The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1892-05-04

constitution requires. To coin money" Is the |
language used. Money is a metal stamped by
public authority and used ss a medium OF CON-
meroe. ANY currency usually and lawfully
employed in buying and selling the equIva-
lent OF money, such as bank notes and the like
IS called money. To prevent abuses 1t was
necessary 10 fix public stamp on
certain quantities OF such metals we're made
use of for purchasing purposes Such was the
origin OF coined money and OF the public offices
called minis. To coin money under the con-
stitution of the United States is for congress to
take the metal employed for such purposes
mold IL into proper shape, atfiK to IL the
proper value and stamp upon il the authorized
declaration of the United States that il is
money. The metals out of which money is
coined are gold and silver and have been dur
lug ancient and modern times That gold and
silver are the metals and the only ones meant
by the constitution, out Of which congress
should coin money, Is apparent not only
from the fact that such at the time the
constitution adopted were the only money
metals of the world, but from the further fact
that the states of this union before the consti-
ton used only such metals for coming money.
The constitution also declares that mo state
shall make anything but gold and silver coin
q tender in payment of debts" 1t cannot be
supposed that the constitution would authorize
something beside gold and silver TO be made
into money, and then prohibit the states from
using it for debt-paying purposes. Gold and
/ silver are placed IN the constitution on terms
/ of perfect equality so far their being coined
/ into money 10 concerned. NO preference IS
/ given TO either, and the coinage laws passed By
/ virtue OF the constitution should make no dis
elimination against either, but should provide
/ for the coinage of both metals upon terms OF
| perfect equality.
/ Such was the belief of all our people and
/ the practice of the government in respect to
the coinage OF money from the adoption OF our
] constitution to 1873. For a. period of more
! than eighty years the United States had free
and unlimited coinage of gold and silver upon
Of ulF md dfafF SSH o.
! alarming consequences followed. In 1873
! the annual production of the two metals was
nearly equal; only a difference OF S25o,0C0
being in favor of gold, our gold production
being $50 .000, 600 and silver Ss}5 750, 600.
Three years before that time tue republican
| party had refunded the public debt by which
| it was provided that it should be paid in coin,
| and this act of refunding largely increased the
/ value OF the obligations of the government in
favor OF all who held her bonds and securities.
| The capitalist monopolist, money lender
! usurer, and creditor, public and private, saw
| another way by which the bonds, notes, obliga-
tons and securities they held against the gov
| eminent well as against individuals could
be largely increased in value. They knew that
! the quantity of gold and silver money In circu-
lation was about equal and that the destruction
| of either would almost double the value of the
| obligations they held. They also knew it
would almost double the burdens and obligs-
tons that the government and debt paying
| people were bearing, but what did they care for
that? They were like the horse leech,"
they wanted more" So, In 1873, revision
of the coinge laws was secured by the
republican party in congress, and In
making that revision in some mysterious
way, which was not only wrong but absolutely
criminal, the coinage of the silver dollar was
| surrep titiously stricken out OF the coinage
laws leaving our minis with power TO coin
anything but gold. subsidiary silver. silver dol
lars OF legal tender quality 10 the extent Of .
only. In this way the gold bugs secured dis
honest advantage over the debt-paying people,
as well as over labor and agricultural life. The
money of the people was destroyed, that the
money of cormorants might be made more
valuable. | cannot better show you how silver
was destroyed than by quoting from the very
able speech OF the Hon. Marcus 4. Smith,
delegate in congress from Arizona. delivered
in the house of representatives on the oath OF
last month. He said:
The act OF 1873 domonetzing the standard
silver dollar contains sixty-seven sections. IL
purported 20 be O cOdfcation OF the assay,
mint and coinage laws of the United States.
The reports accompanying the bill in the re-
spective houses did not contain a word about
the suspending the coinage and demonetZin2
the standard dollar. The gentleman in charge
of the BILL in his speech in presenting 1t to
the house. said nothing about the omission OF
the standard dollar. Ii has been charged that
Senator Sherman in presenting it to the SEN
ate, said nothing about dropping the silver
dollar There had been a much larger coinage
OF these dollars within the year before and the
month before the bill was passed than during
any similar previous periods N our national
history; so that if rapidly increasing coinage
| could give importance, the subject was quite
as important ever.
ION the day that President Grant signed the
bill, he sent special message TO congress rec
ommending the construction OF new minis at
| Chicago, St. Louis and Omaha for the coinage
| of silver dollars to assist towards the resump-
ton of specie payment. Eight months there
after Grant, in a TO letter Mrl Cordray, ex-
pressed surprise that silver dollars were not
appearing to supply the deficiency in the cir
culating medium Senators Conklin, Blaine,
Allison, Howe and Beck and Representatives
Cannon, Kelley, Garfield. Holman and Burch-
| ard all prominent and watchful members OF
congress in 1873, arose in their places in q sub
sequent congress and distinctly dsclaimed any
knowledge st the time that the act OF 1873 de-
monetzed the silver dollar"
We all remember well the disaster which fol-
lowed the destruction of silver money by this
wretched act and all remember with what
! pleasure and delight the people hailed its par
tial restoration by the Bland-Alson bill of 1873.
The questionis ought We TO restore the silver
dollar to its place In the constitution where our
fathers put il.
Answering formyseIf to the people Of this dis
trict who have twice elected me, say am for
, free coinage of silver upon terms of perfect
equality with gold just as the constitution OF
, my country provides. am for the coinage OF
the silver dollar OF 41213 grains, ninetenths lne,
as it was before 1873, when il was most criminal
ly destroyed l am for the gold and silver coin
age of the constitution, and q circulating med
! ium convertible into the same and for O full
and sufficient volume OF it.
am for honest money, money that is just as
good in the hands of one person as IL is in the
hands of another. Such money is gold and all
. yer and legal tender paper issued by the gov
eminent. which the government guarantees is
convertible into gold aud silver. All money
which has the power of the government behind
il regulating and governing its value is pal
money.
! We hear it said that if we have free coinage
of silver, we will have a cheap silver dollar, a
dollar worth only 20 or 50 cents. If so, why
was not the silver dollar coined prior TO 1873 O
cheap dollar? Every ones knows il was not d
! cheap dollar. That during its life OF more than
! eighty years 1t was OF Gs good value, and
had strong purchasing as had 1t;
brother gold: and that when ii received III
death stab in 1873 it was better than gold for II
I was at 3 per cent. premium above gold. But
J yet every cormorsnt and monopollst and al
, his agents and advocates cry out and say thai
the silver dollar will be q cheap dollar.
! The minority report on the Bland bill OF The
house committee on coinage, weights and meas
ures, appealing to prejudice and Ignorance
says
. "Depreeate the standard OF the dollar ano
! every pensioner of the country, every holder
:, of policy OF insurance, every widow snc
Z a,,fO fba of firms funds