Year: 1879




come alarmed at the attitude of the two
precious metals in relation to each other,
and they were clearly of the opinion that by
some wise, broad, judicious arrangement,
both metals might be kept in service for the
currency of tho world. Even England,
which for more than half a century believed
In single gold standard. was now seriously
meditating how she might harness both of
these forces to the monetary power of the
world, and yet, outside of this chamber and
capitol there was not a single bi-metaltic au-
thority in the world who regarded it safe
to plunge into any wider coinage of silver at
present anywhere. Franco and the Latin
Union, which had believed in bi-metallism,
and had maintained it against all comers, and
had advocated it throughout the world, were
not coming silver now, and had not done so
since 1864. The most stringent advocates of
bi-metallism now said it would be ruinous to
bimetallism for France or the Latin Union
to coin any more silver. and yet the United
States government, which had coined in less
than two years more of silver dollars than
had been previously coined from the
foundation of the government, and ten times
more than had been coined in seventy years
of its existence, was to-day facing the world
and denying the universal opinion about BIZ
metallism by saying America, single
handed, could enter the contest and
settle this mighty question alone. This
was madness. He had once seen dog on
great stack of hay, which had been hoated
out into the wide overfowed bed of river.
For little while the dog appeared perfect
ly happy. The hay stack was there, the
stock pen was there, and he thought that the
world was all right. But by-and- by he began
tn fhotf fho Hor o,,1 tl,o
the surroundings we're not all there as they
had been before he went to sleep, and he
began to understand that he
could not quite command all the
prospect he had done. So with the United
States. We are all a1oat on the mighty
question, and We ''bay the moon'' as we
float down the whirling tide and say: "We
are wise." We have been launched on a
wide current which sweeps over the whole
world, and we bark from our hay stack as if
we commanded the whole. For heaven s
sake let us take some account of the food.
Let us understand that deluge means
something, and try if we can to get our
bearings before we undertake to
fix all in the House of Re-
representatives.. To-day We are coming
one-third of all the silver that is being coin
ed in the round world. China is doing an
other third, and all the nations of the globe
are using the other third for subsidiary
coin. If We want to go with China
andi part company with all the civilized
nations of this western world, let US do it
in this bill. What this country needs
most of all is that the Congress go home.
daughter and applause on the Republican
side) and let these forces of business and
peace and order and brotherhood work in
their natural way and bring us into light,
stability and peace. Even now our ad-
ministration is opening negotiations with
all western nations to see if there cannot
| be an international arrangement whereby the
question of bimetalism may be wisely settled.
Mr.. Ewing said tho apparent object of the
amendment of Springer was to save to the
government the difference between coin and
bullion of silver, but the great defect of the
amendment was that while repealing as this
bill would repeal, the existing law making
peremptory the coinage OF $2,O00,OO0 a
month, this amendment would commit
to the secretary of the treasury the power at
his discretion to stop entirely the coinage of
the silver dollar. How? Because it said the
secretary should buy at market price.
at New York or Virginia City. He had a
| 1lSut w LIN WuoIo, d1u uCGelly
tensely inimical to the coinage of the silver
dollar be would so construe aud exercise his
power that no bullion holder would sell al
the market price as declared by him. Tht
country would in that way be put off with
coinage which, he ventured to say, would no
amount to the present coinage required by
law. The amendment which he proposed
fixed the market value at the average marke
price at New York and San Francisco for tht
week preceding the time the bullion was de-
posted.


Mr.. Haskell declared himself to be an on
thusiastic bimetalist, but opposed the bill
and Springer's amendment thereto because
if the bill passed the gold would lelye the
country and the currency would be con
tracted to the extent of $2OO,OOO,OOO.


Mr.. Warner said he was glad the ~presen
administration had been induced by th
action of this House to open correspondence
on this question with foreign countries, ant


he hoped that action would be backed up b
vote of the House. The opinion seeme'
!: to prevail very generally that if this bi


passed it at once transferred by law Is pc
, cent. of all the silver bullion that might b
coined to the bullion holder. The absurdit


of that proposition was to him so plain tha
he only wondered that SO many had falle
} info the fallacy, and had become bewildere
on that point. Take, for instance, gold.
r was set apart from all other things as
, money metal, and the coming of it did nc
r alter its value. The same had been true
silver, exactly. Up to 1878 an ounce of bu
/ lion had had precisely the same value in tt
7 market as an ounce of coin.


t The vote was taken on Mr.. Ewing
t amendment, and it was adopted, yeas 10
a nays 1O5, the Speaker casting the decidir
? vote amid applause on the Democratic sid
Q Mr.. Springer's amendment, as amended
i Mr.. Ewing, was then rejected, yeas SO, ma.


Clymer, adjourned till Tuesday.