraska, the author
of the resolution, said he was not dis
posed to press it at this time II the
senator from Colorado (Mr. Wolcott)
desired to speak upon it at a later
date, but he thought that the matter
ought to be cleared away.
In response to an inquiry Mr.. VOL
colt said he did not think the commits
sion had any intention of making a
report at this time, and as a matter Of
o. n% ho Uvhnv1 tho Yon0rf
would be made.
"There is no desire upon the part Of
anybody" said Mr.. Wolcott, ITO pro-
long negotiations after all hope Of sue
cess has disappeared. No member of
the commission would delay for an
hour the announcement of its decis-
ion after a decision one way or the
other shall have been reached"
Mr.. Allen said he had always been
satisfied that international bimetallism
was a dream-an ideality that would
never be attained, but he was willing
to afford the commission all reasona-
BILE latitude. He asked that the reso-
luton go over until the 18th of next
month, and it was SO agreed to.
A resolution directing the secretary
of war to send supplies to Americans
and other sufferers in the Klondike re-
gion was passed.
The House yesterday passed a bill
appropriating $175,OOO for the relief Of
the people who are in the Yukon river
country, and also the bill passed by
the Senate yesterday to prohibit pc
lagic sealing by American citizens.
The former bill encountered practical.
ly no opposition. AS passed the sum
carried by 1t is to be expended under
the direction Of the secretary Of war
for the purchase, transportation and
distribution of subsistence stores. It
provides that these subsistence stores
may be sold at prices fixed by the
secretary Of war or donated where the
people are unable to pay for them.
Big Four Resumes Divfdends