The great West. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1889-18??, 1891-09-18
CLASS LEGISLATION.
Did John Sherman Alone Stop the Coin
age of silver?

| Having succeeded in stopping the
coinage of silver, the price of silver
bullion in consequence having fallen,
as it was claimed that it did, although
1 contend that the claim cannot be
maintained by fair argument, because
there being no unfuctuating standard
by which to measure values. the differ
ence between the two metals may as
readily have arisen from a rise in gold
as fall in silver, and it is as reason
able to suppose that the increased de-
mand for gold 70 fill the place from
which silver has been displaced would
cause it to rise, as that silver would
fall in value owing to there now being
a smaller demand for it. Be that as
it may, we have two standards of
value gold and silver; measured by
the gold standard silver was worth 80
cents, and measured by the silver
standard gold was worth $1.25. Now
which was the correct measure?
Should we decide it by comparing
the value of each with other values?
We should decide in favor of silver,
for measured by that as standard
other values had changed but little,
but measured by gold there had been
a universal fall of 20 per cent which
to an unbiased mind would indicate
that in gold was the change. But it
was unquestionably to the interest of
the plutOcracY nurslings of our (?)
congress to decide that the gold stand
ard should be maintained. Where one
dollar was 20 cents more valuable than
the other, any creditor would prefer to
receive his pay in the larger, and any
debtor to pay in the smaller. The con-
test therefore, was directly between
the debtor millions and the creditor
thousands, and the congress by which
it was to be decided was supposed to
represent the whole and to act for the
greatest good to the greatest number.
Let us see how they really did act;
but to understand the question we
must know little more of it's merits.
For three or four years preceding
the year 1871, the question as to what
should be our standard of value was
thoroughly considered and discussed
by men, among whom figured Wash
ington, Jefferson, Hamilton, Morris,
Adams, the MasOnS, and the Lees,
men who gave to America the we'll
deserved credit of being the nursery of
statesmen; and the result of that
thorough and full consideration was
the law fixing 3714 grains of pure
silver as the American unit of &C
counts, and naming it the dollar.
The weight of the eagle at that
time was in pure gold, 247a grains;
the ratios between silver and gold was
Is to l, and thus it continued to be
until 1884, when, after discussion of
six years in congress- when that con-
gress had as members Webster, Clay
Calhoun, Albert Gallatin, John White,
Thomas Benton and their contempor-
aries, it was determined that '.The
act of congress of the year 1871. which
declared that the dollar of the United
States should contain 3714 grains of
pure silver, has irrevocably fixed that
! quantity as the equivalent of dollar
of account and as the permanent
standard of value STANDARD payment),
according to which all contracts must
be performed. They acted in &C
cordance with this decision by
changing the quantity of gold in
the dollar, or tenth-eagle, from 24a
grains to 1872, making the ratio 16 to
instead of Is. By 1887 it was dis
covered that little too much gold had
been taken away, and the error was
corrected by putting back to the gold
dollar 2-1O0 of grain, making it to
contain % 22-100 grains of pure gold,
and the ratio little less than 16 to l;
and thus it remained until 1874, when
to make the dollars in which their ILL
gotten bonds and the interest thereon
was to be paid represent more of the
peoples earnings, the bond-holders,
assisted by English tricksters and Brit
ish gold, contrived Gor Ernest Seyd,
the English banker, boosted that he
had drawn the bill which did it. and
with $500, 900 of English gold secured
its passage) not to increase the amount
of silver in the dollar of our ancestors,
but actually to demonetize it, and with
so much secrecy and stealth that even
the president of our nation, the speaker
of our house of representatives and
the respective leaders, to whom our
parties pay such servile homage, were
not aware of it.
Fellow-citizens, how are our laws
made and who interprets them? Is
the privilege of making them bought
by any schemer who has gold enough
with which to pay, and is the secre-
tary of the treasury also their hire
ling, the only Interpreter of these?
And is congress only there to cover up
such villainy? Sure it is that the Sec
rotary alone seems to have been the
interpreter of this law, else why was
the coinage of silver stopped? John
Sherman seems to have been the only
man in congress who knew of it. The
peoples representatives allowed 20
per cent to be added to the peoples
debts. and did not even know it, and
it was no thanks to them that years
after the people found it out. They
did not make of it campaign issue;
| o11 hoi,p toll - ~