The Corvallis gazette. [volume] (Corvallis, Or.) 1862-1899, 1897-04-09

Boutwell,, Mr.. Bowen, nor Mr. Gibson in
separate minority reports, concurred in
the recommendation of a new ratio of
151a to for silver. Nor did any Of the
recommendations of the commission find
favor in the sight of the National Legis-
lature. But the report undoubtedly led TO
further inquiry in connection with other
nations, which has come to be known in
American history as the International
Monetary Conference of 1873.
For International Bimeta11ism.
By the act Of Feb. 2S 1873, President
Hayes extended an invitation to the ma
tions OF the world to meet and discuss the
establishment of relations looking toward
international bimetallism, and in August
OF that year representatives from the
leading nations of Europe met the distin-
| guished delegates of the United States
IN Paris under the auspices of the French
Minister of Finance. Ex-Gov. Reuben
b. Fenton, of New York.. was the chair
man, Gen. Francis A. Walker and w. S.
GroesDeck his associates, and s. Dana
Horton, well known authority on BIZ
metallism. the secretary of the delega-
ton; all except Mr.. Groesbeck were Re
| publicans. As Mr.. Horton was courte-
ously given the same rights on the floor
| OF the conference as the others the Re
publicans preponderated. This is the
more significant when taken in connec
ton with the reply of the Americans to
majority of the European delegates.
| This reads:
The representatives of the United
| States fully concur that it is necessary to
maintain in the world the monetary func
tons of silver as well as those of gold.
and they desire that ere long there shall
| be adequate cooperation to produce the
result.
In regard to the third and last propo-
sition they admit that some of the States
winch have the double Standard or, as
| they prefer to say, use both metals, find
II impossible to enter into a mutual en-
gagement for the free coinage of silver
Iney, as representatives of the United
states have come here expressly to enter
INTO such an agreement. The difficulty
| is not with them, and whatever it may be,
they trust that it may soon be removed" :"
This final statement signed by all the
Americans, taken by itself, shows more
clearly than columns of explanation what
the Republican party meant. at ST. Louis
by declaring in its platform for the free
coinage of silver "by International agree
ment with the leading commercial nations
of the world, which we pledge ourselves
| to promote"
| At the. meeting in Paris in 1878, Ger
many alone of the great commercial ma
| tons OF Europe was absent. To the as
sembled nations the Republican party of
| the United States, through three of it's
distinguished members, proclaimed its
anxiety then and there to enter into re-
clprocal relations for the free coinage of
silver. What was done then will be done
again during the Mckinley administra-
| ton, and, as will be explained shortly,
with every hope Of success.
| The Conference of 1881. ~
Specie payments were resumed Jan. 1,
1879, and President Hayes was again au-
| thorlzed to send delegates to an interna-
| tlonal monetary conference, held, like the
one preceding, in Paris. The United States
was there represented by William NJ Ev-
arts, lately Secretary of State; Allen G.
| Thurman, late United States Senator
| from Ohio; T. o. Howe, late United
| States Senator from Wisconsin, and S.
Dana Horton, whose services at the for
| mer conference and whose authoritative
| writings on bimetallism entitled him to
the distinction. All the delegates except
OAcy n4ls AhuIIudll, were again hepuDll-
| cans, though the Congress which passed
| the resolution was Democratic in both
| branches. The sessions began on April
| 10, 1881, James A. Garfield being Presi-
| dent of the United States.
The report of this Paris conference of
| 1881 is filled with statements which at
| test the ardent support of the doctrines of
| bimetallism. What the lamented Garfield
| had said in his inaugural regarding the
| precious metals was the basis upon which
| all the delegates of the United States
| stood throughout the protracted argu-
| ments. President Garfield expressed
| himself as follows:
"By the experience of commercial ma
| tions, in all ages, it has been found that
| gold and silver afford the only safe foun-
dation for monetary system. Confu-
| sion has recently been created by a varia-
| ton in the relative value of the two met
| ais; but I confidently believe that ar
rangements can be made between the
! leading commercial nations which will Sc
| cure the general use of both metals
| If possible, such an adjustment
| to be made that the purchasing power of
| every coined dollar will be exactly equal
| to its debt paying power in all the mar
| kets of the world"
+ To the same effect read this extract
from Mr.. Horizons note presented to the
! conference, in relation to the Allison
| Bland bill: "By the law of Feb. %, 1878,
the United States became teacher of re-
| form monetary doctrine. The United
| States proposed to Europe concurrent
coinage of silver and gold at one ratio,
| with view to their convenient use in the
| countries of the proposed union and the
| comparative steadiness of their relation
I to each other everywhere"
/ The Brussels Conference.
| The last international monetary confer
! ence was held at Brussels Nov. %, 1892,
I BENJAMIN Harrison being President of
| the United States. AS at all former as
| semblages of the kind the American rep
/ resentation was largely Republican, it's
! members being Senators William B. Alli-
son, John P. Jones, James B. McCreary,
| Henry w. Cannon, e. Benjamin An
| drews of Browns University, and Edwin
| II. Terrill, Minister of the United States
| to Belgium. The object they had in view