Morning journal and courier., 1893-07-11
A COSTLY PURCHAsE.

Senator sherman Says That the Silver
 Purchased Was Not Worth as Much
 as the Country Paid for It-No Right
 To Throw the Responsibility Upon
 the President.
 WORCESTER, Mass, July 10.-Congress- man Walker makes public the following letter from John Sherman, which he re- ceived day:
 MANSFIELD, O., July s, 1893.
 Hon. J. Fl. Walker,
 My Dear Sir-Yours of the 2Sth ultimo enclosing copy of your statement of the causes that led MT. Conger, yourself and me to agree with great reluctance to the silver act of 1890 is received.
 An answer has been delayed by my sb- sence at Chicago.
 You clearly and correctly state the his toiy of that act. The bill that passed the house provided for the purchase of $4 500,- GOO worth of silver at gold value. The senate struck out this provision and pro- vided for the free coinage of silver, for the purchase of all that wss offered at the rate of 129 cents an ounce. As conferees act ing for the two houses 1t was our duty to bring about an agreement If practicable without respect to individual opinion. The result of the conference was to reject free coinage and tO provide for the pur- chase of four million five hundred thousand ounces of silver at its gold price, less amount than was proposed by the house. The provisions declaring the pub lie policy of the United States to maintain the parity of the two metals, the authority to stipulate in contracts for payments in gold, the limit of the issue of treasury notes to the actual cost of silver bullion at gold value, and the repeal of the act pro- vidipg for the senseless coinage of silver dollars when We already hsd three hundred million silver dollars in the treasury that we could not circulate, were all in the line of sound money.
 Another object had in view was to se- cure then much needed addition to our currency, then being reduced by the com pulsory retirement of national bank notes on the payment of United States bonds This would have been more wisely provid- ed by notes secured by both gold and sill var, but such proviso could not then be secured. These reasons fully justified the compromise. But the great controlling reason why we agreed to 1t was that 1t was the only expedient by which we could de- feat the free coinage of silver.
 Each of us regarded the measure pro- posed by the senate as a practical repudi- stion of one third of the debts of the United States and its people, ss a sub stantial reduction of the wages of labor, ss debasement of our currency to a single silver standard as the demonstration of gold sharp disturbance of all our busi- ness relations with the great commercial nations of the world. To defeat such a policy 30 pregnant with evil, was willing to buy the entire product of American silver mines at its gold value.
 And this was what we provided, guarded as far as we could. To accomplish our ob- ject we had to get the consent of the re- publican representatives from the silver producing states. This We could only do by buying the silver product of those states. It was @ costly purchase. The silver we purchased is not worth as much as we paid for it, but this loss Is insigni6- cant compared to our gain by the defeat of the free coinage of silver.
 It is said that there was no danger of free coinage, that the president would have vetoed it. We had no right to throw the responsibility upon him. Besides, his veto would leave the Bland act in force. We did not believe his veto would expeI the crazs that then existed for free coinage. Many people wanted the experiment tried. The result of the experiment of buying four and half million ounces of silver a month at it's market value will be the best auttCOLo dSdiuSt JUG puICIASS Sll the silver in the world at one-third more than its market value.
 1 never for moment have regretted the passage of the act of 1890, csmmonly called the Sherman ect, though, as you hnow, 1 had no more to do with it than the other conferers. There is but one provision in 1t that l would change, and that ia to strike out the compulsory purchase of given quantity of silver and give authority to the secretary of the treasury to buy bullion at its market price when needed for sub sidiary coinage. Other provisions should be made for full legal tender United States notes supported by reserves of gold and silver and backed by the credit and wealth of the United States, but these are grave subjects for separate consideration.
 What we want now Is relief from further compulsory purchase of silver. We would gladly have reduced the amount to be pur- chased and at fixed time suspended the purchase, but this was refused by our con- ferees. Now that the great evil We have feared has, we trust, passed away, we would willingly leave the amount of both gold and silver to De coined or held In the treasury to the law of supply and demand. 1 assume that republican senator's and members who after fGll conference agreed to our report will, in the main, vote for the repeal of the compulsory purchase of silver bullion and hops that our political friends who felt bound by the lccal inter est of their couStlt8eRts to advocate that ciause or free coinsgs will be
 convinced by tho experiment made | that the only position We can | occupy in the interests of our constituents
 at lsrgsds one fixed standard of value snd the use of both metals maintained at par | with each other on ratio as near as pos | sible to their maj ket value. Such policy, | I believe, is right. With reserves both of | gold and silver In the proportions We can
 maintain the entire body of our paper
 money, including coin, at par with each | other.
 | For one l will never agree to the revival
 of state bank paper money, which cannot
 be made legal tender, and which on the
 first sign of alarm will disappear or be lost in the hands of the holder
 | Very respt ctfully yours, \ JOHN SHERMAN