198 



CONGRESS. (THE BILL AUTHORIZING ISSUE OF BONDS.) 



while their produce of the metal was rapidly in- 

 creasing, then it was that they sought partnership 

 in the booty of protection and went into the coun- 

 cils of the 'confederacy of rapine,' demanding help 

 to throw on the shoulders of the American people 

 the burden of making a market and holding up the 

 price for the produce of silver mining. 



" I turn now to the consideration of the nature of 

 the claim for free coinage which actuates the second 

 class of promoters, debtors who hope thereby to dis- 

 charge their debts with dollars of far less value than 

 those they owe. 



" Here, also, as throughout this argument, my 

 purpose is to point out how abhorrent to Demo- 

 cratic principles is every motive, every suggestion 

 of reason or basis for such a measure, while, at the 

 same time is shown its insupportability by every 

 just standard of public judgment, and, as well, its 

 futility to advance the ends proposed. 



" Their postulate, plainly stated, is that the Gov- 

 ernment of this country shall debase the standard 

 of its coin, making it a legal tender for a double 

 value, simply that debtors may have the help of 

 Government to defraud their creditors of what their 

 promises and the law entitles them. Let ingenuity 

 and sophistry say what they may, such a proposal 

 can never enter into the judgment of the world, ex- 

 cept as a measure of wrong and outrage. It has 

 sometimes been the trick of kings to cheat their 

 subjects, but never without the execration of man- 

 kind, not more for its immorality than for its evil 

 consequences. 



" What does it mean, sir, in its best aspect ? What 

 one thing but this : that by law there shall be taken 

 from one class to be given to another; that upon 

 them to whom debts are due there shall be laid an 

 enormous penalty, in hope that some of the gain of 

 it may help the debtors. The Congress of the United 

 States is invoked to enact a law that every man who 

 happens to have his property in credits shall yield 

 up one half or whatever the proportion of his sub- 

 stance. For what? For any end of government? 

 No; but that other men who happen to owe the 

 debts shall escape one half of their rightful obliga- 

 tions. 



"No sophistry can sweeten this to my mind or 

 mitigate the horrors of its injustice. It means 

 nothing less than the use of public power in de- 

 struction of the very objects for which government 

 was instituted among men. If this may be done 

 avowedly there remains no rule but the will of a 

 temporary majority, unrestrained by law or justice." 



Senator Bate, of Tennessee, spoke at length in 

 favor of the silver-coinage amendment, as did also 

 Senator Pasco, of Florida. 



Senator Palmer, of Illinois, offered an amendment 

 to the substitute reported by the Committee on Fi- 

 nance, as follows : 



"Amend the bill by adding after the words 

 'seventy-eight,' in line 11 of page 5 of the bill, the 

 following : 



" ' But it is the declared policy of the United States 

 to maintain the parity between" the gold coinage of 

 25-,% of standard gold and the dollar of 412 grains 

 of standard silver, authorized to be coined by the 

 first section of this act, and to maintain the equal 

 power of the said silver dollars of 412i grains of 

 standard silver and the gold dollar of 25^ grains of 

 standard gold in the markets and in the payment 

 of debts. And the Secretary of the Treasury is di- 

 rected to exercise the, discretion given to him by the 

 fourth section of this .<< 1, >o as, in his judgment, to 

 best advance and promote the policy hereinbefore 

 declared.' " 



Senator C'afTVry, of Louisiana, spoke in opposition 

 to the committee's amendment, summing up his ar- 

 gument as follows : 



" First, that value only originates from the esti- 

 mation that parties to an exchange of commodities 

 place upon the commodities offered in exchange. 



' Second, that metallic money is a commodity and 

 is subject in every exchange to this estimate. 



"Third, that the estimate, being subjective and 

 mental, can not be made by governmental statute. 



"Fourth, that when two metals are attempted to 

 be held by a legal tie, one or the other will become 

 underrated by the commercial ratio, which is the 

 estimate placed upon it by exchangers, and there- 

 fore will leave circulation. 



" Fifth, that consequently bimetallism is really 

 monometallism. 



"Sixth, that in case the United States adopted 16 

 to 1, when the commercial ratio is 32 to 1, gold 

 would leave circulation, and we would be on a sil- 

 ver basis. 



" Seventh, that no man can contemplate this re- 

 sult without a shudder at the fearful loss, ruin, and 

 disorder that would ensue." 



Senator White, of California, spoke in favor of 

 the committee's substitute, and Feb. 1 Senator 

 Morrill, of Vermont, followed with an argument on 

 the other side, discussion following by Senators 

 Teller, Gray, Daniel, Lindsay, Butler, Jones, Allen, 

 Cockrell, Stewart, Dubois, Bacon, and others. 



Senator Butler's amendment to the amendment 

 was voted upon and rejected by a vote of 13 yeas to 

 (10 nays, 16 not voting. 



Senator Allen, of Nebraska, offered an amend- 

 ment proposing to add at the close of section 4 the 

 following: 



" Provided, That after the passage of this act the 

 Secretary of the Treasury shall be deprived of the 

 power to issue the bonds or other interest-bearing 

 obligations of the Government unless Congress shall 

 first declare the necessity therefor, any act of Con- 

 gress now in force to the contrary notwithstand- 

 ing." 



This was rejected by a vote of 21 to 54 not vot- 

 ing, 14. 



Senator Morrill offered the following amend- 

 ment: 



" Add at the end of the first section of the com- 

 mittee amendment the following proviso : 



" Provided, That the seigniorage upon all coinage 

 of silver under this act shall be retained by the 

 United States equal in amount to the difference be- 

 tween the coining value and the commercial value 

 of silver bullion when presented at the mint." 



Senator Squire, of Washington, spoke in favor of 

 the amendment. He said : 



"I believe the expansion to be derived from the 

 adoption of the amendment of the honorable Sena- 

 tor from Vermont would give to the people addi- 

 tional money, and additional silver money. It will 

 simply preserve in the Treasury an amount of silver 

 that shall be equal to the difference between the 

 coin value and the bullion value, while the silver 

 coin representing the entire gold value of the full 

 amount of silver bullion received would be issued as 

 money, thus increasing the primary money of the 

 country. In other words, it would be conforming 

 somewhat to the amendments proposed some years 

 ago by the honorable Senator from Missouri and 

 others, increasing the ratio from 16 to 20 or 24, 

 or some other practicable ratio, without changing 

 the size and weight of the coin, as he proposed to 

 do. That is what it would amount to ; and I be- 

 lieve we ought, if possible, to get such legislation as 

 will afford some measure of relief to the people of 

 the United States, and I do not think there will be 

 any injustice in it to the mine owners. I think they 

 would get an additional market for their product, 

 and the people of the United States, who create this 

 additional value, under present existing circuui- 





