The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1898-01-31
TEE SENATE s,Irss DEBATE.

nAE III ~ So ~
1898. Money is 30 plenty and " easily borrowed
At low rates that It tempts operators 70 enlarge
their purchases, while investors are. by the same
c,roumstance, actually driven into bidding high
pr,ces for any security thas offers Q prospect Of
vielding them an income On top Of theeo incen-
tIves TO buying for q rise, there were lot loose,
last week, q number Of rumors. moro or less
veil founded. which were calculated TO cot
peoplc crazy for certain stocks at any price that
sellers asked for them. The greatest advances
has been In the so-called Vanderbilt stocks,
New York Central and Lake S~hore.-but
Metropolitan Traction, Manhattan Elevated.
Consolidated Gas. Brooklyn Rapid Transit. and
Union Pacific have also been favorites. and the
transactions In them have been enormous. How
far tho high level to which these stocks have
soared will be maintained by them. or whether
II will not be even surpassed. It 10 not for NOR
tails 10 predict. All that can be said IL that nj
catastrophe 10 In Immediate sight. and that adj
venturers on the sea OF speculation can count
upon hno weather for some time yet to como.
The debate which began In the United States
Nenate. more than q week ago. upon the resolu.
tion framed by Senator Teller and reported TO
the Senate by Senator Vest. declaring the bonds
Of the United States to DO payable In silver,
ended on Friday with tho passage, az was to DO
oxpocted, Of the resolution. Although the reso-
IntlOn. Dcl1K CTuCuTEOhb buu " IUIntr
and therefore, even II passed by the House Of
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS IL the reverse Of proba-
ble,-would neither require the Presidents APP
proysl, nor have the force Of law, its passage Ia
none tho less significant as Indicating the hope
lessness, at present. OF getting any currency
measure not favorable to silver through the
Senate. Tho debate upon II, too. has been OK
oeedingly interesting. and. as spread upon the
yoluminous pages OF tho Congregational Record.
Il IA full Of instruction as to the present state of
mind Of the ~silverite Senators.
Tho preamble to the resolution recites the vari-
Gus acts Of Congress under which nearly the
whole of the Government bonds now outstanding
were issued, and the resolution itself 10 this:
"Re,orred bv the Senate che House Of Representa-
tires concurrfno thereby. That all. the bonds Of the
United states issued. or authorised to be issued. under
che said acts of Congress hereinbefore recited. are
payable, principal and interest. at the option OF the
Government OF the United States. In silver dollars OF
the coinage OF the United States containing 4laS
grains each OF standard sliver' ana tnas 70 restore 70
Its coinage such SILVER COINS as tesai senoer IN pay
ment of said bonds. principal and interest. 10 not In
violation OF the pubic tai'h nor In osr0ea'ioh OF the
nsnA Oh d puoh' eu''o
This resolution 10 In precisely the same words
as that which was offered In the Senate by Son
stor Stanley Matthews in December. 1877. and
puobcu ny v " 0ohutO aho tuO AAuuoC Va
Representatives In January. 1878. Mr.. Mat
thews introduced his resolution pending the de-
bate on the Bland-Alison silver coinage bill OF
February. 1873, for the sake Of the effect 1t
would have upon the success Of that measure,
and the ~silverite Senators now clearly mean to
strike at Secretary Cages currency bill, one Of
the provisions of which 10 the establishment Of
gold as the only medium OF payment for Govern
ment bonds. Senator Berry Of Arkansas, for ex-
ample, bluntly declared: "Iwant TO serve notice
on the Secretary of the Treasury and the Presi-
dent Of the United States. that any attempt to
more firmly fasten the gold standard upon the
people Of this country will be resisted and fought
at every STEP"
Possibly, the silverite Senators had also In their
minds the Monetary Convention. which met ct
indianapolis last wock and adopted o rcsolu.
ton in favor OF the single gold standard.
Although the Convention, as has since trans.
pired, was not 30 unanimous. in other respects.
Is 1t appeared to DO, IT comprised no dissentients
from the declaration in support OF gold. Hence,
the silver Senators may have thought it worth
whiietb warn rhe mem beTs Of the Convention
that agitation on their part for the formal adop-
ton Of gold by Congress will. for the present, be
futile. This fact, though patent 10 every In
telligent observer OF national politics. seems not
yet to have penetrated the consciousness Of
many currency reformers. and the Senate silver
debate, II i: eniightens them in this respect.
VIII not have been altogether wasted.
A review OF the whole debate shows beyond
dispute the imprcGnable technical position of
the silverites. The FUNDING act OF July ID,
1870. expressly declares that the bonds to be
issued under II snail be p'yahle. principal and
interest IN coin OF the present standard
value. The sumption act OF 1879 author
izcs the issue OF y either OF the descriptions OF
oonns OF the United states described In the act
OF congress approved July Ia. 1870. and all tho
oonas issued under that act' including the
$Zo2'oooooo OF bonds sold by the cleveland Ad'
miAisIr'tion. recite, on thoir face, hat they are
payable, principal and interest," y In coin OF the
standard value OF the United states on said
July Ia 1871 now. the mints were not closed
70 tne iree ana coinage OF silver dol
iarso OF 4lZ-a grains each unit May. 1873. 80
tnat inc coin In which all the bonds OF tho
Uhateu states IN existence except the Pacinc
Na,iroaa subsidy bonds are payable. according
= . .heir terms. embraces the silver dollar OF
AlZN RTAlnS. WlLnOnL nmlyAIl0n In nnAnIllV. IN