The Madison daily leader. [volume] (Madison, S.D.) 1890-current, 1898-01-18
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meht 10 accept the proposal looking to
the opening of the Indian mints. he
SAID, had come as great surprise. not
only to the commissioners, but to tho
British government.
Some of the Obstacles.
Mr. Wolcott next enumerated the
obstacles with which the commission
had to contend, in which he inclnded
the remarkable drop in tho price of |
silver, the coincidcnt tariff legislation
in the United States, and the state.
ments of New York bankers in Eng.
land who. he said, sought access to
English officials and assured them that
any sentiment which had formerly ex.
listed in the United States in favor of
bimetallism was dead. Other state.
ments made by the bankers, according
to Mr.. Wolcott, were the following:
That the mission was sent solely as n
sop to few Western Republicans: that
the country generally favored the gold
standard, and that the people of the
United States shared this view.
lnN.trd tho Gage Interviews Were Bogu.
While the statements" Mr.. VOL.
colt said, 'were Of course untrue. these
people assumed to present in support Of
them. interviews and statements of the
director Of tho mint. Il hold over from
the last administration, the late con.
trolier OF the currency, an equally pre-.
clous legacy, now out OF the public
service and translated to Chicago
"A nd rs.s In1 faf L..
tiers aud interviews from the secretary
OF the treasury to the effect that there
was no chance for international or other
bimcta!lism. and favorlng tho pcrma-
nent adoption Of the gold standard.
Nobody III Europe cared rap what the
two minor prophets thought or said, as
nobody III this country cares, but the
alleged statements of the secretary of
the treasury were different matter.
We insisted that the letters must be
iorgcries, and the interviews fictitious,
and trust they were, for 1t was incon-
celvable that Il membcr of the cabinet
would seek to undermine the efforts Of
mission appointed by the president.
and whose efforts he was cordially and
zealous.y seconding."
Also Attacked by silver Entrcmist
The commission was, he said. also
attacked from time to time by state.
ments from extremists in the other
direction. insisting that our efforts
were sham and pretended; that We had
no hope or expectation OF success; that
the president was secretly opposing us;
that 1t was disgrace to our country
that We Were permitted to invite other
countries TO join US in opening the
mints; that it was humiliatlng that we
We're even consulting any ether coun-
try on the subject; that failure was
inevitable, and the sooner we came
home the better"
"All Of these occurrences, however
disturbing as they were.' he said. did
not probably affect the outcome. so far
as there has been up TO this time an
outcome. Of the negotiations.
Mr.. Wolcott summarized the present
situation by saying that ii is apparent
that for the time being ii Is useless TO
count on any cooperation from Great
Britain towards bimetallic agreement,
and that while France actively desires
silver restored to its old position rs a
standard Of values, equally with gold.
she insists that the problem is one
which demands international action,
and the cooperation to some adequate
extent OF other leading commercial ma
tions of the world.
Question Of Future Negotiations
Questions OF possible future negotia.
lions between France. the United
States and other countries. and tho
question of change Of ratio, are for the
moment held in allegiance. While We
hope for continued joint action. France
owes no further duty to US. She stood
shoulder to shoulder with US in our at.
tempt to secure from England even tho
concessions she voluntarily offered n
few months ago. In days when the
in nfiuence Of the money lender is potent
in almost every capital Of the world.
and dominates courts aud national pol
icies, the ministry Of France stood fear.
lessly by the interests Of the whole pco-
plc. aud counted the welfare OF its
hundreds Of thousands of small holders
OF land dependent for their existence
upon tho fruits Of the soil. us para
mount to that Of the powerful class
which wants money dear and grain
cheap"
WIN Retire From tho Commission.
Here Mr. Wolcott announced his in.
tention to retire from the commission.
Ho said:
ut is my sincere conviction that an
international bimetallio agreement IL
still feasible. by tho terms Of which cer-
tain countries will join us and open
their mints to the unlimited coinage OF
silver. and others will contribute to the
plan Of enlarged use Of that metal as
money; and l say this tho more freely
because l shall give way upon tho COM
mission to somebody more fitted Tor
such negotiations, and better able to
give them his constant time. This re-
suit cannot be brought about without
the expenditure of both time and pa
tience. and the persons entrusted with
| the duty Of negotiation must have back