The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1892-06-17
ysyKnEsrIs6 BIT OF HISTORY.
How the Act Demonstrating Silver Came 20 be
Passed.

fifteen wears been so perslstohe'S aSocisou INV
the act of 1878 demonetizing silver Gas it Is
wronolv stated 10 have done) was surrepti-
liouslv and frauduIently engineered through
Congress- that the great body OF the people
have coma 70 believe the charge to be true.
II howevsr. the real facts are looked at
and the clarnor Of ignorant men Is put ASIDE
il will be found that that act was one OF those
pieces of legislation that came along Naturally
in the process of evolution. and that there
was nothing whatever Of surreptitious nature
connected with its passage. We propose this
morning 10 give full history of that act
written not from rumor or hearsay' but from
the fixed and everlasting records OF the
country.
After our Government was got into WORK
ing shape under the Constitution OF 1883 one
of its first acts was TO give attention TO our
laws of currency and coinage. Inc matter
of the coinage was taken charge OF by MT;
Jefferson. Secretary of Stete, and General
Hamilton, Secretary of the treasury. 1hey
melted down coins OF gold ana COINS OF sllNei,
weighed them and compared their weights
and determined on what they thought their
true ratio. But because they had used aban-
doned silver coins. or from some other
cause. they underyalued silver. They tixed
the ratio as IS 20 /. The coinage law when
they caused 20 be passed IN 1873 provided
for silver dollars and gold dollars at this ratio.
Coinage of both metals commenced, but as
silver was undervalued. all that was coined
was at once bought up and shipped abroad
and sold for profit. Little silver was coined,
but all of that went away, 80 that IN 1905, when
Mr.. Jefferson was President he, without any
authority Of law. by force of his own will only.
H.. ,,.4- a.. onfn
lars and not "A dollar of them WAS coined be-
tween 1905 and 1885. and the entire amount OF
them coined between 1898 and 1873, when the
great fraud" wa. appropriated, was. as we have
frequently stated, SS,03l.00O
Thus in 1873. this small sum only OF silver
dollars had been coined and that mad gone
out OF the country because tho silver IN IL
WAS undervaIued. The most remarkable
evidence of how entirely the country had
dispensed with silver as a currency Is found
Ia the fact that tie New York Custom House
would not receive silver IN payment OF dues
between 1853 and 1878. Here WAS govern
meut refusing 10 receive its own money rs
money. because it was really no longer money.
The situation then in 1873 was this: Mr..
Jefferson the great high priest Of democracy.
had in concert with General Hamilton IN
1913 put a valuation on silver that made II
impossible 10 have silver as q currency. Inc
same Mr.. Jefferson had, by an unauthorized
u.
and the two acts together had forced silver
into the position of lost and obsolete cur
rency metal. and this country. so far as metal
WAS concerned stood in 1873 on the basis OF
an exclusively gold standard country
This being so, and silver being actually OBJ
solete as currency ,e1-toVernor James POLLOCK,
who was Director of the Mint in 1861. recOm-
mended in his report Of that year FINANCE
report Of 1861. D. 623) that we should either
make the silver dollar conform IN value 70 the
gold dollar OF provision for its coinage should
be repealed.
In 1866, John Jay Knox, at that time an
official in the Treasury Department. was di-
rected by the Secretary OF the Treasury 10
make an inspection of and report on the
mints His report called pointed attention
TO the fact that silver was IN
point of fact demoralized. In 1869
Mr. Boutwell,. Secretary Of the Treasury,
directed John j. Knox and DR.. Linderman,
Director. of the Mint to revise and codify
all the laws relating 10 tho mint. These
gentlemen undertook the work. They ar
ranged ia a concise form all the laws relating
10 the mint. adding their suggestions Tor
changes and this document was sent around
generally TO all persons supposed 10 take an
interest in the subject for suggestions and
criticisms When all of these were in the
Commission submitted the bill which they
thought should be passed TO the Secretary of
the Treasury with a report on the whole sub
ject. The biii omitted prOUision for nc coin
age Of he siIrer dollar. because Us use lad BE-
come obsolete.
The paragraph of the report treating Of this
subject was headed in large capitals:
silver DoLLAR-ITs DiscoSTIsUAScE AS
STANDARD
There was table attached to tho report
giving o comparison Of coinage existing aud
proposed. A foot note TO this table stated
that the silver dollar. half dime and three
cent piece were omitted from the proposed
bill. The remarks OF those TO whom the bill
had been sent for criticism were all attached
10 the report. All If them remarked on the
fact that Il discontinued the coinage Of the
silver dollar, and all their remarks on this
subject were printed in very largely dis
played capital type. The report itself. in
stating the changes that the bill contem-
plated uses this language: Disseminating
the coinage of the silver dollar
The Secretary of the Treasury sent the bill
and the report on April 25 1870. Just as they
come 10 him, 70 Hon. John Sherman chair
man of the Finance Committee Of the Sem
ate recommending that the bill should be
passed in the form presented" The pro-
posed bill and report were presented by Mr..
Sherman in the Senate at once and referrei 10
the Finance Committee. That committee re-
ported it on 18th of December. 1870. when it
was printed with amendments On the 9Th
| of January. 1871, il came before the Senate in
| hccOIQdlCb Will previous uOllct ana WAS Qlb-
| cussed during that day by Messrs. Sherman
| Sumner. Bayard Stewart, of Nevada. vii
liams. Cassidy, Morrill, and others, and
| passed the Senate on the 10th by vote Of
| 80 yeas 10 IA nays. and was at once COM
mended 10 the House. On January 10. 1871
it was. on motion of Hon. William ID. Kelley,
! chairman of the House Committee on Coin
| age. ordered TO be printed. On February 25
| 1871, Mr. Kelley reported the bill back with
an amendment in the nature Of substitute
when 1t was again printed and recOmmitted.
/ On March 3, 1871, Mr.. Kelley again introduced
| the bill in the new House OF Representatives
| which had come IN March 9Th, when il was
| ordered To be printed and referred TO the
| Committee on Coinage when appointed. On
! January 8. 1872 he. as chairman of the COM
| mittee, reported It, recommending that it
/ pass. Ii was read and discussed at length by
Messrs. Kelley. Potter. Garfield. Maynard
| Dawes, Holman aud others, Mr.. Kelley ia
the opening speech saying that il had
received as careful attention as | have ever
| known a committee TO bestOw on any meas
ure. We proceeded with great de-
/ liberation 10 90 over the bill, not only section
by section. but line by line and word by
word" On January TO- 1872. the bill after
considerable discussion. was again recon-
mtted and on February 9, 1872. it was again
reported from the Coinage Committee by
/ Hon. Samuel Hooper. printed and recon-
mitted and on February Is. 1872 reported
back by Mr.. Hooper with amendments,
| printed and made the special order for March
-. 1872. until disposed Of. On April
| q 1872 10 came No In the House