The Wheeling daily register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1864-1878, 1877-09-27


so that for many years, perhaps since
1851, they have not been legal tender
.or more than five dollars, yet the silver
dollar was always legal tender up to
the time OF the passage of the Revised
Statutes, for any amount whatever And
it was under this law making gold and
silver equally legal tender that our
debts were contracted, public and private.
But when nobody suspected it, except
chose who were in secret, this silver dol
lar of our fathers was demonetzed. Let
me tell you
HOW THAT WAS DONE.
First, l want to correct an error which
Judge West, candidate for Governor, tell
into in his Bellfontaine speech. He said
every Democrat in the Senate voted for
the demonetizatio of silver. He never
WAS more mistaken in his life. Not one
sagle Democrat voted for it, that l
know of. don't know what would have
been dore if they had known what was
In the bill, but certainly not one OF them
ever did.
There is an error about this demoneti-
zstlon of silver. Many suppose 1t was
deMonetized by what is called the Coin
age Act, which passed Congress and re
ceived the approval of the President
April Il, 1878. They suppose that that
is the thing which demonetized the sill
yer dollar; but 1t is mistake. The fif-
teenth section OF that act which Is re-
erred to is in these words "That the
silver coins OF the United States shall be
Il trade dollar, halt-doilsr or ttty'cent
piece; quarter-dsllar, or twenty-five
cent piece. and a dime, or ten cent piece;
and the weight of the trade dollsr shall!
be 42O grams troy; the weight of the halt
dollar, twelve grammes and q half
gramme, and quarter dollar and dime
shall be respectively one-halt and one
GtLa the weight of the haf-dollar and
said coins"
Now mark it, that is, the trade dollar,
these half dollars, and quarters, and ten
cent pieces, "and said CONS, shall be q
Iegal tender at their nominal value for
any amount not exceeding five dollars In
any one payment"
Does that touch the dollars OF our
fathers? Not bit OF it. That is what
lnat Act says, and the only dollar men,
toned IN it is the trade dollar, and
WHAT Is THE TRADE DOLLAR2
The trade dollar was coined for the
purpose of trading with Japan and
china, and contains considerably more
than the dollar OF the fathers. The dol
lar of the fathers contained $l29 grain
and the trade dollar 420 grains standard
silver. The trade dollar was not origin
ally made legal tender at all, because II
was not intended to calculate In this
country. This Act was legal tender
but did not demonetize the dollar OF the
fathers.
THE DOLLAR OF TIE FATHERS
Was still a legal tender. II you had hac
plenty OF them YOU could have made
payment however large.
Now, when did the silver dollar come
| 10 be demonetized? 1t was demonetlzeC
bv the passage of what are called TIT
! Revised Statutes OF the United States
The Revised Statute of the United State
were compilation of statutes made by
Commissioners appointed under an act o
Congress to gather together the statute
! of the United States which were scatter
ed through some eighty or ninety vol
umes into one volume, that Is, such pro
visions AS were Of general and perms
nent nature.
They did SO, and made great bi:
book, containing more words, L believe
than the Bible. Now, mark it, tina
Commission vas not authorized to alte
single law in its meaning. The,
might improve phrsseology, and wher
there were two or three laws on TIT
same subject identical in meaning, the!
might drop those LAST passed, becaus
the first had already provided for tn
case.
The title cf these Revised Statutes /
Revised Statutes of the United States
psssed at the First session OF the Forty
third Congress. 1884, embracing tn
Statutes of the United States OF
general and permanent nature, IN fore
ca the Isl dag Of December, 1878, as re
vised and consolidated BY Commission
appointed under act of Congress?
! This act, called the "heNlseu Statutes,
was passed in June, 1874, and approved
bv the President on the I'D OF tina
month. 1t was passed through the Sen
ate without being read, because
was supposed TO make no change what
ever in the law, was merely read b
Its title.
Section 1856 of the Revised Statute
reads: "The silver coins OF the Unlte
States shall be 3 legal tender at thei
nominal value for any amount nc
exceeding five dollars in any one pay
: ment."
,, 1t doesn't say IS the act of 1873 die
that the trade dollar merely should be
legal tender for the amount OF five do
lars, but the silrer coin, thereby lnclud
ing the dollars of the fathers, as well q
, the trade dollar; and in that wsy-ths
. secret wsy-without its being known
, all, unless it WAS to some few WHO Wer
in the secret, there was taken from tn
people of this country the faculty