Staunton spectator and vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1896-1916, 1899-02-09
The Senate and Silver.

Senator James X. Jones. Chairman
of the Democratic National Commit
tee, has written letter to Hon. G gorge
s. Bowen. of Chicago, Secretary of the
American Bimetallic Union, in which
he sums up present and prospective
conditions in the United States Sem
ate. He says:
The claim of the Republican papers
that the Senate is already irrevocably
against silver, and will so stand until
1898 at the earliest is like many of
their extreme claims, in my opinion,
not we'll founded.
Upon the passage of what is known
as the Teller resolution of January %,
1903. which declared that the bonds OF
the government are paying principal
and interest in silver dollars, coins of
the United States, containing Az IL
grains of standard silver and that to
restore to its coinage such silver coins
as legal tender in the payment of
such bonds, principal and interest, is
not in violation of the public faith,
nor in derOgatiOn of the rights of the
public creditors, there was q majority
of fifteen votes in the Senate in its ia
vor
This may be reasonably accepted as
test vote on the silver question. A
gold man has since been elected from
Oregon to fill vacancy, which reduces
our majority to fourteen. OF those
who voted in favor of that proposition
at that time, seven Senators will prob
ably be succeeded on the 4th of March
next by Senators opposed to the I'M
limited coinage of silver, namely,
Senators Allen, of Nebraska; Mitchell,
of Wisconsin,; Murphy, of New York;
Roach, of North Dakota; Smith, of
| New Jersey; Turpie, of Indiana, and
| White, of California.
This will leave the two sides equal
and the deciding vote will be in the
hands of the Vice President. This
condition of things hardly warrants
the triumphant claim of the gold men
that they have captured the Senate,
and will hold it for many years to come.
This year an unusual proportion
OF bimetallists, who come from close
States, have had their terms to expire
In 1900, however, all this will be even
ed up by larger proportion of gold
men retiring who come from close
States. What is likely to be the con-
dition of the Senate in 1901 can be
easily seen.
1.-The terms of thirty Senators expire
at that time. OF these thirty eleven
who are now friendly to silver may
safely be counted as absolutely certain
to be succeeded by silver men. These
Senators come from the following
States: Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado,
Georgia, Idaho, Mississippi. North
Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee,
Texas and Virginia. The following
States may be expected to elect gold
i men to succeed gold men at that time:
Maine, Massachusetts, and Rhode Is.
land.
| New Hamp hire is now represented
| by silver man, whose term will ex
pire in 1901. Much will depend in
that State upon the personal populari-
ey of the present Senator, Mr.. Chand
ler, but if he should be succeeded by a
| gold man. Louisiana and Kentucky,
nov represented by gold men, are GER
tain to send two bimetallists in their
stead, leaving the advantage so far
with the silver men.
I'm two States-South Dakota and
Delaware-where we now have silver
Senators, there will be contests, and
the most that can be claimed by the
gold men is that we are not positively
| certain to hold these States; while the
following States, now represented by
gold men, can certainly not be claimed
as sure to return a solid gold delega-
ton, namely: Iowa, Kansas. Michigan
Minnesota, Nebraska, New Jersey,
Oregon, West Virginia. and Wyo-
ming.
From all this it is perfectly safe to
assert, without fear of contradiction,
that if the bimetallists succeed in
electing the President in 1900, they
unquestionably have a clear working
majority in the United States Senate.
JAMES K. JONES'"