LSI 



x (TnE BOND QUESTION.) 



rumnev c*pt piM and such money as the ity of the j>rodu. in^clawesbe restored. Two 

 national hank* MIW proper to furni-h. 



- national hank note, ..,,id be redeem- 



ii fold. Thus w* would be absolutely upon 

 agoldbaais. Our curmxry would then be .nil,, 

 perfect condition desired by the influences be- 

 nindihil.ill. Thb Wills a decisive step, taken 

 for the complete esf aHi-him nt <.f tho gold basis. 

 Its result will be to put tl,,- .ntir.-< 

 basinets and propert try at the 



.-f the boodhoUsC We will have a pub- 

 lic de'bt ,,f f |.vfii.MMNi.i. payable in ir-l-I. We 

 have only about $500.000.000 of gold with whii h 

 tomake navmeni-. Thus the bondholders will 

 be toe absolute owner* of th.~ or tl,. 



taxing power of the Government, overriding 

 everything else, must sacrifice the property <>f 

 the dtfeeos at any price to gather in this gold 

 for the bondholder*. National bank 

 also, being based on bonds. <>ur m..n.-\. our cur- 

 rency, oar propertv. will be absolutely at the dic- 

 tation .f the txn<{h< 



in -y with us will lie .-heap or dear, scarce 

 or plentiful, as the intere-t <.f th. bondholder 

 may dictate, I can and will never consent to 

 the creation of such a condition of affairs. It 

 will n-Milt only in further poverty, further .11- 

 tress, among the great toiling and producing 

 masse* f our citizens. This bill gives contrac- 

 tion, while the increasing population, business, 

 and commerce of the country demand expansion. 



ill creates absolutely a single gold stand- 

 ard, while the country to-day is suffering from 

 a lack of bimetallism. To my mind it can only 

 bring to the country less money, lower prices, 

 greater wretchedness, and poverty. I am de- 

 d to see that over three fourths of the I '> m- 

 ot-rats in this House are opposed to its passage. 



- The claim that such a bill as this is needed to 

 protect the gold reserve is all pretense and non- 

 sense. The President has ample authority un- 

 der existing law to sell bonds to replenish th<> 

 gold reserve. Under present law he can sell 

 bonds and get gold until h.- has redeemed the 

 last Treasury note. When once redeemed tin y 

 will not be reissued, unless to meet cum 

 pauses of the Go\. -mm. -nt. Th- President has 

 ample authority to protect and redeem the 

 greenbacks and Treasury notes, and her 

 present distress and depression do not come from 

 any lack of confidence in them or the ability of 

 tills Government to meet its obligations. The 

 causes lie ranch deeper. This bill would be but 

 an increase, an aggravation of existing 

 It would be another step into darkness, whi. h 

 we would have to retrace to reach light Pres- 

 ent low prices for produce and.labor, present de- 

 pression and stagnation in business and enter- 

 prise, remit from the den n of silver 

 and the destroying of half the money of ulti- 

 maU' redemption of the world. 



a time -a*-h year the world over we 

 have witnessed lower wages, lower prices for 

 produce, land, and property. Th. problem of 



;.. and harder 



to the mass of the people. No one can teli 

 that we have vet reached the bottom of the 

 abvss into which we were plunged. ' 

 tell that prices have yet reached their lx>ttom. 

 so that society can readily adjust itself and 

 credit and confidence in the solvency and abil- 



man If I mu in T. \a> and ciilton \\iis sell- 

 jnff at 7 Will- a pound ami everybody thought 

 it had reaeln-d it> bottom, bcinj; lower t Imn ever 



.::,,, 

 No one ran say but that it will \. I -.. |,,\\rr. 



with increa-ini; demand and no ii . 

 in Mi|iiily pn-M -nt> the same spectacle of contin- 

 ual fall in | falling 



Will cease. \\Y ha\. no r\|u-rirlire ill 



thepa>t hi.-tory of mankind lik.- tl. 



furni.-h us material upon which to reach a OCO- 



clu.sion. Ni-\rr b. f..|-r in the hi>tory of the 



world ha- it en.:- I do \\* business with 



p>ld alone. Prior t<> 1^;:!. lint e 



dawn of dvilittUoo both ^..ld ami -i!\. 



" Since IH?:'{ poM alone has been the moi 

 the world. Since t hat t inie we have b.-en blindly 

 staggering in the dark, not knowing win n this 

 great change would lead us. It i- a n. \\ , 

 incut in the hi-tory of the world, and no one 

 can know how much lower it will reduce wages 

 and prices. We only know that it penni- 

 i" remain the same, while ... h y,-,-ir lowering 

 labor, produce, and property, with which debt is 

 paid. It seems to roe, we have gone far en- n^h 

 in this night of darkness, wretrh.dn. 

 distress. We should reverse our steps and not 

 pi further, as this bill pro\ides. If we can not 

 safely make the entire return in one day. let us 

 at least turn our faces toward the brightness 

 we left and journey back to it as fast as safety 

 and our circumstances will permit. I, for ne, 

 will not be allured by promises nor driven by 

 fears further into this unknown and untried 

 darkness. 



- Mr. Chairman, what we need more than all 

 else in our currency is money of ultimate re- 

 demption. What we need in our currency is 

 not to make the silver dollar redeemable in gold, 

 but to make silver money of ultimate redemp- 

 tion. We should broaden the foundations upon 

 which we rear the superstructure of our cur- 

 Gold is too narrow a ba-i- upon which 

 to biiild. The whole theory of this bill is to cur- 

 tail and contract our currency until it i- suited 

 to rest upon a narrow p. Id ba-i-. .My belief is 

 that we should broaden the basis of our ctu 

 by making silver money of ultimate redemption, 

 and lliuse liable us to make larger and in- 

 fect the stlperM Picture We -holild 1- 



Mr. Chairman, my limited time will not per- 

 mit me to enter into a di-cu--ion of the reforms 

 I think needed in our financial >\>t.-m. i 



have previously said, the Carlisle bill was a 

 :al reform which recommended 

 Itself to me Strongly. I never entertained much 

 hopesof its passage. It brought too man\ 

 fits to the people and carried relief and I 



!' wa- indirectly anla^oni/ed 

 I louse who now seek the passage 

 of thi- bill. It jrave no aid to those who sought. 

 the establishment of the gold basis. Tin y n\\\ ays 

 wanted a measure like the pending bill. When- 

 ever von find all the members of a certain section 

 standing by a bill, regardless of party lin* 

 may be sure that the bill is a step in the din c- 

 f a old basis. 



y. these people remind me very much of 

 a Southerner who was once in Central Park, 



