Daily tobacco leaf-chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1890-1895, 1892-04-06
Some More Historical Facts
Abuut Decentralization.
An Interesting Climax to q Dignified and
Able Controversy Between Two
Well Informed Cen
tlemen.
To the Tobacco Leaf-Chsonicle !:

country and was passed after full con-
sideration. lie further says there
was large quantity of gold in circu-
lation at the time. He takes me to
task for asserting the contrary of
both these propositions and says:
democrat should be more careful
about his facts"
The fact is there were two acts on
this subject. The first denied silver
the right of coinage, the second took
from it its legal tender quality. The
first was smuggled into general bill
which was supposed to contain moth
ing but condensation of all pre-
vious laws regulating the United
States mint (from 1892 to 1879 and
was passed by Congress without be-
ing read and without a suspicion that
it would affect the coinage OF silver.
The second act was passed by still
more shameful trick. 1t was slipped
mo one knows by whom) into the
large volume of revised statutes and
adopted by Congress when that book
was adopted as a'Ewhole. 1t was all
NOmp rised in one brief section (3,5S6)
and not member of Congress seems
to have been aware of the existence
of such section when he voted to
adopt the revised statutes. To sub
stantate my statement let me quote
from a few speeches delivered in
Congress some time after these two
bills were passed.
Mr.. Bland, of Missouri, on the
floor of the House in 1876, said:
The bill that demonetized silver
and perpetrated an injustice and
fraud upon the people was passed
through this house without even be-
ing read, in spite of the call of the
honorable gentleman who is now
speaker of the House (Mr. kerry for
the reading of the bill. 1t was passed
suireptitiously and without discuss
ion, and was one of the gr0ssest
measures of injustice ever inflicted
upon any people.
Mr.. Kelly, of Pennsylvania, said {:
Though the chairman of the COM
naittee on coinage | was as ignorant of
the fact that it would demonetize the
silver dollar, or of its dropping the
silver dollar from our system OF
coins, as w re those distinguished
ESenators Messrs. Blaine and Voor-
heeS.
Senator Thurman, of Ohio, (our
candidate for vice president in 1889
said in speech in the Senate:
cannot say what took place in the
House, but l know when the bill
was pending In the Senate we
thought it was simply bill to re.
form the mint, regulate coinage, and
fix up one thing and another, and
there is not single man in the Sem
ate, / think, unless member OF the
committee from which the bill came,
who had the slightest idea that it
was even a sq,tiH tolOdyd demonetizo-
ton.
On the subject of the second act
(that depriving silver of its legal ten
der quality Senator Beck, of Ken
lucky, said:
The revised statutes came next and
every man who remembers the
history of the revision will remem-
Der that every possible assurance was
given by the managers Of that bill
that no change was or should be
made in existing laws. Any pro.
vision of those statutes changing ex'
| listing laws was and is a fraud upon
the country whether so intended OF
not, and should be now corrected as
we would correct an error or change
in an enrolled bill.
Senator Voorhees,, of Indiana,
said:
Never since the foundation Of
this government has law OF such
vital and tremendous import, or in
deed of any importance at all,
craWled into ur statute books sc
furtively and so noiselessly as this
Its enactment was as completely un
known to the people, and indeed tC
bur-fifths of Congress itself, rs the
presence ola burglar in a house al
night is to its sleeping inmates.
Even President Grant six months
after he signed the bills wrote letters
abd sent messages to Congress plain
ly showing he did not know that sill
yer had been demonetized. Is any
thing else needed to substantiate my
assertion on this subject?
AS to my statement that there was
no silver or gold in circulation when
these acts were slipped through Con
gress l have only to say it is true il
the secretary of the United States
treasury is to be believed. Ia his last
published report Mr.. Foster gave q
statement showing the amount and
kind of money in circulation
each year from 1861 to 1891 inclusive
This table shows that Except a
small amount of coin estimated to be
on the Pacific coas9 these was moth
ing but paper money in circulation
in this country between the gears
1863 and 1876. Mr.. Foster himself
commenting on this table, said:
The omission of gold coin and
gold certificates from the tables for
1862 to 1873 inclusive, and of subsi
diary silver p ior to The act of April
| 4 nvTNt Ia NJ ion nthnf