Mr. President-I began this discussion with reluctance and I close it with reluctance; for, scattered over the great plains of our country, in its woodlands, on its mountain sides, and in its valleys, are millions of our countrymen who are suffering ineffable misery in consequence of this unholy warfare waged upon their rights.

Their eyes are turned toward this city, and they are now earnestly looking and listening for the decree that is to go forth from this chamber, enslaving them and their children for generations to come, or that is to strike from them the chains of financial bondage and set them free.

If we act wisely and patriotically, and give to the people of our country a sufficient volume of sound and scientific money to enable them to set all the energies of nature and man at work producing wealth, once more the sunlight of prosperity, like the natural sun that dispels the mist and the dew, will kiss away the clouds of doubt and fear, and we will witness an era of prosperity more wonderful than the world has ever known.

On the 13th day of September we find him declaring that senators who are officers or stockholders of banks should not vote in cases where pecuniary interests are involved, on the principle of the common law, excluding judges and jurors from action in cases where they were pecuniarily interested.

On September 27th his speech was a plea for deferring action on the absorbing question of "unlimited coinage of silver" till the States of Washington, Wyoming and Montana could elect each another Senator:

Here is a question, Mr. President, of vital importance not alone to those states but of vital importance to every state in this Union. The evil that may be done by the adoption of the measure before the Senate for the unconditional repeal of the Sherman act cannot be measured by to-day nor by to-morrow, and it cannot be measured for ages to come. It is a measure that ties the industrial classes of this Nation to the chariot wheel of the plutocrat now and hereafter. It is a measure that shrinks one-half of the value of the property and labor of this country. When the people of the great mountain states, six in number, and three territories, if I am not incorrectly informed, are upon the verge of starvation, when the cry of God's poor for something to eat is heard in a land of plenty, when the cry of the child stung by hunger is to be heard in those states,

is it not proper that the Senate of the United States should
pause for a sufficient length of time to permit three of
those states to be fully represented here?

On September 30th he is heard on the subject of a double standard:

MR. ALLEN:

If a dollar, of whatever material it be composed, possesses debt-paying qualities, is it not as good as every other dollar? Would it not be as wise to say of a watch, composed of steel, brass and gold, that it is three watches instead of one, as to say that we have a double or different standard of money?

On the 3rd of October, when there was a disposition to deny certain information to congress he proclaimed:

That except in mere matters of diplomacy, which are in charge of the executive branch of the government, the legislative branch is entitled to all information essential to assist it in the discharge of its duty upon a resolution or request, not merely that it may have it in the grace of another department, but that it has a constitutional right to it, without any equivocation on the part of the other branch of the government?

October 4th, on the subject of contraction he said:

I wish to call attention to the fact that in 1866 the government commenced the process of contracting its currency, and before 1873 it had called in over $600,000,000 of its paper money and destroyed it.

October 11th, on the subject of majority rule he was very explicit:

Mr. President-It is quite true that a majority have a right to rule in this country, but they have a right to rule only when the minority have expressed their opinion according to legal methods and in accordance with the constitution or the statutes creating and giving power to the minority to express themselves. Nothing is better settled in this country (and I diverge at this point for a moment) than that this is a government of laws, not of men; and whenever the constitution gives a minority the right to contest the ground occupied by a majority and eventually bring them to their senses, if they have lost their senses upon any public question, the minority have a right to do that without being charged with being filibusters or obstructing the orderly conduct of the government.

PRELUDE TO SPEECH OF OCTOBER 7, 11 AND 12.

The real question at issue was, Shall an act be passed denying the right of the government to further purchase silver for coinage, without restoring to the people the right of "unlimited coinage," which they had possessed for 81 years prior to 1873?

Half the Democrats of the Senate, with a majority of the Republicans, making a small majority of the whole body, were willing to repeal the purchasing clause of the Sherman act of 1890, without restoring "free coinage," while the balance of the Democrats, with a minority of Republicans and the four Populists, were willing to repeal the act, and in the same bill restore the "unlimited coinage of silver."

In behalf of the last proposition Senator Allen delivered the introduction of his astonishing speech October 7th, and on the 11th commenced again and continued it from 5 P. M. to 8 A. M., October 12th-fifteen hours.

The supposed majority could not stop debate, because the Senate had no rule allowing a call of the previous question. So they determined to keep the Senate in perpetual session till, overcome for want of sleep and rest, the silver advocates should submit to a final vote.

They further determined that they should not transact any other business during the time they were exhausting their energies, and hence refused to adjourn the Senate for two weeks but used a recess to carry them over from day to day.

So when the chaplain opened the Senate with prayer October 1st, they dismissed him for the time being, as that day was to last till they could force a vote.

Of this parliamentary strategy Mr. Allen spoke as follows:

Mr. President-Another singular thing is that there has not been a legislative day since ten days ago. One week ago last Tuesday we started upon a legislative day and we are continuing that day now.

It has been a time-honored custom-whether it is a rule or not I do not know-that the proceedings of this body should be opened by prayer. There has not been a prayer offered in this chamber in ten days. I desire to say, Mr. President, that in my judgment it was fitting that this Sen