The Newberry herald and news. (Newberry, S.C.) 1884-1903, 1894-07-04

United Sta tes of America in Congress
assembled. That it shall be lawful TO
coinage to he executed at the mints o
the United States, for any foreign
countries applying for the same, &C
cordng to the legally prescribed stand
ards and devices Of such country, un
der such regulations as the Secretary o
the Treasury may prescribe; and tn
charge for the same shall be equal t.
| the expense thereof, including labor
materials and use of machinery to b.
fixed by the director of the mint will
the approval of the Secretary of th'
Treasury. Provided, That the manu-
facture of such coin shall not interfer
with the required coinage of tn
United States. 1t is the essence of ig
norance on the part of the friends o
silver, and the knavery of its enemle:
to affirm that the Act of 18th February
1873, deprived citizens Of the United
States of the right to take their silve
bullion to the mints and have i
struck and coiued. when by the Act o
January 9, 1874, which threw open the
mints to all nations and invited then
to bring their bullion to our mints anC
have it struck and coined.
It must be kept in mind that wher
the Act of the 18th February, 1873, thai
dropped the standard silver dollar, the
money unit, from the list of coins au.
thorized to be struck and coined, spe'
Gle. payments were suspended. Sc
sneakingly, so adroitly was this Act
rushed through both houses Of Congress
very few knew it had been done, mol
was it generally known for years after
In 1876, more than three years after the
crime was committed, the matter was
discussed in both Houses of Congress
Many Of the most prominent leaders
ia both the great parties spoke. Hol'
man, of Indiana, known as the watch
dog of the Treasury, Kelly, of Penn.
sylvenia, who had charge of the bill in
the House, Cannon and Burchard Of
Illinois in the House, Senators Conk.
ling, Blaine, Garfield, Bogy, Sergeant,
Howe, Hereford, Beck and Voorhees,
of the Senate each one spoke express.
ing bis surprise and denouncing the
Act. Senator Allison spoke and
said the bill twas doctored," "was
changed after discussion" Let it be
noted Senator Sherman, chairman OF
the Finance Com mittee Of the Senate,
and who had the bill in charge, was
silent. Only the few who devised the
evil and rushed the bill through Con-
gress without its even being read knew
it and kept it close. When the people
understood what had been done in
their indignation the first chance they
got they changed Congress to such an
extent that that body promptly re.
stored the standard silver dollar, the
money unit of the nation, to its former
rights Of coinage as will be seen by, the
Act Of February %, 1878.
President Hayes returned the bill to
the House of Representatives in which
it originated with his veto of the same.
That body promptly passed it over his
veto by a two-third vote and sent it to
the Senate. That body with equal
promptness passed it over his veto by a
two-thirds vote, and it became q law.
The Act reads as follows: "Be 1t
enacted by the Senate and House of
Representatives of the United States of
America, in Congress assembled, That
there shall be coined at the several
mints Of the United States silver dol
lars of the weight of four hundred and
twelve and a half grains troy of
standard silver, as provided in the Act
of January 18th, 1897, on which shall
be tile devices and superscriptions
provided by said Act, which coins, to-
gether with all silver dollars heretofore
coined by the United States of like
weight and fineness, shall be legal
tender at their nominal value, for all
debts and dues, public and private,
except where otherwise expressly
stipulated in the contract. And the Sec
retary of the Treasury is authorized and
directed to purchase. from time to time,
silver bullion at the market price
thereof not less than two million dol
lars worth per month and cause the
same TO be coined monthly, as fast as
so purchased, into such dollars, and a
sum sufficient to carry out the forego-
ing provision of this Act is hereby
appropriated cut of any money in the
Treasury not otherwise appropriated y
Ifthe members of the two houses of
Congress had studied, taken in and un-
derstood the Act of Congress ofthe 18th
of February, 1873, they would have
known the legal tender qualities Of the
standard silver dollar, the money unit
of the nation, was not impaired by that
Act.
Section % Of the Act OF February H.
1873, reproduced in the Revised Stat.
utes, section 3527, reads: "Silver coins
other than the traded dollar shall be paid
out at the several mints and at the as.
say office in New York city in exchange
for gold coins at par, in sums not less
than Que hundred dollars" The SUN
was limited to one hundred dollars tc
save. loss of time and trouble at the
miuts in making change. The above sec
ton Of the Act declares the standard sill
yer dollar on par with gold coins and
orders the exchange of gold coins for
them at the mints when applied for. II
is clear the legal tender qualities of the
standard silver dollar was not impaired
by the Act of 18th February, 1873
hence that part of the Act of February
%, 1873, restoring to the standard silver
dollar its legal tender qualities was
superfiuous.
The Act of February 10, 1887, retired
the trade dollar and ordered their ex.
change or recoinage into standard silver
dollars. 1t was illbegotten and short
lived.
Next came the Act of July Il, 1890
directing the purchase of silver bullion
and the issue Of Treasury notes thereon
and for other purposes. 1t reads:
BE it enacted by the Senate ano
House of Representatives of the United
States of America, in Congress as
sembled, That the Secretary Of the
Treasury is hereby directed to purchase
from time to time, silver bullion to The
aggregate amount of four million five
hundred thousand ounces, or 30 much
thereof as may be offered in each
month at the market price thereof moi
exceeding one dollar for three hundred
and seventy-one and twenty-five
hundredths grains of pure silver, and
to issue in payment of such purchases
of silver bullion Treasury notes of the
United States to be prepared by the
Secretary of the Treasury, &c.
Sec. 3. That the Secretary Of the Trea
sury shall each month coin two million
ounces of the silver bullion purchased