The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1897-02-27
BREAKING FAITH.
A Strong Effort Was Made in
the House
By a Number of Prominent Re-
publican Members
TO INDUCE THE PARTY
To Break Faith With the PeO-
.ple of the Country
On the Matter of an Interna-
tiOnaI BimetaIlic Conference.


lie conference bill was finally passed
yesterday after much divergence of
opinion had been expressed. The bill
was also passed to provide for the ar
bitrating of differences between the
carriers of interstate commerce and
their employees Qknown as the Erdman
bilD; also the senate bill to prevent the
/ importation of impure tea.
One hours debate on a side was al
lowed on the monetary conference bill.
Mr.. Stone took the floor and explained
the bill, the purpose of which was to
promote and advance the scheme of in
ternational bimetallism, the only safe
bimetallism and the bimteallism to
winch his party was pledged. The house
amendment were adopted to give the
bill greater efficiency.
Mr.. McCreary who was a member of
the last international conference gave
hearty support to the bill. He had
confidence that the incoming president
would discharge the duties imposed up
on him by the bill. He favored inter-
national bimetallism.
Did you not say, upon your return
from Brussels, inquired Mr.. Cox, that
the difficulty of reaching an interna-
tional agreement lay with England?
! What reason have you for believing
| she will changer
England cried Mr.. McCreary, sis
| the greatest creditor nation She has
had the gold standard since 1916 and
/ she will never agree until the countries
/ of continental Europe force her to. But
sentiment favOra BILE to bimetallism is
! growing in England. Nine of the pres
ent ministry are members of the BIZ
/ metallic league
| Mr.. Hartman, silver Republican,
| voiced the position of the silver Repub-
! licans- They would vote for this bill,
! he said, but they desired to disavow
any belief that an interna tional con-
| ference would result in anything tang
ible and to register their protest against
/ refusal to adopt Independent bimetal-
ism as un-American, humiliating and
degra ding.
Mr. McRae voiced the position of the
silver Democrats. They believed silver
should be remOnetiZed. If it could be
done by international bimetal1ism, they
would not place a stone in it's path If
the Republicans tried and failed, as he
believed they would, they would be
relocated for years from now to the
oblivion which would swallow UP the
Cleveland administration.
Mr. Quigg took up the cudge1 against
the bill The Republicans, he said, had
heard Democrats who had voted the
mule ticket in the last campaign ad-
vocate this bill, and those who had
supported Bryan The Republicans,
who had gone through the campaign
denouneing silver as a humbug, were
now asked to vote for a bill which rec
ognized it. The battle had been fought
and won on the gold standard. If the
Republicans who supported this bill
had had their way at St. Louis the
platform would have been a stradd1e.
MI Hepburn Indignantly refused to al
low Mr.. Quigg to interpret the plat
form for him. He resented the idea
that the platform irrevOcably commit
ted the party to the gold standard. 1t
was to him a distinct pledge to promote
by all honorable means an internation-
al agreement.
Mr. Johnson followed the idea of Mr.
Quigg in a vehement and a times al
most satiOnal speech, which was lis
tened to with close attention, but which
received no demonstra ton either of ap-
prova1 or diSapprOval. He said BIZ
metalliSm was a thing of the past 1t
was impossible, he said. and as ridicu-
lous to talk of crea ting value by the
| agreement of several countries as it
was to attempt to create it by the law
of one. 1t lacked logic. Why tamper
with this question longer? What would
the world think of our weakness and
vaScillation? If the country believed
in a debased currency Bryan and not
Mckinley should be inaugurated. He
warned the Republicans that they had
suffered in the past and had surrender
ed something of principle to the infa-
tionists.
In conclusion he appealed to his side
to show their courage by defeating this
measure.
Mr.. Dingley. the floor leader of the
Republicans and Mr.. Grosvenor con-
cluded the debate with ringing speeches
in favor of the bill. The very appear
ance of Mr.. Dingley on the floor
aroused the Republicans to enthusiasm
he