Evening star., 1943-08-15
Fifty Years Ago
In The Star

Fifty years ago the newly convened
special session of Congress wasted no
time in getting to work
Flnonciol Bills on the financial panic.
Introduced Financial Measures In
troduced In the Senate
by Different Members" ran a headline
In The Star Of August IS, 1893: "A bill
to repeal so much Of the Sherman Law
as directs the purchase OF silver bullion
was introduced by Mr.. Mcpherson and
referred to the Finance Committee. 80
Mr.. Gordon OF Georgia introduced a
bill not, he said, a panacea for all
our Ills, but he believed solemnly II 1t
were enacted into law it would end the
panic in Is days. = . 1t was a bill not
to repeal the 10 per cent tax on State
banks, but to suspend its operation for
six months. Mr.. Voorhees, reported
back from the Finance Committee the
national bank bill, introduced by him
yesterday" Other legislators presented
various proposals, but the main fight
was between free silver men and sound
money" advocates.
Into the financial crisis stepped q
volunteer economist. with a scheme to
end the panic by
Aluminium as q scrapping both silver
Currency Bose and gold and sub
stituting aluminium.
In those days, aluminium, called alum
lnlum, was expensive to refine and was
regarded as one of the more precious
metals. The Star of August IA, 1893,
reported: The mystery surrounding the
causes of the present financial situation
has been settled at last. 1t was very
easy when the right people took hold
of the matter. Both gold and silver as
media of exchange are doomed. They
may not disappear next year, but within
three years at the outside they will have
deserted the marts of trade and their
place taken by a worthier and more
sensible metal. The spirits have said
it. They have spoken through the me-
cium OF the International Ideal Alumni
lum Money League. They spoke
yesterday at Metzerott Hall in the pres
ence of very small audience" The
United States was fortunate in that no
one took the plan seriously. 1t is now
known that Is per cent by weight of
The earth's crust is aluminium and bet
ter methods of production have brought
its price to few cents a pound, making
1t hardly a suitable basis for currency.
The perennial contest for Govern
ment hall of records got under way at
the extraordinary ses-
HoIl Of Records sion of Congress, &C
Wanted cording to The Star of
August 16, 1898: The
Senate today. after a short discussion
passed the bill introduced by
Senator Vest providing for a new hall
OF records in this city" 1t was decided
10 locate it on the south side of Penn
sylvania avenue, but a long time was to
elapse before success. 1t was not until
1882 that Congress passed such bill
and not until the following year that
President Hoover laid the cornerstone
the National Archives.
The great Behring Sea seal fisheries
arbitration meeting III Paris at last
rendered its de-
Seoline Arbitration cision. In part,
Concluded this went against
the United States,
but mainly in our favor. Among other
decisions reached was the establishment
of a closed season, the establishment
of a protective zone and a ban on the
use of firearms. The American arbi-
traitors have expressed their satisfaction
with the text of the decision announced
The Star of August Is, 1893 in a cable
from Paris
A drought prevailed during the sum
mer of. 93. The Star of August Ia,
1898 commented: Accord
Lone Dry ing to the officials of the
SPELL Department of Agriculture,
the drought which this part
of the country has been experiencing for
the past six weeks has been very general
in its extent and the damage which it
has done has been considerable. During
the past few days there has been a
slight break in the drought, but this
has been irregular The department
has received advices from the cotton belt
that there has been some relief there
from the long dry spell, but even this
has not been great. In . word, 1t may
be said that the drought still continues"