People's Pilot, Volume 3, Number 15, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 29 September 1893 — THE SILVER DEBATE. [ARTICLE]

THE SILVER DEBATE.

o t the UUcawlos 1b the United State* Senate. On the 19th a lengthy discussion was had on a proposition by Mr. Voorbees for a set time when a vote should be taken on the repeal bilL Mr. Voerhees gave notice that he would ask the senate to remain longer in daily session, perhaps at night. Mr. Mills (dem., Tex) then spoke, advocating repeal. The Sherman law was an unwise law and as such should be repealed. It had been mid In this debate that (according to the president) we stood face to face with bimetallism against a single gold standard. That statement was not accurate. The president had not made the issue The facts had made the issue; and it was for congress to determine between bimetallism on the one side and a single silver standard on the other. The president had been charged with having deserted the democratic platform. The president stood squarely with both feet on the platform of the party that had elected him aad was ready to execute the pledges which his party had made to the people. The men who were attacking the president were the men who were off the platform. There was a demand in the country for the repeal of the Sherman law—for its unconditional repeal The democratic party had arraigned the Sherman law as an vtpwise law and declared that it should be repealed. The democrats were pledged to revise the McKinley act. Was the senate to wait before it repeated the Sherman act until the house of representatives acted upon the tariff? It wae said that Arizona and New Mexico should he admitted as states. Was the senate to wait until this was done before It relieved the distress of the people? Mr. Mills then proceeded to argue that bimetallism could not exist when intrinsic walue and money value were not precisely the «ame. If they were not the same, how could they be made the same, except by international agreement? He was in favor of the free and unlimited coinage of gold and silver, but free and udlimited coinage must result in bimetallism. And bimetallism would not be the result of ihe United States alone .of all nations of the earth wpening her mints to coinage. In conclusion, Mr. Mills said he was going to vote for the repeal, and he would vote against ■every amendment to it that human ingenuity could suggest. He could not conceive of any amendment that could be offered that would not impeach the integrity of the president, and would vote against every one. Mr. Stewart (rep., Nev.) protested against any closure proposition. If the silver men went down they would go down protesting. On the 20th the senate remained In continuous session six hours and a half, the longest session since the repeal bill was taken up. Mr. George (Miss.) addressed the senate in opposition to repeal. He read his remarks to a slim audience and several times roll had to be called to develop the presence of a quorum. Mr. Gray (DeL) spoke in advocacy of the repeal MIL On the 21st Senator Platt (rep., Conn.) offered ar. amendment to the senate rules providing for closure. He said the rules of the senate. as of every legislative body, ought to facilitate the transaction of business, while as a matter of fact it could not be denied that they made it impossible to transact business. When the necessity and propriety of a change of rules so as to reasonably facilitate the transaction of business was brought to the attention of the senate, It was the best plan to enter upon that work. He knew it would be said that in the present con<Ution of affairs in the senate such a rule could not be adopted, but he believed it could be adopted by a vote lust as easily and quickly as the repeal bill could be passed. While he had not consulted senators upon the republican side, he thought a large number on that side favored the adoption of that rule. Senator Vvhite (dem., 1.a.) then wpoke on the repeal bill, claiming that there were other causes for the financial panic be sides the Sherman act

On the 22d Senator Alien (pop., Neb.) introduced a bill making the dollar (which may be coined of 41214 grains of silver or 25 8-10 grains of gold) the unit of value. The bill also repeals the Sherman act and provides that own•ers of silver bullion may deposit in the mint, »nd such silver, less 20 per cent (to be deduct «d for seignorage and coined into silver dollars and put in the treasury), shall be coined into •standard dollars for his benefit. The resolution of Senator Platt (rep., Conn.) for closure rule in the senate was then taken >np, and Senator Wolcott (rep., CoL) addressed "the senate. Although he said that he would vote against the resolution he declared that no factious opposition would be made to it, and ’ thtfi a vote upon it could be reached much sooner than a vote upon the repeal bill could be. If the senate desired a vote -on the closure resolution it could have lit without much debate. He’ would not interpose the slightest objection. If there was a failure to press It to a vote then criticism on tho senators opposing the repeal bill would have to cease. The debate on the repeal bOl could ■be stifled by the closure rule, but It could not toe stifled otherwise. Senator Teller (rep., Col.) declared that he would resist by every method, obstructive and otherwise, the adoption of a rule in the senate which would limit or restrict debate. On the 23d the closure resolution was further discussed, Messrs. Turpie (dem, Ind.) and Call (dem., Fla.) speaking in opposition to the same, after which the resolution was referred to the committee on rules An effort to take up the repeal bill was made by Mr. Voorhees, who afterwards moved an executive session, which was agreed to. On the 25th Mr. Stewart (rep, Nev.) arraigned President Cleveland for alleged violation of ihe constitution in seeking to influence the legislative department of tho government, speaking of bis resolution declaring that “the independence of the coordinate departments of the government must be maintained and that the use of the power and influence of one department to control the action of another is in violation of the constitution and destructive to our form of government ”

Mr. Stewart began with a citation of the president's speech on the occasion of commemorating the hundredth anniversary of the laying of the corner stone of the -capitol. This speech had been made by a president having more than 11)0,000 federal officers to dispose of snd with a veto power which had been designed only for extraordinary occasions, backed by concentrated capital and encouraged and flattered by a venal press. He described Mr. •Cleveland on that occasion as turning his face toward the senate wing of the capitol and inangry and menacing tones using the following language: “If the representatives who here assemble to make laws for their fellowcountrymen forget the duty of broad and disinterested patriotism, and legislate in prejudice’ and passion, or in behalf of sectional or selfish interests, the time when the corner stone of the -capitol was laid and the circumstances sur- ' rounding it will not be worthy of commemo arattog.” This declaration, Mr. Stewart said, had been Cheered and encouraged by a thoughtless multitude and construed by a venal press as a rebuke to the senate. He charged that the president, in disregard of his oath of office to execute the laws, had permitted the secretary of the treasury to violate the order which made' the purchase of ounces of silver bullion per month Mandatory, by exercising an unlawful discreitlon in purchasing a smaller amount. He said the president of the United States toad no exalted opinion of the senate or the house. He regarded it, doubtless, as an appendage to the executive department. Senator Stewart then read from a letter written toy the president accepting an invitation to attend the centennial celebration of Williams college, in which he said he soon expected to "have a session of congress •on his hands. ” “A session of congress -on my hands,” repeated Senator Stevfart, in simulated seriousness. “That remark spoke volumes in interpreting how the president re- - carded the coordinate branches of the government Would a man who fully appreciated the ■ responsibility of bis office even by accident ' «n»he the remark that congress would ‘be on '■'tois hands 1' Congress has assembled as an independent branch of the government and was on nobody’s hands.” Mr. Stewart yielded the floor to Mr. Cameron <wp- Pa.), who made a speech in which he lnd cated that if the silver people are driven to ttoe wail by the tariff-reformers they will never

permit a tariff bill to pass the senate. He urged that there ought to be no attack upon the industries of odc state or section, for if this was insisted upon the result would be a situation in which there could be no legislation in the senate without unanimous consent. In concluding his remarks, Mr. Cameron said: “My propositions are these: I propose a gold loan of so many hundred million dollars as congress may decide to be bought at the market rate and held Jn the treasury as the gold reserve is held In the bank of France and by the governments of the Latin union. I propose to open our mints to the free coinage of American silver, imposing a duty on the Import of foreign silver. “I propose, further, to repeal the tax on state bank circulation. I would also press once more for action in favor of our shipping. To meet in part the deficit in our Income tax for next year I would reimpose the duty of two cents a pound on sugar and repeal the bounty. Then I would wait a yjatr to see how the system worked and how far we were affected by foreign influence.” ! Mr. Bate (dem., Tenn.) denied the claim that i the Sherman law was responsible for the stringency, and said that the real cause of the trouble was the republican tariff. That was the real issue of the last national campaign, and the democrats had made a mistake in not pushing tariff reform with the same vigor they had manifested to repeal the sliver purchase law. Mr. Stewart again took the floor. He criticised the use of the word “intrinsic” as applied bv the president to the value of gold and silver, and said that the president did not know what j he was talking about. He read from newspapers various articles as to the attitude of the president, finally coming to the published telegram from the president to Chairman Wilson, j of the ways and means committee, congratulating him on the passage through the j house of the repeal bilL In the hundred odd j years of American independence, said Mr. Stewart, there was no precedence for such action. It seemed from that dispatch, he said, j that the president regarded congress as his servant, and was thanking it as a good and faithful servant for doing his bidding.