The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1892-09-15
THE DEMON ETIxATION OF SILVER

At recent meeting of the Peoples
party, Governor" Young denounced the
act of 1873 as the beginning Of legislation
made deliberately il the interest of "the
moneyed powers" The Peoples party
are never weary of asserting that silver
was surreptitiously demonetized by the act
of 1873. This story was completely put at
rest by the tate John Jay Knox, who
when comptroller Of the currency was the
author of the silver act of 1873, in his
Omitted States Notes." a history of the
various issues of paper money by the gov
eminent of the United States. Mr.. Knox
says that the charge that the coinage act
of 1878. disseminating the free coinage of
silver, was passed surreptitiousiy, has no
foundation Of fact. We quote:
The report Of the writer, who was then deputy
comptroller OF the currency, transmitted to con-
gress in 1870 by the secretary, three times dis
tinctly stated that the bill accompanying it pro-
posed TO discontinue the issue of the silver dol
lar piece. Various experts. to whom 1t had been
submitted. approved this feature OF the bill, and
their opinions were printed by order OF congress.
The house was informed by its members of this
provision, aud the bill was printed thirteen
times by order OF congress, and once by the COM
missioners revising the statutes, and was con-
sidered during I've successive sessions. II the
question of the double standard did not become
prominent in the discussion upon the bill, il
was for the reason that usage had established
the gold dollar as the unit tho silver dollar, on
account of it's greater relative value. having,
with the Mexican dollar and the pistareen, dis
appeared from the circulation OF the country
The coinage act OF 1879 and the revised statutes
OF 1s74 simply registered in the form of a statute
what had been really the unwrittsn law of tho
land for nearly forty years.
This efIectually d!sposes of the charge
that the silver act of 1873 was "sneaked"
through congress before its true character
was understood. Prof. Laughlin, in his
History Of Bimetallism in the United
States" says that long before the passage
of the act in 1873 gold had practically be-
come the single standard. The act of
1853, passed by a Democratic congress, pro-
viding for the coinage of half dollars,
quarters, dimes and half dimes of reduced
weight and restricting the amount for
which they were legal tender to So, was
merely recognition Of the situation
forced by ''the underlying prejudice in
favor of gold manifesting itself in &C
cordancc with the unwritten laws of
finance and economics"
The law of 1873 made no change in the
coinage, because, AS Mr.. Knox and Prof.
Laushlin both say, the silver dollar dis
appeared from the circulation of the
country years before and acquiescence in
its absence was everywhere found. Aud
yet this act OF 1873 that was transmitted
TO the senate in April. 1870, was reported
III the house in January, 1872, was
printed thirteen times and debated dur
ing five sessions of the senate and the
house before its final passage in February.
1873. this - the measure that the ignorant
and inscriptions orators and press of the
Peoples party describe today as "the de-
monetization Of silver secretly carried out
without any knowledge OF it by the gen.
eral public or even financial experts
On this initial lie; this gross. huge, pal
pable lie concerning the act of 1873 rests the
baseless fabric Of the financial Missionaries
who dispense blatherskite in Boauergian
tones to the Peoples party. The very in
significant part the silver dollars played
before their demonstration is shown by
the following statement of the total coin
age from April. 1892, to the discontinue
ance OF the coinage by the act OF February,
1873:
Gold eolnage...-.... &sls, eo5.s7s 50