Birmingham age-herald., 1894-07-31
MIR. MAXIM ELL
Offers the Proof on Which He Made the Silver Dollar Coinage Ac-
 cusation.
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. July z9, 1894.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. July I9, 1854. | To the Age-Herald:
 Having written from Milldaie, Tuska- | loosa county, on morning of July 25, a | reply to MT. Oates' card on the silver dollar | question, and having sent same to MT. Skaggs, chairman of Jeffersonian campaign 1 committee, with the request that he pro- cure it's publication, and not seeing same | published l have come to Birmingham to l inquire why.
 am informed that, judging from past | experience, the chairman of our committee considered it useless to request the publi- cation of same.
 But, IS a private individual, answering a card of the nature of that of MT. Oates, 1 have right to request a chance to furnish Mir. Oates the proof that he demands, though time does not admit of getting sworn testimony of each individual, and only allows of direct statement from me of the facts as told to me.
 On the night of July 13 MT. R. c. Baker of Tuskaloosa county came to me and stated that Capt. J. H. Bankhead had, on the streets of Tuskaloosa, shown a silver dollar, mintage of 1894, as proof positive acd papable that the government was still
 coinlng silver. am told that besides Mr.
 Baker, Messrs. J D. Blocker, John H. Neighbors, Will Wyman, Dock Watkins and others were present. MT. Neighbors tells me he did pot take the dollar in his hands, but that Messrs. Blocker and Baker at least did.
 Mir. Baker asked me an explanation of the matter and told him would find out, and wired to Washington for that purpose. On Monday evening, the 18th of July, at the house of MT. James McDuff, Tuska-
 loosa county. MT. Whetstone informed myself, MT. Gaines and MT. McDuff that he had just come from a speaking that day at Bolar Springs, Fayette county, and had seen MT. McCoilum, organized candidate
 for legislature from that county, do the same thing, thus rattling Mir. Hollis, Jeff fersonian candidate for senate from that
 district. The next day several other gem tlemen told me the same thing. Those are the facts on the testimony of these gentlemen on which 1 was seeking
 light. Concerning MT. Oates l had noth- ing whatever to say, aud yet he comes back denying something of which he had no knowledge whatever before the public of this state, of which he aspires to be gov ernor, and denouncing same as lie, unless
 l furnish proof as to my telegram.
 He asks for this proof in an ungentle- manly way, yet try to give it to him gentleman. He could have gotten same had he asked in a more gentlemanly spirit if he could not believe it without.
 do not suppose MT. Oates knows any thing whatever of me personally, but if he had he would have known that my charac- ter for veracity, probity and morality in my community, from boyhood up, is and always has been above question.
 MT. Oates himself admitted having shown a fractional piece or subsidiary silver 10
 correct, as he puts it, "the false statement of kolbite speaker. '
 My remembrance of that portion of the law of February 12, 1873, that provides for issuing subsidiary coinage silver pieces, is that the secretary of the treasury is in- structed to take in all worn and light weight of such coins, when sent in in cer- tain sums, and to issue in their place new coins; but that the amount outstanding shall not be more than $50, 1000, ,0U0 at any one time.
 If any one should use such pieces to prove that thegovernment was stiili" coining sil- ver'' in the common acceptation of the term, his act would have the same element of 'bunco" in 1t as the one under discus- sion.
 The public would like to know what was 'tthe false statement of the Kolbite speaker'' alluded to from MT. Oates him. self, then the statement of that 'Kolbite speaker,o o for to one who might read what
 Mir. Oates says is in the Blair bill, and then sit down and read the Blair bill itself, it is impossible to take the testimony of MT. Oates in his own behalf without corrobora- tive evidence. JAMES K. MAXWELL.
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