Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1891-12-12

nal0nal banking system, ana the contrdi-
| tion ot the currency. Senator Sherman
was called upon for answer to these
charges, and be responded ana it will be
seen that there is not much left of Mrs
Emery's 'eonspiraeles' 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 decentralization of silver. By
the act revising the coinage In 1853 the
silver dollar, which had been suspended by
jefferson in 1905, and practically demon
etized in 1885, and suspended by minor
coins in 1853, and which was issued only
IN later years as a con"enient 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 $1,000 000-this sill
yer dollar was, upon the petition OF the
legislature of California, ana upon the
motion of her senators 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 4000, 900 nor less than 100000 a
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,-
coo, 900 ounce, of silver q year; SO that
what she calls the decentralization OF silver
has resulted in its use in our country TO
an extent more than fftyfold greater than
before It's demonstration. Ina spite OF all,
aud growing out of tue increl sed supply
of silver and the cheapening processes of
its prOduc ion, it is gong down in
market, and 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 10y the free coinage Of
a cheap silver dollar, at the demoneti1l'
ton of gold.
"As to the national banking systm,
which is one of Mrs Enery's 'conspirdcles
is now conceded 30 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, 900, 900 of notes Of value varying
from state, and most Of it at a discount of
from to IS per cent. 1t was absolrty
necessary to get rid of these state bank
notes and to substitute in their place the
notes of banks which we're secured beyond
doubt by the deposit of United States
bonds, system so perfect that from the
beginning until now no one has lost a dol
lar on the circulating notes OF the national
banks The system may have to give way
because we are paying off our bonds, out
no sensible man will ever propose in this
country to 90 back to the old system Of
state banks, and If some security 10 take
the place of United States bonds can be
devised for national bank notes, the sys-
TEN 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 to this
time the volume of our currency has been
increasing year by year more rapily than
our population. In 1860 the total amount
of all the money in circulation was A35,
600 600, when our population WAS 81 ,OJe,.
600, and half of this was money Of vari-
able and changing value Now we have
in circulation 81 500 100000, with pop
ulation of 6l,000,000 and every dollar Of
this money is as good as gold, oil kinds
equal to each other, passing from hand
70 hand and paid out az good money
not only In the United States, bat among
al the commercial countries OF the world.
Our money has increased nearly fourtold;
while oar population has only doubled,
The statements made 10y 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 cur money was destroyed,
and IN 1869 s500,000,000 of our money
passed into a cremation furnace, and In
1879 $50 600 600 was destroyed. Now
these statements are absolutely false
What she calls money in these paragraphs
was the most burdensome form ofinterest-
bearing securities, treasury notes bearing
73 per cent interest, and compound IN
terest notes These we're the chief and
most burdengome items of the public debt.
They were paid off in the years named,
and we're never at any time for more thal
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.
"rhese statements Of Mrs. Emery are
palbable falsehoods, which il stated by
man would justifr a stronger word.
"As for Mrs Emerys 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 1t
tae free use of the peoples money, a plain
lie, Contrddieted and disapproyed over and
over again | never had the slightest IT.
terest in the bank, direct or indirect, and
as the public records will show, gave it no
favors, but treated il like all other re
pCsitories of public money and heidi to
the most rigid Accountability; nor have ]
in any case derived the slightest pecnniary
benefit from any measure either pending
in or before congress since have been in
public life "
Hopeless slaves.
Edgar L. Wakeman, who is we'll known
to newspaper readers is not politician.