The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1893-08-25
THEY STAND EXPOSED.
It is strange how story which has
hoon choWn fo has FOL leo

repeatedly been shown to be false.
will be adhered to serve a
purpose, especially is this true
in politics. The demagogue
does not care for the facts or
whether the story he tells has the
semblance of truth, SO long as it will
serve his ends and for the time being
blind the people. One of the princi-
pal stories upon which the free coin
age people, and the Populists have
relied in their attempt to force free
coinage upon the people, has been
about the great conspiracy
of '73 when silver was demone-
tized. Their story has been
that it was done at the instance of
the English bankers, who sent Ernest
Seyd over here with $500, 00Oof British
gold to buy up congress, and promised
him additional gold if that was not
enough; that he secured the insertion
of clause dropping the silver dollar,
and that this was done secretly, ouly
two or three members of congress
knowing anything about it, one OF
whom it is alleged wasJohn Sherman
1t has been time and again shown
that this was false; that the law In
question was framed by Hon. Geo. 5.
Boutwell,, then secretary of the
treasury: that on being sent to con-
gress was accompanied by discussion
in which attention was called to
this particular point; that the matter
was discussed off and on for three
years, and had passed one or both
houses in various forms. But this
counted for nothing with those who
rolled the Isweet kmorsel off huge
conspiracy" beneath their tongues.
But 1t has been brought to light
that Ernest sSeyd, whom it is claim
ed corrupted congress into dropping
the silver dollar, was bimetalist and
one of the strongest and stanchest
friends of the white metal. He wrote
and worked earnestly in favor Of sill
yer as a part of the worlds money
only to be branded by the free silver
men of today as the tool Of the Lon
don bankers, and the corruptionist OF
the congress of the United States in
favor of single gold standard. Here
is ingaatitude indeed and of the
basest kind.
This ingratitude was we'll shown uI
in the house the other day when a
silver advocate quoted Ernest Seyd to
strengthen his position, and was
questioned by Congressman McCleary
as to whether it was not the same
Ernest Seyd who had been accused
of securing the dropping of the silver
dollar by the liberal use of British
gold. The gentlemen attempted tt
evade the question, but Mr.. McCleary
held him to the point. and he finally
admitted that they were one and the
same person.
With this admission, on the floor OF
congress from the free coinage camp, IL
the light of the other facts that have
been brought out in connection witt
the legislation of 1873, the so-callec
"huge conspiracy" crumbles into
dust. 1t has been used so so often by
the free silverites that no doubt many
of them have grown to believe it, but
it would seem as though they woulc
now drop it forever.
There is another point of inter es1
connected with their conspiracy
that may not be generally known, an d
that is that if congress was really cor
rupted into dropping silver, some o.
those who are making the most noise
today for free silver and are bowling
the loudest about that!"conspiracy, .
were then in congress and vOteC
against silver. When the whole sit
uation is taken into consideration, II
would seem that the less noise the.
make about corruption and thug
conspiracy" today the better. for O
that so-called conspiracy their votes