198 



CONGRESS, UNITED STATES. 



there may be an increase of the public debt, 

 and those who vote against it that there shall 

 not." 



The roll-call having been concluded, the re- 

 sult was announced as follows : 



YEAS Messrs. Allison. Bogy, Boreman, Came- 

 ron, Carpenter, Clayton, Dorsey, Ferry of Michigan, 

 Goldthwaite, Gordon, Harvey, Hitchcock, Ingalls, 

 Johnston, Lewis, Logan, McCreery, Merrimon, Mor- 

 ton, Ogleshy, Patterson, Pease, Pratt, Ramsey, Rob- 

 ertson, Spencer, Tipton, West, and Windom 29. 

 _ NAYS Messrs. Anthony, Bayard, Chandler, Conk- 

 ling, Cragin, Davis, Teuton, Frelinghuysen, Hager, 

 Hamilton of Maryland. Hamilton of Texas, Hamlin, 

 Howe, Jones, Kelly, Morrill of Vermont, Sargent, 

 Saulsbury-Schurz, Scott, Sherman, Stewart, Thur- 

 man, and Wadleigh 24. 



ABSENT Messrs. Alcorn, Boutwell, Brownlow, 

 Buckingham, Conover, Cooper, Dennis, Edmunds, 

 Ferry of Connecticut, Flanagan, Gilbert, Mitchell, 

 Morrill of Maine, Norwood, Ransom, Sprague, Ste- 

 venson, Stockton, and Wright 19. 



So the substitute of Mr. Merrimon, as modi- 

 fied, was agreed to. 



The bill was reported to the Senate as 

 amended. 



The President pro tempore : " The Senate, 

 as in Committee of the Whole, having made 

 one amendment to the bill, the question now is 

 on concurring in that amendment made as in 

 Committee of the Whole." 



Mr. Oonkling : " This is inflation, utter and 

 hurtful. Spasmodic relief may come from it, 

 temporary and apparent prosperity may come 

 from it, but it takes no heed of the future ex- 

 cept to smoothe the way to degradation, dis- 

 aster, and distress. 



" Without necessity or even sore temptation 

 to extenuate it, such a policy spurns the expe- 

 rience of all epochs, tramples on reason and 

 right, and violates the pledged faith of the na- 

 tion as attested by solemn and repeated acts of 

 the American people in Congress assembled, 

 by the avowals of every department of the Gov- 

 ernment, and by the declarations in national 

 convention of the political party which chose 

 most of us to the seats we hold, and chose also 

 a Chief Magistrate bound by his word against 

 every scheme and device of repudiation and 

 dishonor. I mean so to vote that by my act 

 the record of Congress shall not palter in a 

 double sense, and shall not be stained by a 

 trace of bad faith." 



Mr. Stewart, of Nevada, said: "I can add 

 nothing to this debate. I simply wanted to 

 indicate that this was the beginning of a strug- 

 gle in which there is nothing but disaster until 

 we finally get back to money that has a real pur- 

 chasing value, a real measure of value that the 

 world recognizes. Until we get back to sol- 

 vency and honesty the struggle will be severe. 

 It looks as if it would be protracted, because 

 after ten years' talk of' gradual resumption we 

 find ourselves taking a leap not a step, but a 

 leap in the other direction, refuging to say 

 that we mean any thing but expansion, refusing 

 to say that we mean any thing but repudiation 

 of our solemn obligation that we would redeem 



the greenbacks at some time, refusing to say 

 any thing, but starting off in the direction of 

 repudiation ; and it will be hard to come back 

 gradually. You will come back with a crash ; 

 you will come back with such a crash as this 

 country has never seen. You will come back 

 through struggle. The day will be long re- 

 membered by the American people when this 

 vote is cast, taking the step we are about to 

 take." 



Mr. Anthony, of Rhode Island, said : " Mr. 

 President, I have taken no part in this discussion, 

 and I do not propose to delay this vote a mo- 

 ment. I have voted steadily according to my 

 judgment, which accords with the judgment 

 and the interests of those whom I have the 

 honor in part to represent. 



" We are now about to do an act which has 

 the quality of novelty. In a time of profound 

 peace, with all the elements of prosperity and 

 productiveness in as great abundance as they 

 have ever been, with money exceptionally 

 plentiful, with only that stagnation, and hesita- 

 tion of business which is caused by the appre- 

 hension of what we are now about to do, we 

 are proposing to add largely to the paper cur- 

 rency of the country ; and in doing that we re- 

 fuse to take any, the slightest, measure looking 

 to its present or its ultimate redempti6n or re- 

 duction at any time whatever. We are going 

 against all the lessons of history, against all the 

 teachings of experience, and against all the laws 

 of political economy which have been evolved 

 by the observation and the practice of life. I 

 can only enter against it the protest of my 

 vote." 



Mr. Thurman, of Ohio, said : " Upon the 

 measure itself I have a word to say. It sim- 

 ply means that no man of my age shall ever 

 again see in this country that kind of currency 

 which the framers of the Constitution intended 

 should be the currency of the Union ; which 

 every sound writer on political economy the 

 world over says is the only currency that de- 

 frauds no man ; it means that so long as I shall 

 live, and possibly long after I shall be laid in 

 the grave, this people shall have nothing but 

 an irredeemable paper currency with which to 

 transact their business, that currency which 

 has been well described as the most effective 

 invention that ever the wit of man devised to 

 fertilize the rich man's field at the expense of 

 the poor man's brow. I will have nothing to 

 do with it, sir." 



The roll-call having been concluded, the re- 

 sult was announced as follows : 



YEAS Messrs. Allison, Bogy .Boreman, Cameron, 

 Carpenter, Clayton, Dorsey, Ferry of Michigan, 

 Goldthwaite, Harvey, Hitchcock, Ingalls, Johnston, 

 Lewis, Logan, McCreery, Merrimon, Morton, Nor- 

 wood, Oglesby, Patterson, Pease, Pratt, Ramsey, 



cooper, uragm, j^avis, *enton, rreungnuysen, 

 Hager, Hamilton of Maryland, Hamilton of Texas, 

 Hamlin, Howe, Jones, ftelly, Morrill of Vermont, 

 Sargent, Saulsbury, Schurz, Scott, Sherman, Stew- 

 art, Thurman, and Wadleigh 24. ' 



