The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1893-08-02
THE CRIME OF 1873.


1t is possible that some newspapers
of this country imagine that they can
aid the repeal of the Sherman law by
the repeated publication of false state
not. They are simply putting argu-
ments into the mouths of the most radi-
cal free silver men. who are disposed
to resist the repeal of the Sherman bill.
One of the most outrageous articles on
the silver question that has been pro-
duced appeared lately in the St Louis
Globe-DemOcrat. and is reproduced in
the Indianapolis News. 1t is full of
here only one. 1t says:
The silver demonstration act of 1878,
1t is frequently said. was passed sur
reptttouSly," and the movement which
led to 1t has been called a Conspiracy"
and a crime" Let us see if there be
any basis for these charges. John jay
Knox, an official of the treasury depart
ment and later a controller of the cur
rency. was requested by the secretary
of the treasury to prepare, in outline,
a revision Of the statutes governing the
minis and assay offices of the country.
and in 1870 the measure was placed i'm
the hands of the secretary, George 5.
Boutwell,, who sent it TO the senate,
with the recommendation that it be
passed In the enumeration of the coins
to be issued from the minis the standard
silver dollar was omitted. But Mr..
Knox, in a letter accompanying the bill.
made particular mention of this fact.
The coin was omitted because there was
no demand for il. Although they could
hfa he 4
pieces, only a little over eight millions
of the silver dollars had been coined in
the eighty-One years ending with 1873.
There was no demand for their coinage
because In eacn dollar, at the ruling
price for silver in 1870 when the So
called characterization bill went to con-
gress, there would be about $1.O3, as
measured in gold.
The bill emitting the silver dollar from
the list of coins was before two con-
crosses, it was exhaustively discussed
between 1870 and its passage in 1873
in both branches of congress and
through the press and every member OF
congress knew that the silver dollar
was dropped from the list of coins who
attended to his duties, and every reader
Of the newspapers knew it who had
any interest in the question. There was
nothing "surreptitious'' about it.
This is absolute falsehood. and there
is no excuse for it. because the facts
have repeatedly been put before the
country. The bill prepared by John Jay
Knox was not passed by congress at all.
A bill was prepared Mr.. Hooper of Mas
sachusetts embodying the provisions of
the Knox bill as to the regulation of
the mint, but retaining the silver dol
Iar THE xuaS bo,,so ,;T AO- ~ No.
q. 1872, dill No. 1884 was substituted
for this bill and passed by the house.
1t also retained the silver dollar 1t
came to the senate in this form, and
was up for amendment on Jan. II. 1873.
1t is claimed by Mr.. Sherman that on
that day an amendment was adopted
dropping the dollar The Congressional
Globe of that date shows no such
amendment. but the papers on file do.
There is some evidence that supports
Mr.. Shermans statement, but after this
amendment is claimed to have been
passed. Mr. Sherman said to the senate
1.-The dollar provided for by this bill is
the precise equivalent Of the five-franc
piece and that is in the Congressional
Globe. The whole debate proceeded as
if the dollar were in the bill. and there
is no intimation, either in the Globe or
elsewhere. that it was not
There is no excuse for any misstate-
ment on this subject. because the mat
ter has come up repeatedly, in congress
and out of it. and any person who pre-
tends TO discuss the question could
easily obtain the facts. On June 5, 1890.
the entire matter was fought over in
the senate, and the whole record of the
passage of the bill is set out in the
Congressional Record for that date 1t
is shown there absolutely that the dol
senate, and therefore the discussion of
what was in Mr.. Knox's bill is entirely
foreign to the question. AS the result
Of that discussion. which was brought
on by Senator Stewart in reply to the
statement that he had voted for the
decentralization act, the following dia-
logue occurred:
Mr.. Stewart repeat again, he will
find that the section which demonetized
silver was never read in either house,
and anyone who examines it will find
it was never read in either house"
Mr.. Sherman-"It was never men
toned or spoken Of"
Mr.. Stewart-"Then I shall be exon
Grated for having been here and having
voted for this bill. and my excuse will
be taken"
The statement that the dropping of
the dollar was widely advertised at the
time is unqualifiedly false. The tele-
graphic reports Of the proceedings of
congress for the day did not men
ton it, and the Globe did not mention it.
We challenge the production Of single
contemporary public statement to that
effect. Not only Mr.. Stewart. but also
Blaine, Conkling, Garfield and President
Grant, all denied that they had knowl-
edge of this provision of the bill, and
indeed we have never heard of but one
man who admits that he di6 know IL.
and that man is John Sherman The
Sentinel believes that the Sherman law
should be repealed Internationally. but
that must not be considered as condor
ing the crime OF 1873.
PULPIT TESTING.
Some days ago New York nrea cher