The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1892-06-15
sherman's --latest Lie.

the assurance to say that he disposed OF
the charge that the decentralization
of silver in 1873 Was accomplished
by stealth and treachery. Ii some OF the
gold-bug gentlemen would inform them
selves on the history OF this affair they
would not be so protuse in their eulogies.
We find in Mr.. sHERMAN's speech only
two references to the subject that are of
any material Importance. The first is as
follows:
In that bill the dollar was dropped in
the coinage. There was substituted for it
a dollar called the trade dollar, upon the
representations and upon the petitions Of
the legislature of California.
The second is this
1t is sometimes said that they did not
know the silver dollar was dropped.
Whose fault was that? Anybody who
would read the bill would see it.
We affirm that both statements are alb
soutely false, and In evidence thereof we
will put Mr.. SHERMAN on the stand. This
bill was substitute house bill. 1t was
substituted and passed by the house un-
der suspension of the rules and without
reading. In the senate it was passed with
amendments, but passed on Mr.. SHER-
MANS assertion (which at the time was
true that 1t contained the silver dollar.
There was not a word said about substitut-
ing the trade dollar for the silver dollar,
but a plain understanding that the bill
provided for both, and no amount of read
ing would have shown that the silver dol
lar was not retained. Mr.. SHERMAN's
words were as follows:
This bill proposes e silver coinage ex-
actly the same as the French and what
are called the associated nations of Eu-
rope, who have adopted the International
standard of silver coinage; that is, the dol.
lar provided for Jy this BIZ is the precise
equivalent of the five franc piece. 1t con-
tains the same number OF grams OF silver :;
and we have adopted the International gram
instead Of the gram for the standard of our
silver coinage. The trade dollar has been
adopted mainly for the benefit of the
people OF California and others engaged
in trade with China That ia the only com
measured by The grain instead of the gram.
The intrinsic value ofeGch is to be stamped
upon the oin.-Cong. Globe. Sd sess. Forty
second Cong, p. 672.
Ii this language means anything it
means that the bill provided for both the
standard dollar and the trade dollar one
measured in grams and the other in
grains, and that this was the fact was con-
clusively shown by sections of the bill
read Immediately afterward (p. 673) in
the disc ussion on abolishing the eagle on
the silver coin, and on the provisions for
recoining standard dollars as trade dollars.
Now how did the standard silver dollar
get out OF that bill? The house declined
to concur in the senate amendments, and
a conference committee was appointed.
That is when the fine work was evidently
accomplished. Mr.. SHERMAN reported the
conference agreement to the senate and it
was adopted without debate. [Cong.
Globe, Sd sess. 42d Cong, o. 1,150.1 That
report is worded in such q way that no
one could tell what il means without the
senate amendments before him. and there
is no reason 10 believe anyone except the
interested parties understood it to drop
the silver dollar. In fact there is the best
OF evidence that II was not 80 understood.
On March 80. 1876, the matter came up
in the senate in the discussion of the
proposition to take the legal tender quail
ity (Which is possessed to the extent of so
away from the trade dollar. Senator BoGY
stated that the act Of 1873 had demone-
tiled silver, and immediately the follow
ing colloQuy ensued
Mr.. CoNKLING-"Win the senator allow
mn m agk nfh
question Is il true that there is now by
law no American dollar; and if so. is it
true that the effect of this bill is TO be to
make half-dollsrs and quaI.sr-dolars the
only silver coin which can be used as a
legal tender2"
Mr.. SHERIAN-'I will answer the SEN
ator from New York that since 1853
the use OF the silver whole dollar has been
discontinued and none has been issued.
That has been so since 1853"
Mr.. CoNKLING-"Is there no power to
issue it2"
Mr.. SHERMAN-"There is no power and
has been none"
Mr.. BOGY-"The power TO issue existed
from 1853 to 1873, but since 1873 1 think
there has been no power"
Mr.. SHERSiAE--"There has been no sill
YER dollar issue since 1853, and my i'm
confer the power to issue il. The senator
thinks 1t did confer the power, but the
law of 1873 cut OFT the power, in my iudg-
ment, il it existed. The dollar was practi-
cally dropped from our coinage system for
the best possible reason, tie same reason
that the fiye-franc piece and the large coins
OF England have been dropped out of their
currency, simply because Il is inconUenie-t In
size and form for ordinary coinage and or
binary business. Gong. Record, first sess.
Fortg-fouTth Cong. p. 2,062.
Just think of i'll This man advocates
reducing the value Of the dollar to make
1t agree with the European coins; then,
after the reduced dollar has been treach-
erously omitted from the bill, says il was
dropped" for tho same reason that the
European coins were demonetized; and
now has the cheek to say that the trade
dollar was substituted" for it at the re-
quest of the people OF California. And
this is what the gold bugs call an explana-
ton; and this nan is what they call a
fnancisr. But that isn't all. On April
rs. 1876, Mr.. SHERMAN made another ex-
plation. He said:
/ have often been asked not only in
this chamber, but outside, how 1t comes
that the silver dollar was dropped from