Red Lodge picket. [volume] (Red Lodge, Mont.) 1889-1907, 1897-02-20
THE HOUSE Ind SENATE
CHANDLER'S SPEECH ON BINET-
ALLISM A NOTABLE EFFORT.
If the New Administration Holds to
the Gold Standard It's Death
Is Certain.

the GOLD Standard It's Death
Is Certain.
Washington, Feb. Ex-senator Chand
}ers speech in the senate today in advo
cacy of bimetallsm was one of the nota
Bile efforts of the present session, not only
for the scholarly manner with which the
senator presented the question from his
standpoint, but the bitter sarcasm ad
| dressed to Senator Palmer and the In
dlanapolis convention, the arraignment OF
silver republicans who bolted the St
Louis convention, and for the dramatic
personal exchange between Senator
Chandler and Senator Pettigrew, the lat
ter being one of the boilers from the St.
Louis convention.
Senator Chandler's speech lasted three
hours and was replete with incident. 1t
was an argument against a single stand
ard of either metal, gold or silver and a
| warning against a policy of monometal-
! isn. Then the senator turned to the po-
| itical phases of the question, speaking
in turn of Bryan, of Palmer and of Nc
| kinley. Senator Palmer sat across the
aisle and was frequently addressed by the
speaker as one who had contributed to
| the election of Mckinley. The contro-
Versy between Senator Chandler ana
| Senator PettigreW was one of the hottest
| personal episodes the senate has had in
some time, the South Dakota senator de-
| clarlng Senator Chambers statement rel
ative to the violation of pledges at st.
Louis false, but mutual explanations re
stored cordial relations.
The petition of Senator Chandler was
an appeal to the incoming president and
his advisers to heed the needs of the peo-
pie on the money question and a warm
ing of speedy political disaster certain
TO follow delay. The early part of the
speech was a presentation of the princi-
pies OF finance, the senator arguing
against a single standard of either metal
silver or gold. He tracea the gradual de-
monetization of silver, the closing of our
nlints against the silver dollar in '73, the
efforts to restore silver, and the serious
blow struck by England against silver
in closing the Indian mints, but it ,e-
NAMED for Secretary Carlisle the sen
ator declared to strike the most fatal
blow at silver in issuing his order thai
the government would redeem it's paper
obligations in gold only BY that act
Secretary Carlisle struck out of use a
vast amount of silver and drew on the
depleted worlds supply of gold and gave
the final blow to silver. From the effects
OF this low depth to which it had been
reduced by the decentralization of silver |
himetallism must now begin it's toilsome
struggle upward.
Fall Of Prices.
Chandler took ha fall of y,rio
ticuarly in farm products, resulting from
silver demonetization. He declared that |
within the last 20 years there had been |
9 steady fall of prices of all classes of |
property. His own convictions that silver
se.nonetization was at the bottom of this |
downward movement in prices, caused |
him to seriously doubt whether the era
of restored prosperity was near at hand
He was led to the conclusion, he said
that prices had not yet touched bot
TOM The shrinkage in prices had been
most serious since 1890.
The value of property in the United
States was $G5 900 900 900 in 1890; now it
was estimated at $4,000, 100000, a shrink
age of % per cent Our debts had not
shrunk, but remained an inexorable
charge.
DeuuclillS IEem, the value OF our prop
erty, cut down to $33, 900, 900 900. Can
this proceed, asked the senator, without
bankruptcy. He was of the
opinion that the gradual tendency was to
leave debtors without powers of paying
their debts until by a gradual revolution
the assets of debtors We're absorbed by
creditors. If it had not been for FORUM
ate balance of trade in our favor during
the past year. he said, there would have
been q business catacism in this country
which would have prostrated all interests
and produced infinite misery in our busi-
ness and domestic affairs. 1t was because
5aunt famine stalked through India that
trade was favorable to us. For these
reasons, he said, turning toward Senator
Palmer, who sat near, he was opposed to
such declarations for a permanent gold
standard as that enuncia ted by the In
Annapolis convention.
A Shot at Palmer.
At one point Senator Chandler caused
much amusement by addressing himself
% Senator Palmer. The New Hampshire
senator had read a list Of standard au-
hOrities on bimetallism and then, turn
ng to Senator Palmer, he presented the
Illinois senator a copy of the list. saying
he felt it would be helpful to the candi-
late of the Indianapolis convention
Senator Chandler said silver monomet-
lllsm had led to the defeat of Mr.. Bry
IN. The other element of the democratic
}arty had selected Palmer and Buckner
on a single gold standard platform. 1t
lad resulted in giving to these estimable
10000 votes in a total of a.
10000 votes Nevertheless, said Senator
Chandler, the assistance of these old
gentlemen in the election of
was in a worthy cause.
Senator Palmer remained in his seat
lcross the aisle, smiling occasionally at
senator Chambers sarcastic allusions to
Jim.
The Pettisre1v Episode.
This, however. was but a prelude to a
ensational episode between Senators
Chandler and Pettigrew. The New Hamp-
hire senator said Senator Pettigrew had
,een sent to the ST. Louis convention on
pledge that he would support Mckinley +,
nd Sound money" and yet within two
weeks that senator had repudiated his
Hedge. had bolted Mckinley and a sound {
money PLATFORM and soon thereafter had /;
ome out as a supporter of Bryan. q
Senator Pettigrew had entered the ,
hamber as this statement was made. He +
dvanced to his seat and interrupted: do r
ou make that statement on your own ,
or as a quotation ?? he asked.
Il make the statement" answered Sen +
tor Chandler, taking it from the news Y
aper reports, which are understood TO !
ave given a correct statement of the r
ase.' c
Senator Pettigrew, with explosive en- i
basis replied: ''I brand that statement g
S wholly and unqualifedly false in every i
art. 1 have made that explicit denial be- /
ore, and have placed it on record so the I
enator (Chandler should know it is abb 5
olutely false.
Il understand the senator (Pettigrew)
eclares the statement wholly false. Does +
e mean to say he was not in a conven-
ion which named him as a Mckinley del.
gate?''