CONGRESS. (COINS AND COINAGE.) 



240 



"So, then, this first expectation of the 

 friends of the bill has utterly failed. Not 

 only has this law not restored silver to its for- 

 mer ratio, but it has gone down gradually in 

 the face of a determined effort on the part of 

 the United States to prevent that depreciation. 

 It only shows that, although the Government 

 of the United States is very powerful in money 

 affairs in this world, it is not powerful enough 

 to prevent that inevitable and. continuous de- 

 preciation of silver compared with gold that 

 has gone on since the discovery of America, 

 and no power on this continent can prevent 

 that gradual widening of the margin between 

 these two metals. The only question to me of 

 practical politics is whether we ought not our- 

 selves to respect what we can not resist, and 

 not, like King Canute, wait until the tide over- 

 whelms us. Should we not change our ratio, 

 as other nations have done before us, and seek 

 by adapting our coinage to the relative market 

 value of the two metals to check the depreci- 

 ation of silver, or at least to coin silver at the 

 same value we pay for it, and not try to make 

 a delusive profit out of our own citizens? 



u But there was another expectation which 

 has not been realized. It is shown that the 

 silver dollar will not circulate among the peo- 

 ple. It was firmly believed when the law was 

 passed that the silver dollar would be taken 

 everywhere, and, to a certain extent, it is taken 

 everywhere as a matter of convenience; but 

 that this silver dollar will not be hoarded or 

 laid away in the stockings of the most igno- 

 rant man in the United States, that it will not 

 be received and held with confidence, is shown 

 by the experience of the whole country. Only 

 forty-one million silver dollars are now in cir- 

 culation, and any attempt to force the circula- 

 tion of silver dollars has proved unavailing." 



Feb. 28, in the Senate, Mr. Mitchell, of 

 Pennsylvania, offered the following resolution, 

 of which nothing came : 



Whereas, The commercial value of silver has so far 

 depreciated that the standard silver dollars coined un- 

 der the act of 1878 are now worth but 82 cents in the 

 open market ; and, whereas the continued coinage of 

 such depreciated dollars, now amounting to nearly 

 $200,000,000, seriously threatens a suspension of gold 

 payments by the Government, from necessity, and 

 the consequent banishment of gold coin from active 

 circulation : Therefore, 



Resolved., That the Committee on Finance be and 

 hereby is instructed forthwith to prepare and report 

 to the Senate a proper bill to provide for the imme- 

 diate suspension of the coinage of standard silver dol- 

 lars, and for the resumption of such coinage whenever 

 the commercial value of the standard dollars aforesaid 

 shall rise to within 5 per cent, of par with the stand- 

 ard gold dollars of the United States. 



In the Senate, and in the House, bills for the 

 suspension of the coinage of silver dollars were 

 introduced, but they were not reported from 

 the committees to which they were referred. 

 In the House the subject came up indirectly in 

 the Sundry Civil Appropriation Bill. There 

 was a clause in that measure, as originally re- 

 ported, providing for the suspension of silver 



coinage, and Mr. Randall, of Pennsylvania, be- 

 fore consideration of the bill, Feb. 26, sub- 

 mitted the following resolution, which required 

 a two-third vote to pass it : 



Resolved, That the rules be suspended so as to dis- 

 charge the Committee of the Whole House on the 

 state of the Union from the further consideration of 

 the bill (H. E. 8256) making appropriations for sun- 

 dry civil expenses of the Government for the fiscal 

 year ending June 80, 1886, and for other purposes, 

 and consider the same for four hours, which time 

 shall be occupied in debate on the clauses relating to 

 the suspension of silver coinage and the World's In- 

 dustrial and Cotton Exposition, three hours to be oc- 

 cupied on the first-named clause and one hour on the 

 second, said time to be equally divided ; and said bill 

 shall be subject only to amendments to strike out or 

 amend said clauses, after which the previous question 

 shall be considered as ordered. 



This resolution was understood as present- 

 ing the question of the suspension of silver 

 coinage to the House, and it failed by the fol- 

 lowing vote : 



YEAS G. E. Adams, J. J. Adams, Arnot, Bagley, 

 Barbour, Barr, Bayne, Beach, Belmont, Bingham, 

 Bisbee, Boutelle, Bowen, Bratton, F. B. Brewer, W. 

 W. Brown, T. M. Browne. Buckner, Burleigh, J. M. 

 Campbell, Collins, Connolly, Converse, S. S. Cox, 

 Craig, Cullen, Dargan, G. E. Davis, E. T. Davis, 

 Deuster, Dingley, Dixon, Dunham, Eaton, Elliott, 

 Ellis, Ermentrout, Evans, Everhart, Ferrell, Fiedler, 

 Findlay, Follett. Garrison, Greenleaf, Guenther, Han- 

 cockj Hardy, Harmer, H. H. Hatch Haynes, A. S. 

 Hewitt, Hiscock, Hitt, Hoblitzell, Holton, Hopkins, 

 Horr, Howev, Hunt, Hutchins, James, Johnson, B. 

 W. Jones, tfean, Kelley, Ketcham, Lacey. Lawrence, 

 Long, Lyman, McComas, McCormick, Millard, S. H. 

 Miller, Mitchell, Morse, Moulton, Muller, Mutchler, 

 Nutting, Charles O'Neill, Parker. Payne, Phelps, 

 Polai ' 

 Bay, 

 Seymoui 



Spooner,' Spriggs, Steele, Stevens, Storm, Strait,' 

 Swope, Talbott, Tucker, Van Alstyne, Wadsworth, 

 Wait, Washburn, Wemple, Milo White, Whiting, 

 John Winans, Woodward 118. 



NAYS Aiken, Alexander, Anderson, Atkinson, 

 Ballentine, Barksdale, Belford, Bennett, Blackburn, 

 Bland, Blount, Breckinridge, Breitung, Broadhead, 

 Buchanan, Budd, Burnes, Cabell, Caldwell, J. E. 

 Campbell, Candler, Cannon, Carleton, Cassidy, 

 Clardy, Clay, Clements, Cobb, Cook, Cosgrove, W. 

 E. Cox, D. B. Culberson, Davidson, L. H. Davis, 

 Dibble, Dibrell, Dockcry, Dowd, Dunn, Eldredge, 

 Ellwood, English, Foran, Forney, Funston, Geddes, 

 Gibson, Glascock, Goff. Graves, Green, Halsell, Ham- 

 mond, Hanback, Hardernan, Hart, W. H. Hatch, 

 Hemphill, T. J. Henderson, Henley, Hepburn, Her- 

 bert, G. W. Hewitt, Hill, Hoi man, Holmes, Houk, 

 Houseman. J. H. Jones, J, K. Jones, J. T. Jones, 

 Keifer, Kellogg, Kleiner, Lamb, Lanham, Le Fevre, 

 Lewis, Lore, Levering, Lowry, McCoid, Matson, 

 May bury, J. F. Miller, Milliken, Mills, Money, Mor- 

 gan, Muldrow, Murphy, Murray, Nelson, Ochiltree, 

 O'Ferrall, J. J. O'Neill, Patton, Payson, Peel, Per- 

 kins, Peters, Pettibone, Pierce, Price, Pryor, Reagan, 

 J. W. Eeid, Eeese, Biggs, Eobertson, J. H. Eogers, 

 Eosecrans, BowelL Evan, Seney, Shively, Singleton, 

 T. G. Skinner, H. Y. Smith, Springer, Stephenson, 

 Charles Stewart, Stocksla^er, C. A. Sumner, D. H. 

 Sumner, J. M. Taylor, Thomas, Tillman, Tully.H. 

 G. Turner, Oscar Turner, Vance, Van Eaton, Wal- 

 lace, Ward, A. J. Warner, Eichard Warner, Weaver. 

 Wellborn, Weller, J. D. White, Wilkins, Willis 

 James Wilson, W. L. Wilson, E. B. Winans, G. D. 

 Wise, Wood, Worthington, Yaple, York, Young 

 152. 



