Democratic Sentinel, Volume 17, Number 43, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 10 November 1893 — SPEECH -OFHON. D. W. VOORHEES. [ARTICLE]

SPEECH -OFHON. D. W. VOORHEES.

[Concluded.] Th. Vice-President. The Chair recognizes the senator from Colorado as having first addressed ths Chair, Mr. Morgan. Will the senator from Colorado yield to me for a very few moments? Mr. Teller. 1 yield to the senator from Alabama. Mr. Morgan The question T was about to state to the senator from Indiana w en he was on his feet contained no impeachment or imputation agt.inst him or th Committee on Finance or anybody else. ******* Mr. Morgan. Here is the pledge in the bill as it came from the other House • And the faith and credit of the United States are hereby plodvedto maintain the parity of the standard gold and silver coins of the United States at the present legal ratio, or such other ratio, as may be established by law.

That is the pledge made in the bill as it passed the House. The senate committee abandoned that and substituted in place of it the following: And it is hereby declared to bo the policy of the United Stoles to eontiue the use of both gold and silver as standard money, and to ooin both gold and silver into money of equal intrinsic and exchangeable value, such equality to be secured through interactional agreement, or by such safeguards of legislation as will insure the maintenance of the parity in value of the coins of the two metals, and the fequal power of every dollnr at all times in the markets and in the payment of debts. Now,Mr. President, what 1 wants ed to inquire about, and get information upon from the chairman of the Committee on Finance, uas why the [ ledge rs ‘he faith aud credit of the United “tates, which I have just read, was abandoned by the Senate committee and a declaration of polity was substituted in the place of it? That is all. That \\ as the whole drift and of my question. It was a legitimate question. There was nothing in it to excite irritation Or anger or anticipated irapnt . - tion upon any member of that committee; I did not mean it, and I do not now so mean it; but I intend to give the Senator from Indiana an Opportunity of explaining that clear backdown frr.m the language of the bill as it passed the House before he gets my vole upon this question.

Mr. Voorhees. Mr. 'President, I have no idea of ever getting the vote of the Senator from Alabama; on that condition Ido not rise. I have no idea of that at all But the Senator’s term of "bnolc down” is not warranted. There is no back down about it. Upon careful consideration amongst the Senators composing the Finance Committee, quite os patriotic as is the Senator from Alabama, possibly not so intelligent, still doing the best we oonld, we felt that this language was subject to misLndoi standing: “But this repeal shall not impair, or in any manner affect, the legal tendc quali tyof'the siivcrstand rd dollars heretofore coined — “Heretofore coined ” That would bo mu imputation that there might bo c:o n ige heieafter not protected in that way and the faith and credit of the United States are hereby pledged to maintain the parity of the standard gold and silver coins of the United States at the present ’egal ratio or sueh other ratio as may be established by law." That part of the sentence is more than amply covered by the declaratory part of the bill. The declaratory part of the bill is in language familiar to the Amorican mind, made familiar in the canvass of the United States year, and them is nobody who vill mi understand this declaratory provision unless he has determined in advance that he is going to misunderstand it, unless he has determined in advance that he will call it a backdown from something, unless he has determined in advance to put somebody in the wrong; otherwise nobody will misunderstand the fact that in lieu of that part of the above sentence, the declaratory piovison of the bill as reported covert the point amply and satisfactorily.

Mr. Voorhees. Will the Senator from Missouri allow me a moment? Mr. Cockrell. Certainly. Mr. Voorhees. Itbinkli isunderstood the S nator from Alabama, as my mind was engrossed on other|points. I mar say that I bad no ntention of answering unkindly or discourteously anything the Senator from Alabama has said. I see now more clearly than I did then the meaning of the Senator from Ala nma. The provision as it came from the House reads: “And the faith and credit of the United States are ereby pledged to maintain the parity of the standard gold and silver coins of the United States at the pro ent legal ratio or such other ratio as may be established by law. ” To show how much better the declaratory provision in the substitute reported by the committee than that, it is only necessary to print out the fact that the declaratory provision declares the policy of the Government “to continue the use of both goll and silver as standard money, and coin both gold and silver into money of equal intrinsic and exch mgeable value." Ml object in changing the 1 ingn.ige o the Dill as it catr.e from the House was to have a pledge for the future use and coinage of both metals, according to thelmgip ge of the Chicago platform, which I had before me at the time. Ti e clause from which the Senator from Alabama says the Finanoe Committee backed down h ts no promise at all of coinng a silver d llai in the future. T e psovision of the House was simply that 4 the faith and credit of the Unite - States are hereby pledged to maintain the parity of the standard fold and silver coins of the United States,” etc. Mr. Morgan. How can that be done withou) coin ng silver dollars 0