The Portland daily press., 1899-12-12
Mcclellan of New York
Another Speaker.
He Urged Gold Democrats to
Oppose Bill.

Washington, December 1.-THE feature
of the opsniEg day of ths debate on the
currency bill in the Houss was the spssch
of Mr.. Dolliver Of Iowa. 1t was oharao-
terized by oil the Wit and eloquercs for
which the Iowan Ia noted, and held the
members without regard to party, fT
over an hour. MIR. DoIlivsr declared that
the last debate In the Republican party
as to the wisdom of enacting the old stand
ard into law had been resolved by the ak
psrienoe of the business world during the
psst three years. He scored Mr.. Bryan
and generally ridioulsd the alleged false
prophecies of the Democrats In 1896.
MIR. De Almond Of Missouri WAS the
heavy gun on the Democratic side. He
warned the Republicans from the west
that they could not deceive their con-
stituents in the coming congressional
elections by claiming that they had
welded to the wisdom of colleagues In
caucus.
Mr.. Oserstreet Of Indiana opened the
debate In support OF The bill, and MIR.
Maddox of Georgia. replied to him.
Mr.. Mcclellan of New York, was the
only other speaker today. He announced
his opposition to the bill on the ground
that IL would contract the currency. ex-
tinguish the bank notes and enhance the
value of coin bonds. lie appealed to thoss
of his Democratic colleagues from New
York who It is reported int,nd to vote for
the bill, not to do so.
Washington, December 11.-There was
onIy a fair attendance In the galleries of
the House to witness the opening OF the
debate on the currency bill. Immediately
after the reading of the journal the House
under the special order, went into COM
mlttee OF the whole, Mr.. Hepburn Of
Iowa in the chair, and entered upon the
consideration OF the bill. MIR. Overstreet,
Republican of Indiana, who is to be In
charge of the mes sure ON the floor, opened
TIE general debate with sat speech.
After describing the various kinds OF
money IN use in the United States, MIR.
Oyerstreet, eaid;
.The history of governments efforts to
forca legal tender money into circulation
irrespective of its intrinsi, value and
without the government pledge is a
+, cord Of failure without a single excep-
ton. All of the various kinds Of money
In the United States are based upon a
com mon standard Of value In which each
can be measured. The present standard
of value in this country is gold and has
been so recognized in practice for more
than MALT a century"
laI xvNt ~,
elaborate Argument against double
standard and a general review Of our
monetary legislation. ''If the legal stand
ard today Is the gold standard, under the
act of 1873 u positive statute to that effect
can do no harm. If. on the other hand,
there is any reasonable doubt, it should
be dispellsd by statute plain and clear
in Its terms.
"Whsn certainty shall take the place Of
doubt and the integrity Of our credit bs
as liked as the honor Of the nation, the
national dett can be readily refunded at
lower interest rates. and future loans ne
gotiated with ease upon better terms thar
ever before. The rapid development Of
American trade, and its vast expansion
bringing our people into close re'ationi
with the leading nations of the world,
makes it imperative that
gss. THE STANDARD OF VALUE
in which settlements are made shall b
the best known to the highest civilization
and shall safely appeal to intelligent ant
successful experience.
After an elaborate exposition Of thu
features of the bill and the methods o
their operation which followed the line o
his report on the measure heretofore
printed, Mr.. Overstreet said:
"The proposition to allow nationa
banks to issue circulation to the par valu