Year: 1877

SILVER.


If political recOllectiOns were not very short,
the passage of the Bland bill on Monday, by
a vote of 1G3 to 81, would not have caused
general surprise. On the 18th of December,
of last year, after weeks of debate, similar
bin passed by vote of 167 to SO. Since
then, Republican Conventions, i'll Western
States, have generally acted i'll favor of remOn-
citation, though SO loosely as to show that
their notions were vague and that the practl-
cal bearing of different steps and methods was
not comprehended at all. There is no reason
to suppose that the Republicans of any State
would favor such measure as the Bland BILL
if their attention were drawn TO its attack
upon the National credit, its violation of the
public faith, or its menace to public pros
peritv. But no attention had been given to
the details of any such measure. Men vaguely
thought and loosely said that reconciliation
would be desirable, leaving to their represent
atlves the examination OF methods. And many
Representatives, forced to vote upon the bill
without any examination, conceived themselves
bound TO vote for it because it was mode OF
reconciliation. How little methods were con-
sidered is shown by the fact that certain ex-
pressons by Secretary Sherman. not unfavOr
able to RECOMMENDATION in some way or to some
degree, caused great many to hear with sur
prise that he called the Bland bill the most
Infamous and most foolish bill ever framed by
a set of idiots


1t should be understood at the outset that
uncompromsing hostility to this measure is to
be expected from very many who strongly
favor RECOMMENDATION i'll some form, or by some
method The abest advocates of the double
standard, like Mr.. George Walker, whose
letter to THE TRIBUNE yesterday merits at
tention, denounce this bill as tending to de-
stroy all chance of favorable action by other
nations. Another of the ablest champions OF
that system, MIR. S. Dana Horton, denounced
the bill passed last year thus strongly in The
BankerS Mdgazine:


Toe Bland bill means mischief!


The bill proposes that the old silver dollar shall be
coined legaender. side by side with the gold dollar.
effect, therefore restores the monetary system
which obtained before 1870, with its ratio of to
Payments TO be made dollars, OF which the
silver weighs sixteen times much the gold dollar.
Silver becomes legal coin and laws ordering payments
in gold alone become anomaly, inviting speedy
repeal.


This bin Is really an attack upon the BiMetac sys-
tom the restoration OF which is needed for the future
prosperity Of the world; and If 1t becomes "a law 1t
Will prove obstruction to tho prosperity the United
States.


Mr. Horton then discussed at length the
effect of the bill, in view y the anxiety of
Germany to sell its great store of silver and
showed that "frce coinage of metal as a
"legal-tender, is standing statutory bid for
call of that metal that may be for sale
"at the price," and that "the country
"that takes the silver becomes a sort of
"India." These, be it remembered, are not the
opinions of "gold bulliOnists," but of the
strongest and most intelligent opponents Of the
gold standard in this country. They insist
that the United States should take the lead
in an international movement to bring about
remonetization of silver through the adoption