The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1888-03-14
DECENTRALIZATION OF SILVER
Mr.. Beck Asserts that the Act of '73 Was
Sort Of Star-Chamber Legislation,
And Mr.. Sherman Shows ConcasiveIy that 1t
Was Given Widest Publicity, Both in Con-
gress and Throughout the Country.

we're reported and placed the calendar;
Authorizing the Secretary of the Treasury to
Pe-audit the claims of Pennsylyania LOT expenses
incurred in calling the militia into goVernmens
service under the Presidents proclamation OF
June IL 1863 granting an increase OF pension
10 Mrs. Gen. Ward Burnett
Mr. Halo called up the resolution offered by
him on the 18th of December for the appoint
Enent of a special committee TO examine fully
into the present condition Of the civil service in
all branches Of the government
Mr. CockrelI offered amendment to extend
the inquiry to the instances Of pernicious
partisan activity Of Republican officials since
she executive order of President Hayes OF June,
1877. particularly in the presidential elections of
1880 and 1884
Dir. Hale said that he chuld not consent to
the amendment. He was not, however, opposed
20 the investigation; he desired it. but it should
20 on distinctly by itself.
Mr. Dawes asked Mr. Cockrell IL by his
amendment he wished to plead justification.
The justification is that somebody else was just
as bad this reform administration.
Mr.. Cockrell-We don't want any justifca-
ton; all that we ask is that the country may
the administrations side by side, and draw its
conclusions by comparison.
The amendment was defeated by strict
party vote-Teas "a. nays 20. and the original
resolution adopted.
The Senate proceeded TO consideration of Mr..
Becks bill to provide for the retirement Of
United States leeal-tender and national bank
notes of all denominations, and the issue of
coin certificates in lieu OF gold certificates, and
Mr. Beck addressed the Senate in advocacy Of
1t. The bill, he said, had been referred to the
finance committee, and had been, last Tuesday,
reported back by q bare majority. He referred
TO what he said in his speech the pension bill
ss to MIR. Sherman's responsibility for the silver
characterization measure. In support OF
his statement tt, that a that measure measure
secretly, he quoted from speech made ia the
House by Mr.. Kelley. of Pennsylvania, the
chairman who had charge of the bill, to the eff
feet that the bill was passed without any
allusion in debate to the question of the aban-
donment Of the standard silver dollar laws; and
he Mr. Kelley did not know anything Of 1t for
eighteen months afterward- He also quoted
from q recent speech in the Senate by Senator
Stewart who was in the Senate in 1873, and
who, although his State was deeply interested
in the question, knew nothing of the bill de-
monetizing silver. He also quoted from a
speech OF Senator Allison, in 1887 In which he
declared that the bill of 1873 was ''doctored;"
from speech OF Senator Howe, OF Wisconsin,,
In 1877, in which he spoke of it act of
guilt, compared with which the robbery Of
two hundred millions vena1;" from a
speech of Senator Ingalls,. in 1873, in which he
spoke of 1t as 1.-The elimination of a scheme long
entertained by the holders of the public debt,
devised by them for the purpose of approaching
the value of their investment, regardless of the
ruin and desolation which it would bring on the
productive classes of the Nation from a speech
of Senator Voorhees,. in which he spoke OF it
lively and noiselessly;" from speech of Senator
Coke, in which he said that mo greater outrage
THAN the demonstration actl had ever been
perpetrated under the form of law;" and from
the speeches of other Senators He wanted to
show to the Senator from Ohio Mr.. Sherman
that what he Mr.. Beck had said on the subject
was mild COMPARED to what others had said
about it. If there was any faith to be put in
human testimony, then mother the Senate, the
Congress nor the people knew that silver coin
was being struck down when the act of 1873
Wv Ha
proceedings on the occasion of the passage Of
that bill Regulating the operations OF the mint
What he complained Of, he said, and claimed to
prove was that the House never knew what was
In the bill; that it reported by Mr.. Hooper
as substitute for all former bills the SUB
icet; that 1t avowed by Mr.. Hooper that it
had nothing to do with the coinage. He de-
nouneed a. untrue the pretense that silver was
demonetized because it was more valuable than
gold but declared 1t was because the capitalists
and Landowners saw that gold was becoming
more and more valuable every day. He also
charged that 1.-The fraud" was consummated
through the revision of the statutes. The act
of 1873 had not destroyed the legal tender
principle OF the silver coin then in ex-
istence; but the Revised Statutes (which
single syllableh came afterward and declared
that silver should be a legal tender for not
more than s.. Was that he asked, an accident7
It was true that whoever did it committed
palpable fraud upon the country; for it required
the Revised Statutes to destroy the silver coin
age or the country. The truth was, he said,
that from the DeR1nning or the war until now,
the moneyed men OF the country and their ad-
vocates and supporters in Congress and else
where, had sought first, to make money out of
the country's distresses; and then, at all haz-
ards and by all means, foul and fair, lawful and
unlawful. 20 make themselves rich at the ex-
pense Of the great masses OF the people. The
demonstration of silver was but one step in
that line step which was in perfect accord
with all the other steps that were taken. The
act in the Revised Statutes was another step in
the same direction. There was not man in
fharH Hon. nh uyo4TlA daP0 IN fAo% he
knew that the Revised Statutes took away the
iegal-tender quality of the silver dollar. Even
the Senator from Ohio would not admit that he
knew the thing was done. After that was done,
the next thing determined upon to strike
down the greenbac Tin the resumption actl-
to destroy it altogether, and to leave national
banks omnipotent over the land. And all this
time the Senator from Ohio had been chairman
Of the Senate committee finance. After
criticising several of Mr.. Sherman's reports and
suggestions while Secretary of the Treasury,
Mr. Beck said: THAT Ia one of the reasons
why said that. while the Senator from Ohio
might be President of the United States, his
conduct in relation TO the act of 1873, and his
great financial abilities, exercised as they have
always been in the interest of the money power,
will not be a record OF which he will be proud
when he comes before the people. Notwith-
standing all the pretenEes about silver. he as
serted that in the banks of England. France,
Germany and Austria-H hungary silver was now
In excess of gold; that silver was there at
with gold, and that it was maintained at par
without any trouble whatever. The bill
which he had introduced had been voted
for by five of the eleven members
of the finance committee. It proposed
to issue coin certificates instead OF gold and sill
yer certificates. This was the FIRST great step
for the country to take Silver had its friends
among the people at large, bat it had never had
an enemy who had done il much harm IS the
Senator from Ohio That Senator was one of
the very ablest men in public life; and lie was
because Of his great ability that he Mr. Beck
regarded his policy dangerous TO the great
masses oil the people. He made no charges
against the Senator, as to reputation or any
thing wrong. but he thonghs that his policy was
death to the best interests OF the masses Of the
people. Referring to the efforts Of the national
banks to prevent the coinage of silver, he spoke
OF those banks as failure, IS no longer OF any
account Of Roing down every day. AS to Mr.
I'D ward Atkinson's report on the silver ques-
tion, he said that that gentleman had
not even pretended 10 notice the fact that +
q great parliamentary commission, under Lord
Iddlesleigh, had investigated the subject and
had reported to the Queen that the business de-