Omaha daily bee., 1899-12-19
HOUSE CURRENCY BILL PASSED.

HOUSE CURRENCY BILL PASSED
by a majority Of 40-the vote being
1870 to tJO-the house Of representatives
passed the currency bill, fixing the gold
standard and declaring that all the obli-
cations of the government are payable
in gold and making provision for the
maintenance and protection of the gold
reserve. The general features Of this
measure are familiar to the public. The
action Of the house is i'm response to the
demand of the sound money sentiment
of the country, which unquestionably
embraces a majority Of the people 1t
is in obedience to the mandate Of the re-
publicans of the nation, who in every
convention of the year spoke in no UNI
certain or ambiguous terms in favor Of
such legislation. 1t is i'm recognition of
the fact that the time and the conditions
are auspicious for unequivocally cstab-
fishing the gold standard in public law,
so that all doubt regarding 1t will be
removed and no administration hostile
to the gold standard can interfere with
1t without the authority Of congress. 1t
means the certain maintenance of that
standard for at least six years, by
which time it is most probable that
there will be no party strong enough to
seriously menace II. 1t means the
strengthening of financial confidence,
which is most essential to con
tinuance of prosperity, and it also
means the steady advance of the United
States not merely to financial independ-
ence already practically achieved, but
to the leading place among the tinan-
cial powers of the world.
AS was said by one of the advocates
of the bill, the financial solidity of the
United States will soon be the eighth
wonder of the world. "Our financial
is practically achieved.
Great and surprising things have come
to pass in the last twenty months. We
paid a debt of $2O,O0OOOO to Spain with
out a wrinkle in the placid face of our
finances and without shipping dollar
Of gold. The raising of the Bank of
England's rate of discount produces no |
from the old to the new world and New
York will supplant London in the near |
future. American credits in Europe are |
putting different face on the great |
questions of finance the world over. We |
are loaning money abroad by the mil !
lions and we are very near the point !
where we can hold the reins of finan-
cial power on two continents Nobody .
Two years ago would have conceived of |
these conditions as possible, at least in
thought that the United States must at
some time attain to such Il position they
placed it in the remote future. Can any
'ational man doubt that had the parry
If free silver triumphed in 1896 this
country would not now occupy the COM
position it does among the
.reat financial and commercial nations?
Adherence to sound financial principles
md to n wise economic policy has en-,
lbled us to make the wonderful prog
ess of the last two years and in order
o achieve further progress we must
ontinue in this course.
The debate and the vote on the cur
ency bill show that the democratic
'arty is as firmly welded to free silver
S it has ever been. 1t rejects all the
violence which overwhelmingly proves
he fallacy Of all its financial theories
nd proclaims that it will go into the
ext national campaign with free silver
till prominent issue. There are a
ew deserters, but the masses of the
arty adhere with blind and fatuous
enacity to the issue that was defeated
1 1896 and will be more signally beaten
/ 1900.