People's Pilot, Volume 3, Number 18, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 20 October 1893 — THE SILVER DEBATE. [ARTICLE]

THE SILVER DEBATE.

Bynopsi* of the Di*cu**loa La the United States Seaate. On the 11th Mr. Cockrell (dem. Ma) continued his speech against the repeal bill He yielded the floor to Mr. Smith (dem, N. J.), ■who spoke tn favor, and Mr. Irby (dem, S. C.), ■who spoke against the pending measure. Mr. Cockrell concluded his speech at 5:15 o’clock. Mr Allen (pop., Net) took the floor to con tinue his speech. At 6 o’clock Mr. Dubois (rep, Idaho) announced that the hour had come when the senate usually adjourned. Mr. Voorhees (dem., Ind.) said he felt it hia highest duty not to move for an adjournment, but, on the contrary, to ask the senate to stay together in continuous session until the pending measure should be disposed of. Mr. Dubois said this announcement of the senator from Indiana meant •'that the senate is to be held in continuous session until a vote is reached on the pending bill, or until it is demonstrated that a vote cannot be reached. This legislation should not be rushed through byinhumanjeflorts'ana brute force You know as ■well when you start as when you emerge from the struggle that you must fail.” He said a bill was as likely to pass for the free coinage of silver as to absolutely destroy silver. He added: “If you conclude to abandon appeals to reason and sense and to risk a settlement of this great question to a test of which side can stand the most punishment, we desire to give notice now that we shall protect our side by every means in our power. We shall insist that you furnish the quorum, and that you keep it constantly in this chamber, if it takes innumerable roll-calls. The responsibility for what is to follow must rest on you, as well as its physical effects on individual senators.”

Mr. Voorhees suggested to Mr. Dubois the wisdom of the saying: “Let not him that girdeth on his harness boast himself as he that putteth it off.” “We will see who fails in this transaction before we are done," said Mr. Voorhees. “I feel that my feet are on a rock, and there I shall stand and vindicate a great and mighty principle. But before I say a word upon that subject I will ask the senator from Idaho whether he will fix a day to take a vote?" Mr. Dubois said that there were distinguished senators who had not talked on the subject, and he could not nor could any one else say when the debate would probably close. Mr. Voorhees replied at great length, saying that “if there could be a day named by the opponents of this bill we would come to an understanding directly. It is because ob•struction is resorted to, pure and simple, against legislation, that we are in the attitude we are now. We regret exceedingly to have to resort to the methods now before us.” He said he would rather be carried from his desk feet foremost and put to sleep at his home in Terre Haute forever than to yield the principle that the majority has a right to govern. They had reached the question whether or not we have a government that can administer itself. He would not injure the minority, but asked should the majority govern? He stood there not talking compromise but for the rule of the majority. If he went down it would be with his flag nailed to the masthead. If a compromise was to take place on the principle that the minority had the right to dictate, it w-ould be by others, not by him. He continued: "In default of any answer when a vote can be reached, I invoke the spirit of wisdom, fairness, patience and manhood on both sides and we will proceed. I have no doubt of the result”

Mr. Allen continued his remarks during the night, interrupted by frequent roll calls to determine the question of a quorum being present On the 12th Mr. Allen (pop., Neb.) concluded his remarks at Ba. m, after which, on motion of Mr. Voorhees, the Peffer amendment was laid on the table—ST to 17—as follows: Yeas—Caffery. Camden, Carey, Cullom, Davis. Dixon. Dolph, Faulkner, Frye. Gallinger, Gordon, Gray, Hale, Hawley, Hill, Hoar, Lindsay, McMillan, McPherson, Manderson, Mills, Mitchell tWis.), Murphy, Platt, Proctor, Quay, Ransom. Sherman, Smith, Squire, Voorhees, Washburn. White (La.)— 33. Nays—Bate, Berry. Blackburn, Butler, Call, Cameron, Coke, Daniel, George,Hunton, Irby, Martin, Morgan, Pasco, Peffer, Vest, Walthall —l7. Mr. Martin (dem., Kan.) expressed the opinion the time had come for democrats to act together and arrive as some agreement—see whether they could do anything to relieve the party and the country. He read the newspaper reports of the meeting between Secretary Carlisle and the New York bankers at the house of President Williams of the Chemical national bank, and said the reports were convincing testimony the panic had been made to order and had been manufactured expressly for the occasion. It had two purposes—one to force the government to issue bonds, and the other to destroy silver as a money metal. He acquitted Mr. Carlisle of any complicity in the conspiracy. He discussed the question of national banks and asserted the wisest and best thing for the democratic party to do would be to wipe out every vestige of the national banking system. He regarded the repeal bill as so bad, so wicked, so cruel, so remorseless, so unjust he felt justified in resorting to every constitutional right to defeat it. At 4:15 Mr. Teller (rep. Col.) proceeded with a speech begun the previous week, but yielded the floor with the understanding that he could resume on the 13th

Mr. Stewart (rep., Nev.) then took the floor. He said that within a year, probably sooner, the country would rejoice that there had been those in the senate who had the courage to call a halt on the attempt to establish the single gold basis. If silver countries would be true to themselves the gold countries would have to change their policies in order to trade with the more powerful countries. Mr. Stewart continued his speech till after midnight, subject to many interruptions for inquiries as to the presence of a quorum. After a report by the sergeant-at-arms at 1:40 o’clock on the morning of the 13th as to the absentees, Mr. Voorhees said, in view of such report, it was evident no further business could be transacted, and he therefore moved an adjournment, to which motion there was no opposition, and the senate adjourned until 11 o'clock. On the 13th after the Introduction of amend ments by Mr Vest (dem., Mo.) and Mr. Allen (pop, Neb.) —the former providing for the repeal of the purchase clause of the Sherman act, the issue of coin certificates, the coinage of na tive silver, deposited by owners, up to *800,000,000, the repeal of the 10 per cent tax on state banks, etc.; and the latter providing for the free coinage of silver—Mr. Stewart (rep, Nev.) resumed his speech and debated further against the pending repeal measure. Mr. Peffer (pop, Kan.) took the floor at 8 p m. and continued the argument against repeal An adjournment was had at 11:30 for want of a quorum.

On the 14th Mr. Jones (rep, Nev ) spoke in opposition to the repeal He said the pending measure was a veiled attempt to impose the gold standard upon the people of the United States. The very vehemence and universality of the denial was of itself suspicious. “The lady doth protest too much, methinks.” In reply to a question by Mr. Vilas (dem., Wis.) as to whether he (Mr. Jones) did not fear a serious monetary disturbance if “free coinage" were given to silver at the rate of 16 to 1, Mr. Jones replied that he had not the slightest doubt that in ten minutes after a free coinage bill became a law silver would be on a parity with gold and would stay there.

Taking advantage of a break in the discussion Mr. Voorhees asked if it would be agreeable to the senator from Nevada to yield to a motion to adjourn, to which Mr. Jones responded that it would. Mr. Voorhees then said: “With the concurrence cf and upon consultation with the friends of the pending measure I have a motion to make at this hour. Before I do so however. I desire to correct any tnisapprehen sions that may prevail in some minds. There are some eager minds in certain directions just at this time. I remember reading once with great interest an account of the battle of the first commodore of the American navy. John Paul Jones, off the coast of Scotland, by moonlight, with the Serapis and her allies. When the British commander asked him whether he surrendered be said in reply: ‘I have cniy begun to fight’ If there is anybody who thinks that the friends and advocates of this bill have surrendered, or have it in contemplation, I desire to answer, in the language of the immortal hero of the salt seas, that we have only begun the tight, and with that I move that the senate now adjourn.” The motion was acrc'.d to uud the senate, at 5:05, adjourned.

On the 15th. after considerable discussion of other business, Mr. Peffer (pop, Kan.) resumed his speech against the repeal bill. Yielding temporarily to Mr. Palmer (dem.. Ill) the latter remarked that he had been kept in the chamber night after night listening, not to debate, but to speeches which, as the newspapers asserted, were made to consume time. On being asked to specify any particular speech he started to express his belief that the senator from Nt jraska (Mr. Allen) had— But before he could finish the sentence he was Interrupted by Mr. Allen himself, who angrily insisted that Mr. Palmer had no right to make such an imputation, and he called him to order for violating the rules. Mr. Palmer said he would not take anything back. And then Mr. Allen retorted by saying he was not in the senate with a brass collar around his neck, as other senators were: that he was not here to do the bidding of some man who had put chains upon his neck and told him what to do. Considerable time was consumed on the question of the presence of a quorum, several roll calls being had, after which Mr. Peffer continued his remarks. He said a time would come, if that majority had patience and would hear what the senators had to say on this question, when senators would vote, but not until then. But if the senate insists on forcing this bill, refusing all offers of a compromise, just so long will we insist that we are the majority; that we represent the great mass of the people. He said the supporters of the pending bill claimed to be l?imetallists. Let them prove their words by their works. In reply to a query by Mr. Palmer if he meant that the majority must consent to a compromise before a vote could be had Mr Peffer replied that if they (the minority) could prevent a vote until then they would do so. The colloquy between Mr. Peffer and Mr? Palmer kept up until 10 o'clock, when a motion for adjournment made by Mr. Voorhees was agreed to.