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could not have been taken up if a majority of Senators were in
favor of it, but, unfortunately for the Senator, a majority of the
Senators were not in favor of taking it up and interposing it in
place of all the other business. Therefore, this mode is adopted
to bring it here before the Senate."

At two o'clock I gave way to the regular order of business. Mr.
Stewart then moved to take up his bill, introduced early in the
session, to provide for the free coinage of gold and silver bullion.
It had been referred to the committee on finance, reported adversely,
and was on the calendar, subject to a motion to take it up at any
time. This again presented directly to the Senate the policy of
the free coinage of silver. The motion was agreed to by the vote
of yeas 28, nays 20. The resolutions of Morgan were practically
suspended and the vote on taking up the silver bill indicated its
passage. Mr. Teller opened the debate for free coinage. On the
31st of May I commenced a very long speech, opening as follows:

"I do not regard the bill for the free coinage of silver as a party
measure or a political measure upon which parties are likely to
divide. It is in many respects a local measure, not exactly in
the sense in which General Hancock said in regard to the tariff
that it was a local question, but it is largely a local question.
Yet, at the same time, it is a question of vast importance. No
question before the Senate of the United States at this session is
at all to be compared with it in the importance of its effects upon
the business interests of the country. It affects every man, woman
and child in our broad land, the rich with his investments, the
poor with his labor. Everybody is deeply interested in the standard
of value by which we measure all the productions of the labor and
all the wealth of mankind.

"Five states largely interested in the production of silver are
very ably and zealously represented on this floor. They are united
by their delegations, ten Senators, in favor of the free coinage
of silver. The south seems also to have caught something of the
spirit which actuates the mining states, because they desire, not
exactly the free coinage of silver, but an expansion of the currency,
cheaper money, and broader credit, and they also are largely
represented on this floor in support of the proposition in favor
of the free coinage of silver. So in other parts of the country,
those who have been t