The Sully County watchman. (Clifton, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1894, 1891-12-19

pie are, the demonstration of silver, the
national banking system. and the contrac-
tion OF the currenCy. Senator Sherman
was called upon for answer to these
charges, and he responded, and it will be
seen that there is not much left OF Mrs.
Emery's 'conspiracies" when the senator
answers by producing his coined facts.
These answers are quite important, and
should be carefully read to be remembered
by all intelligent people. The senator
says:
The neyt conspiracy complained of is
the alleged demonetization of silver. BY
the act revising the coinage in 1853 the
silver dollar, which had been suspended by
Jefferson in 1906, and practically demon
etized in 1885, and suspended by minor
coins in le53, and which was issued only
In later years as a conrenient form In
which to export silver, and the whole
amount of which, from the beginning of
the government to the passage Of the act
referred to, was only $4,000. .000-this sill
yer dollar was, upon the petition OF the
Legislature of California, ana upon the
motion Of her senator's and by the unani-
nous vote of both houses of con
gress, without objection from any one
dropped from our coinage, and in its
place was substituted the trade dol
lar, containing a few more grains of
silver. A few years afterwards, silver
having fallen rapidly in market prices,
congress restored the coinage of the silver
dollar, limiting the amount to not exceed
ing 1000, 900 nor less than 100000
month, and under this law in period Of
twelve years we used over 400, 900, 900 of
silver dollars, fifty times the amount that
had been coined prior to 1873. And now
under existing law we are purchasing 54,-
600, 900 ounces of silver year; so that
what she calls the demonetization of silver
has resulted in its use in our country to
an extent more than fifty fold greater than
before its demonetization. In spite of all,
and growing out of tue increased supply
of silver and the cheapening proce ises of
its production, it il going down in
market, ard is only maintained at par
with gold by the fat of the different gov
ernments coming it. Now the deluded
people belonging to the class of Mrs. Em-
cry are seeking to cheaper the purchasing
power of the dollar in the hands of the
farmer and laborers by the free coinage of
a cheap silver dollar, at the demonetizi.
tion of gold.
"As to the national banking systm,
which is one of Mrs Emery's 'conspirlcies
is now conceded 10 have been the best
form of paper money issued by banks that
has ever been devised. 1t was organized
to take the place Of the state banks, which
at the beginning of the war had outstand-
ing $500, 600, 900 Of notes of value vdrIing
from state, and most of il at "A discount of
from to 25 per cent. 1t Was absoiGt!y
necessary to get rid of these state bank
notes and to substitute in their place The
notes of banks which were secured Beyond
doubt by the deposit of United States
bonds, a system SO perfect that from the
beginning until now no one has lost IA dol
lar on the circulating notes of the national
banks The system may have to give way
because we are paying of our bonds, but
no sensible man will ever propose In this
country to go back to the old system of
state banks, and if some security to take
the place OF United States bonds can be
devised for national bank notes, the sys-
tenn will be, and ought to be perpet-
uated.
The third conspiracy referred to is
contraction of the currency. 1t has been
demonstrated by official documents that
from the beginning OF the war 10 this
time the volume of our currency has been
increasing year by year more rdplly than
our population. In 1860 the total amount
of all the money in circulation was S435,-
000, 900, when our population was 81 ,OO0,-
000 and half of this was money of vari-
able and changing value. Now we have
in circulation 81 500, 900, 900, with pop
uation of $1,000, 900. and every dollar of
this money is as good as gold, all kinds
equal to each other, passing from hand
20 hand and paid out as good money
not only in the United States, bat among
all the commercial countries of the world.
Our money has increased nearly fourfold;
while our population has only doubled.
The statements made by Mrs. Emery
about the contraction of our currency
are not only misleading, but they are ab
solutely false. She states that in 1868
S473, 600, 600 of our money was destroyed.
and In 1869 $500, 100000 of our money
passed into a cremation furnace, and in
1879 S67, ,0O0, 900 WAS destroyed. Now
these statements are absolutely false.
What she calls monay In these paragraphs
was the most burdelsome form OF interest
bearing securities, treasury notes bearing
7.3 per cent. interest, and compound in
terest notes. These were the chief and
most burdensome items of the public debt
They were paid off in the years named
and were never mt any time tor more than
a single day money in circulation. When
issued they were received as money, but as
interest accrued they became investments
and were not at all in circulation.
"These statements of Mrs. Emery are
palbable falsehoods, which if stated by q
man would justif9 a stronger word.
''As for Mrs. Emery's criticisms upon
me personally do not even deem them
worthy of answer. She repeats the old
story that was interested in the First
National bank of New York, and gave it
the free use of the peoples money, aplain
lie, contradicted and disapproved over and
ever again. never had the slightest in
terest in the bank, direct or indirect, and
as the public records will show, gave it no
favors, but treated it like all other re.
positories of public money ana held ii to
the most rigid accountability; nor have |
in any case derived the slightest pecuniary
benefit from ary measure either pen1inp