St. Paul daily globe., 1893-06-24
PREDICTED BY sHIVELY.
Woes Brought On by the Sherman
Act Prophesied Three Years

Woes Brought On by the Sherman N
Act Prophesied Three Years
Ago.
Special to the Globe.
WASHINGTON. June 23.-"I told you
so" is an expression that is often heard
with dersion, but there is one man
who was msmber of the Fifty first
congress and protested against the
passage of the so-called Sherman silver
t,who is entitled to say Il told you so"
with emphasis. This man is Hon. B. f.
Shively. then member from the South
Bend district of Indiana. He protested
against the passage of the act as a friend
of silver, and in SO doing he predicted
the very things that have come to pass.
In view oil the fact that some of the
friends of silver seem to have the i'm
pressIon that the Sherman act has done
something for the white metal, and that
upon its Iepsal the price of bullion will
take heavy drop, there are some points
in Mr.. Shively's speech of July IL, 1890,
that deserve to be reprinted.
.PIaying the Market
Like Congressman Bourke Cochran in
the last congress; Mr.. Shively then took
the position that the government under
greatest bear on the silver market. By
its great purchases without coming the
bullion. it would certainly force down
the price, and, as the New Yorker said.
the government had been placed in the
attitude OF playing the market" Tne
bullion was bought and piled up in the
vaults, not coined, where all the world
could see it and marvel at its great
amount. By doing this the price was
forced down instead Of up, just as the
price of wheat or any other article goes
down when the visible supply is very
large. But here is a portion of Mr..
Shively's remarks against the measure
when the conference report was before
the lower house OF congress two years
ago:
Silver Virtually Destroyed.
"How about your confidence bill? Sec
tion expressly repeals the silver pur-
chase and coinage clause OF the act of
1878. Section fixes July 1, 1891, as the
date OH which the coinage of S2,000,000
worth per month provided for by sec
tien of this bill shall cease. There
after there is to be no coinage of silver
dollars, except such as may be required
to redeem the notes. Section places
it within the discretion of the secretary
vi Ills treasury W ICuOCIu liO HOlCo Ca
clusiyely in gold The machinery of
your bill is thus complete for the total
destruction of silver coinage. There
can be no doubt about it. Silver coln-
age Is to be strangled, and you gentle
men whose voices are always for silver
and votes always against 1t, are Invited
to keep this fact in nina when you re-
cord your judgment on this measure"
Worse Than Decentralization.
How completely has this prediction of
the youthful Indianian been fulfilled.
Silver coinage practically ceased when
the bill thatlwas to elevate the white
metal and finally lead to the adoption OF
free coinage went into effect. But Mr..
Shiveiy in another section of his speech
showed that outright demonetiZation of
silver or free coinage possessed less
danger for silver and the country.
Section of the BILL" he said, "pro-
vides for the purchase of 100000 ounces
of silver per month on which partial
legal tenders notes are to issue. Gentle
men speak triumphantly OF the harvest
OF dollars that this provision will put in
circulation. But the trail of the serpent
is over this provision also, as IL is quail
fled by the words, or so much thereof as
may be offered Outright demonetiZa-
ton would leave the country in GER
tainty, however lamentable. Free coin
age would leave but little latitude for