Milford chronicle., 1939-06-30
SENATOR TOWNSEND
WINS FIGHT ON
FOREIGN SILVER
tcOntinusa from first Fsss


cratic James H. Hughes, voted
against the amendment ending the
Presidents devaluation power and
against the amendment fixing the
price of dOmestice silver.
"Deal" Denied
It was not a deal" that brought
about emasculation of the bill, both
Fasteners and Westerners explain
ed 1t was, they said, just "a loose
understanding" of which no one was
entirely certain until the votes were
taken
The silver-state Senators were, OF
course. delighted. For a week they
had been filibustering, threatening
the enactment of bills urgently
wanted by the administration. Their
aim was to force the Treasury to
increase the silver figure.
With Mondays developments, the
filibuster halted-but possibly only
temporarily. AS passed by the House,
the monetary bill contained no pro-
vision for the silver price, and no
prohibition upon a continuation OF
the foreign silver purchasing pro-
gram. II did authorize continuance
of the devaluation powers.
SllYerltes Warn
Consequently, agents of the House
and Senate must now try to strike
a compromise on the changes made
by the Senate. Realizing that the
silver price amendment could be
thrown out in that process, the sill
verites spoke words of OminOus
warning.
They won't bring the bill back
without the silver price in it. or
they will be here from now on. :"
said Senator McCarran (D-Nev).
We haven't carried this fight on
and won TO have il legislated out
in conference"
Senator Pittman (D-NevD. another
silver leader. was even more specific
If the conferees threw out the silver
price. he said. serious filibu5ter"
would ensue which could last two
months" (unless the bill in whatever
FORM is passed by Friday midnight,
the stabilization fund will die. with
possible serious consequences to in
ternational markets.
In the voting test. the entire Re-
publican membership, with two ex-
ceptlons-SenatOr Tobey of New
Hampshire and Townsend, who as
author of the anti-foreign purchase
felt he could not go along
voted for the statutory silver price.
Line-Up Is Amusing
Galleryites found amusement in
hearing such men as Vandenberg
of Michigan. Austin of Vermont,
Bridges of New Hampshire. and Hale
and White of Maine, voting with the
silveFites But they grihRed. too, at
the unusual spectacle of such staunch
q administration men as Ashurst of
Arizona. DOwney of California. Muir
ray of Montana: Schwellenbach of
Washington, and Pittman. voting di-
rectly contrary to the administra-
tons wishes on the devaluatiOn ques-
ton.
All in all, it was a day of breath
taking developments. OF such swift
parliamentary fOrays as the Senate
sees only when a group of Senators
is making a back-tO-the-wall fight,
a day in which all the tricks in the
rule book were pulled out 10 harass
the opposition and make life any
thing but happy for the presiding
officer.
When the day began. an amend
ment by Senator Adams CD-ColoD
TO eliminate the devamatiOn powers
was pending. To il. Senator Pitt
man had offered an amendment to
fix the price of silver AT $l.29. This
he withdrew and proposed. instead,
a price of $l.1Gl.
On a roll call vote the proposal
was beaten 50 to &c. AS soon as the
result was announced. Pittman told
The Senate he had another amend
ment. This proposed that the price
be set at 1887 cents. He discussed
the subject briefly, and then came
the topOff. Adams announced he
would accept" Pittman's amend
ment as part of his own. Automat-
lcally Adams amendment thus be-
came one which would end the de-
powers and also set the
silver price at 1857 cents.
Barkley Protests
Barkley was on his feet in an in
slant. II was unfair. he complained,
so to fix the amendment that the Sen
ate would have to vote on both prop
DSition at once. He made a point of
order that they should be separated.
Senator Bankhead. in the chair. ruled
in Barkley's favor. and Adams "ap-
pealed" from the ruling. The result of
his maneuver was a Senate vote on
Bankhead's ruling should
De sustained.
1t was, by vote of 80 to 35. Bark
ey and other administration leaders
regarding il as a test of the
iilverites' maximum strength, al
hough at that point they were some
what puzzled by the fact that the
Nesterners received the help of a
lumber of Republicans.
Meanwhile Senator Glass DIVA
lad announced that although he
vas much opposed to the silver price,
lie also was firmly against the right
VI the President to further debase
he dollar" On a combined vote, he
aid. his feeling on the latter point
would outweigh his opposition to the
liver price and he would support
he amendment
Makes Final Plea
Split into two sections, the Adams
called first of all for a
'Ote on the devaluation question,
nd Barkley arose for a last minute
ppeal to his colleagues. 1t was
Salph Jester last week.
John Beckett and son Bobby of |
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