Year: 1878

A petition from four hundred bank
ers and businessmen Of Chicago was pre-
sented by Senator Davis, on the 14th, favor
ing gold as single standard Of value. Mr..
Mitchell presented resolution instructing
the committee on Indian affairs to inquire
into the propriety of setting apart four
large reservations for all Indians of the
country, and that the lands now occupied
by them be opened to settlement. The
Senate then resumed the consideration of
the resolution of Mr.. Matthews, declaring
the right Of the governmental pay its bonds
in silver. Mr.. Bailey read a long argument
as to the constitutional powers of Congress
in regulating coinage, etc. Mr.. Bailey
argued that it was the intention of Congress
to pay the bonds in coin, and the acts were
most carefully worded; that coin might be
either gold or silver. He would not be-
lievc that men who voted for the act Of
1873, demonetizing silver. were guilty of
wilful fraud, but he did think they were vic
tins of bondholders, A contracted and
constantly contracting currency dwarfed
our capacity and paralyzed our efforts. He
commented at some length on the financial
policy of Germany, and said that country
would never have demonetized silver If she
had mines producing S4O0OO,000 annually.
Had she been able to produce so much her
mints would have been at work night and
day. In conclusion he argued, that with
the single gold standard, our vast debt
doubledin value would bring poverty to all
homes.


Several important bills were intro
duccd In the House, on the 18th, among
them providing for II commission on the
subject of alcoholic traffic; amending the
revenue laws by increasing the special tax
on wholesale liquor dealers, increasing the
tax on distilled liquors, repeating laws i'm
posing u tax on friction matches, and re-
pealing the law requiring stamps on bank
checks; to enable the Secretary of the In
terror to make final settlement with the
Pottawatomie Indians.


In the House on the 10th there
was very little dono. A few unimportant
bills were introduced and several attempts
made by the advocates of silver remoncu-
zation to further the interest of their
scheme but all advances were promptly
met by the gold men, so that no headway
was made. In committee of the whole Mr..
Price mado some interesting remarks upon
tho silver dollar as standard. He claimed
it was thing which did not admit of doubt,
that at the time when silver was demOnet-


lied the silver dollar of 1927 grains was
more valuable than the gold dollar. He
argued that it was to the interest Of the
United States to make both gold and silver
Il legal tender for all debts public and pri-
vate, particularly now when this country
was such large producer of silver, and he
attributed the great depreciation of real es-
tate in Germany to the demonetizatiOn OF
silver by that country. He contradicted
the theory that the vast increase in the pro-
duction of silver in this country had been
the cause of fall in value of that metal
and alleged in denial Of it that India, Japan
and China alone had taken, In course Of
trade, during last year, one hundred and
five millions of dollars which was about
twenty-five millions more than the entire
silver product of the world,


Mr.. Merrimon, on Friday addressed
the Senate at length on the siver question.
He said the naked question before the Sen
ate was whether the government could law
fully pay its creditors in silver of the stand
ard Of value of July IA. 1870. He reviewed
the financial Legislation since 1862, and quo
ted from various acts to show that all bonds
issued were payable in legal tender coin Of
the United States, When these acts were
passed there were but two species Of coin
established by Iaw-gold and silver, and as
the contract stood between the government
and its creditors, the government could
pay its debts in both or either. The law at
the time provided for the coinage Of the
silver dollar, and had it been intended to
exclude the silver dollar when the bonds
were issued, why was not the provision In
serted for that purpose? That the govern
ment had right to pay its bonds in silver
was clear. and he could not see how any
such action could be looked upon as re-
pudiation. He smoke of business prostra-
I


tion and suffering throughout the country,
and argued that 1t was the effect of unwise
legislation, The financial legislation since
the war has been calculated to enhance the
value of the bonds of the government in
the hands of its creditors. The volume of
paper currency in circulation has been
| regulated by the government and not by
the requirements of business. Since the
panic of 1872 nothing had fourshed save
government bonds. The vice. President
| laid before the Senate a message from the
President enclosing report from the At
torney- General in:answerto to theresolution
| of Mr.. ChafTee, calling upon the President
to inform the Senate what legal impede
ments, IL any exist, which prevent him from
executing the laws in accordance with the
obligations accepted and agreements made
by the Union Pacific Railroad company and
its branches, with the United States. The
Attorney General states that he has heard
the argument bv parties interested and