Evening star., 1899-04-14
SOUND MONEY AGAIN
A Talk With Representative Over
street.
IMPORTANCE OF CURRENCY QUESTION
Thinks Democrats Should Be Held
to Their Platform II + of 'ee.
A BILL TO BE FRAMED

Representative Overstreet of Indiana,
secretary of the republican congressional
committee, is in the city today on his way
to Atlantic City. N. j.. to attend the meet
| ing next Monday of the House caucus COM
mittee on the currency, of which he is
member The presence on the committee
of many of the House leaders, Payne
Dalzell, Grosvenor and: Henderson, as we'll
as Babcock and Overstreet of the repub-
ltcan campaign committee, Is sure indica-
tfon of the political Importance of the COM
ing conference. In conversation with
| Star reporter today Mr.. .Overstreet referred
pointedly to the political possibilities of the
meeting.
There is every reason to expect" said
Mr. Overstreet, that the result of the de-
liberations of the committee will be the
preparation of currency bill which a re-
publican House of Representatives can pass
at the next session, and which the repub-
lican party would indorse before the coun-
try. 1t should be gold standard measure
not merely making a declaration in favor
Of the gold standard, but embodying legis-
lation to make the declaration effective and
operative in point of fact.
Stand on the Money ISSUE
with this We can make a stand before
the country and win. I believe in meeting
Tic uelnOCTdlS On lNe 1hOney issue. Not
only that, but 1 think it would be good re-
publican policy to hold the democrats up to
that issue and not permit them to stray
away upon general opposition to the admin
istration, collecting around them all the
floating and scattered elements of such op-
position. If We can hold them right UP to
the financial issue there is no doubt of the
country standing by US.
Now, it seems to me that If nothing is
done by the republicans next winter in Con-
greSs with currency or financial legislation
the democrats would have more excuse to
charge that We were lodging their Chicago
challenge, and would have an opportunity
| to go off into other issues. 1 don't want
| to see that come to pass. They have an
nounced their advocacy of the free and un-
limited coinage of silver at the ratio of 16
! to 1 and their willingness to stand or fal!
| upon that issue. If they can be compelled
| to repeat that declaration and make it the
backbone of their cause the fail which they
experienced in 1896 was not a marker to
| the tumble they will get in the next presi-
Dental campaign.
Sound Money Position Firm.
Every event in tFeE Commercial and
financial world since The elections of 1896
has tended to confirm the position which
the republicans took for sound money.
! Every day has brought, ,Tenewed examples
of the ease with which the country and the
world settles down 70 dealing with the
world standard of value. Commercial in
dustriai and agricultural prosperity bears
continuous and increa SingJiwitneSs to the
wisdom of maintaining a sound financial
system, based up onsthe gold standard. The
people are making. llsadWay in their ma
terial affairs under the system and are not
slow to put the credit where credit is due.
This is the reason why Irbelieve we can
whip the democrats again fif they repeat
their experiment of platform, making in
1886. Because we can beat them on that
| issue is why L want to make that
we force them to take it, !rjs-
Every great stride which the republicans
have made has resulted from the party taxi
ing advance ground upon some great issue.
| hope the party will not only maintain
its ground in behalf of sound money, but
will advance itself and pre-empt the posi-
ton which the future holds for some party
on that question:"
do you think anything will come of the
suggestion to reopen the mints of the world
for the coinage of silver on ratio of 22?''
Mr. Overstreet was asked.
Il do not. In my opinion we are drifting
further away every day from free coinage
of silver. The increased production of gold
and the demands of the world for the high
of the gold standard ard it's maintenance
by all the powers of the earth"
Coming Caucus Committee Conference
Recurring to the subject of the coming
conference Of the caucus committee, Mr..
Overstreet said:
We ought to have no difficulty in max
ing up bill. There will certainly be no
dearth of material at hand. There are the
six financial bills which were introduced
and discussed in committee in the last Con-
gress, from which could be gathered enough
material to get 10 work on. Among those
measures was the bill prepared by the In
dianapoiis monetary commission, probably
the most comprehensive of all. Then there
was the Hill bill. approaching somewhat
the commissions DILL: the bill of Secretary
Gage, the McCleary bill, the Fowler bill
and the Walker bill
1T seems to me that with all the ma
terial ready at hand and with a general
idea of what we want to do. we ought to be
able to turn out bin in snort order. Every
member of the committee is interested in
the work and has promised to give his at
tention TO it. The meeting of the committee
will not be a pretense, but sincere effort to
do something"
CONDITION OF THE TROOPS.