Paper Currency. 



221 



the fact that the coin cannot be used, the expense of coinage is 

 money thrown away. 



At the present time the silver interest is a powerful one. It is too 

 strong for either political party to cope with. Both parties try to 

 secure its favor, and neither dares to incur its hostility. Ever since the 

 passage of the Bland bill, both the Republican and the Democratic ad- 

 ministrations have kept the monthly coinage of silver dollars down to 

 the smallest sum possible and comply with the law. Three Republican 

 Presidents — Hayes, Garfield and Arthur— and five Republican Sec- 

 retaries of the Treasury succeeded each other in a solid line against 

 silver, and only obeyed the mandatory provisions of the law. On the 

 24th of February, 1885, Mr. Cleveland published a letter, in which he 

 unreservedly committed himself to opposition to silver, and in his first 

 message to Congress, December 8, 1885, he recommended the repeal 

 of the act making the coinage of two million silver dollars each month 

 compulsory. His policy, as recommended and followed out, was pre- 

 cisely the same in this respect as that of the three Republican Pres- 

 idents who preceded him. 



The silver interest would not down. It was persistent and ag- 

 gressive, demanded recognition, and in the Republican platform of 

 1888, it was written: " The Republican party is in favor of the use of 

 both gold and silver as money, and condemns the policy of the Demo- 

 cratic administration in its efforts to demonetize silver." 



The Democratic party, in trying to pacify the silver interest, did an 

 equally inconsistent thing in nominating for Vice-President Mr. Thur- 

 man, who was a most open advocate of the free and unlimited coinage 

 of silver. 



The Republican candidates were elected; have been in office over a 

 year; and have followed the policy pursued by the previous Republic 

 can and Democratic administrations, on the silver question. New 

 States have been admitted into the Union. The friends of silver were 

 never so strong in Congress as they are at the present time. The ad- 

 ministration has been struggling with the question. It must meet the 

 lss ue, no matter how disagreeable the task may be. Secretary Windom 

 Prepared a bill, and the Senate Finance Committee prepared another. 

 B oth of these bills are before Congress for consideration. From the 

 amendments which have been made, it is clear that neither bill will 

 pass in its original form. 



1 will attempt to give you some of the principal features, and a 

 comparison of the two bills. 



The Windom bill provides a way for the purchase, by the govern- 



