Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1878-01-24

myself this would be q wise proyis
ion, and that legal-tender coins, ex
cept subsidiary coin, should be of
gold alone. But why should we legis-
late on this now, when we are not us
ing either Of these metals as circn-
lating medium The bill provides
also for change in respect of the
weight and value of the silver dollar,
which | think is subject when we
come to require legislation about it at
all, which will demand at our hands
very serious consideration, and which
as we are not using such coins for
circulation now, seems at Ills time to
be an unnecessary subject about
which to legislate." @
The Hon. Thomas McNealy, of Il
linois, said:
CAS- a'member of the Committee on
Coinage, Weights and Measures, hav-
ing carefully examined every section
and line of this bill, and generally un-
derstanding the subject before US, /
am satisfied that the bill ought to
pass"
The Hon. Samuel Hooper, of Mass
achusettts, explained that:
"Section l6 re, enacts the provi-
sions of existing laws, and defines the
silver coins and their weights respec-
lively, except in relation to tie silver
dollar, which is reduced in weight
from 4l24 to 3s4 grains, thus making
it subsidiary coin in harmony with
the silver coins of less denominations
to secure its concurrent circulation
with them. The silver dollar of 4l21
grains, by reason of its bullion, or in
trinsic value being greater than it's
nominal value. long since ceased to be
a coin of circulation. and is melted by
manufacturers of silverware. 1t does
not circulate now in commercial
transactions with any country, and
the convenience OF the manufacturers
in this respect can better be met by
supplying small stamped bars of the
same standard, avoiding the useless
expense of coming the dollar for that
purpose"
The Hon. William L. Stoughton of
Michigan, said:
'The silver coins provided forj are
the dollar of 3s4 grains troy the halt
dollar, the quarter. dollar and dime
of the value and weight one-half, one.
quarter and one-tenth of the dollar
respectively, and they are made
legal tender for all sums not exceed
ing IS at any one payment. The
silver dollar as now issued forth is
worth for bullion three and one
fourth cents more than the gold dol.
lar and seven and one-fourth cents
more than two half-dollars, having a
greater intrinsic than nominal value.
1t is certain to be withdra wn from
circulation whenever we return to spe-
Gle payments, and to be used only
for manufacture and expectation as
bullion"
If other members of Congress did
not know what the bill meant, the
advocates of the measure are not to
blame. The Hon. James Pollock.
then Director of the Mint, two ex.
Directors of the Mint, Superintend-
ent Of the Mint in San Francisco, the
Superintendent of the New York As.
say Office, Mr.. e. B. Elliot, Mr.. Rob-
ert Patterson. of Philadelphia, now
in favor of the silver dollar, and
many others, discussed the PROPOSE
tion to discontinue the silver dollar
in report transmitted to Congress
by the Secretary of the Treasury
June 25, 1870.
But the advocates of the silver dol.
lar, Mr.. Halstead among them, say
that newspapers in 1894 did not
contain articles upon this subject.
This is also untrue. The newspapers
of the country were informed
through the Associated Press of the
proposed revision of the coinage
laws and the discontinuance of the
of the coinage Of the silver dollar.
Any one will find this by examining
the files of the journals Of that per-
iod.
The Bankers Magazine, of New
York, which is more universally read
by financial mon than any other
periodical of it's class of the country
publishes the full report of the Depu.
ty Comptroller of the Currency of
April %, 1870, in it's number tor Ju-
ly 1870, in which it is twice men,
toned that the bill proposed to dis
continue the silver dollar; and the
editor Of the magazine informed its
readers that SCOPES of the entire re.
port with tabular returns would be
supplied to subscribers to the Bank
ers' Magazine without CHARGE" The
same magazine again February 1871,
printed extended extracts from the
report Of the Deputy Comptroller of
the Currency of June Is, 1870, con-
tanning his correspondence with sew.
eral gentlemen, in which it is again
twice mentioned that the coinage of
the silver dollar was to be discontin-
ned by the proposed bill.
Nor is this all. The Chamber of
Commerce, of New York city, in
June, 1872, ten months before the
passing of the Coinsge act of 1873
after examining and considering the
provisions which discontinued the
coinage of silver dollar, in resoluti-
On transmitted to Congress, that the
weight of the silver dollar should be
made precisely equal to that of the
five-frances silver coin Of. Europe, in
place of the dollar of 1884 grains,
which was provided for in the bill
nndor discussion in Congress. Mr..
e. B. Elliot, in his printed letter of
June 10, 1870, had previously pro.
posed that dollar equal TO the
pillared Spanish mexican piastre
containing twenty-five grammes of
pure silver, should be substituted,
and that the subsidiary coin should
be subdivisions of the French silver
coin of i've frances. 1t will be seen
that the proposition of the Chamber
of Comerce was 70 substitute dollar |
piece exactly equal to the five. francs
piece, with subsidiary coins which |
9 should be fractional parts of this |