The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1894-10-07

L.
tional debt had been incurred as re-
suit of the civil war; Public and pri-
| vate securities which, under the law in
| force at the time they were issued
were redeemable in lawful money were
purchased by the wealthy, payments
| therefor having been made in paper
money over which gold at the time was
| at a great premium. 1t became of
great interest to holders of these bonds
| in Europe and America to procure the
! enactment of legislation providing that
Ithey should be redeemed in money of
| the very highest purchasing power.
They had been bought by cheap money,
| they must be redeemed in dear money.
In 1869 the Republican party passed a
law providing that these obligations re-
deemable in lawful money should be
paid in coin. In 1873 they took another
step and passed a law demonetizing sill
Yer, the effect of which was to compel
the redemption of all public and pri-
| waite obligations in gold alone, and that
too, at a time when the production
| of gold was continually falling off,
while that OF silver was gradually in
creasing. The bondholders wanted
gold. not because it was the most de-
sirable or convenient for monetary pur-
poses, but because it was less plentiful
than silver, and to obtain it the debtor
would be compelled to make a greater
sacrifice in order to meet his obliga-
tons. The real character and effects
of the legislat ton of 1873 were disclosed
in report made to Congress and ex-
tensively circulated by the Silver Com
mission appointed in 1874. After that
report was made, no man in public life
had any excuse for acting in ignorance
in dealing with the financial question
in this country. In 1878 a Democratic
House passed a free coinage bill. 1t
was defeated in the Republican Senate
by a substitute providing for the COIN
age of two million dollars in silver per
month, which became a law over the
veto of President Hayes. At that time
the advocates of the gold standard,
found almost exclusively in the ranks
of the Republican party, wanted to
know if the silver lunatics had ever
heard of the Gresham law and that
cheap money would drive out good
money, and that the effect of coming
two million dollars of silver per month
would drive all the gold out of the
country. These predictions were I'M
needed. They were falsified by SUBJ
sequent experience under this act. Dur
ing the five years following 1873, for
every silver dollar that was coined we
gained five dollars in gold In 1885
President Cleveland wrote his letter
urging the repeal of the Bland-Allison
act and that if it were not so repealed,
the country would be thrown into panic
and financial distress, but the Demo-
Gratis in Congress did not heed this
prediction and this act continued in
force until 1890. In 1889, while thus
coming silver we had accumulated and
possessed more than seven hundred mil
lion dollars in gold In 1890 the Re-
publicans were in control of all the de-
partments of government. All the
Democratic. Senator's and a few Repub-
lican Senators from the west, Joined in
an effort to pass a free coinage bill
in the Senate, taking up this legisla-
ton in lieu of the bill by which the
Republican party sought to take from
the people the control of their elections.
The Republicans, both in the Senate
and the House, held a caucus. 1t was
necessary to do something to prevent
the passage of the free coinage bill by
Congress, and having such a bill sent
to President Harrison, because it was
understood that it would be vetoed
thus, for the future, depriving the Re
publican party of any plausible pre-
tense that it was favorable to the en-
actment of silver legislation. They sue
ceeded in pressing into line Republican
Senators and Representatives from the
mining states, and it was agreed that
the Sherman purchasing act should be
substituted for the free coinage bill
This was done, as declared subsequent
~ by Senator John Sherman,
and also by Mr.. J. H Walk
er, leading Republican in the
House of Representatives, in order
to repeal the Bland-Allison act and to
break up and defeat the free coinage
forces of $50, the Sherman act itself
to be destroyed after it had done it's
work. This statement by two leading
Republicans was almost universally ac-
guessed in by Republican members OF
both branches fSf Congress. The Sher-
man purchasing act was thus simply a
device TO cheat and defraud the Amer
lean people out of a measure for the
restoration of silver to the position
which it occupied prior to 1873, when
at the -dictation of the money kings of
Europe and through concealment and
fraud it's decentralization was accom-
plished. In 1898 President Cleveland
convened Congress in extraordinary
session to repeal the Sherman act.
Republican papers throughout the
east and leading Republican statesmen
joined in the, cry that this legislation
must be wiped from the statute books
1t was declared that the purchasing of
four million five hundred thousand
ounces per month was driving gold
from the country and that the people
had lost confidence in the quality of
their money. A threat was made to
induce the government to issue bonds
prior to the repeal. If the money pow
er could utilize the treasury notes for
the purchase of these securities and
subsequently induce Congress to pass
an act curtailing the currency-thus
pursuing the same policy which they
followed for more than 100 years-they
would be able to make an enormous
profit upon the transaction. The
agents of the Rothschilds in New York
came down to Washington and de-
manded the issuance of bonds and
threatened to precipitate panic I'M
less their demand was complied with.
The press of the city of New York de-
clared that if it were necessary to
bring about a repeal of the Sherman
act an object lesson would be given to
the country. Merchants and bankers
throughout the country would be
called upon at once to settle their OBJ
legations to the creditors of Europe
and the east. A bill was introduced in
the House for the repeal-also Mr. |
BANDS substitute bill providing for
the free coinage of silver at different
to 20; also for a re-enactment
of the Bland-Allison act. IN a
speech which l had the honor to de-
liver in the House of Representatives
on the 18th day of August, 1893, 1 said:
"The president has sent a message to
this Congress and in that message he |
has depicted and portrayed the evil |
effect of boarding money. While the
president depreciates boarding he rec
ommends the adoption of policy for
its encouragement. Monetary con-
traction always leads to a decline in
values; as decentralization goes on the
power of the remaining
grows. Hoarding is thus made |
profitable. Investments cannot be |