The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1894-10-05

both gold dollar unit and silver dollar
unit, differing from each other in intrinsic
value. The present gold dollar piece is
made the dollar unit in the proposed bill,
and she silver DO. .r piece is discon
tinued"
In H. r. Executive Documents, No. 307
second session, Thirty-frst congress, which
contains the correspondence of the treas
ury department relative to the bill, we
find on page 20 the following statement by
E. ID. Elliot, one of the experts to whom
the bill had been referred:
"The bill proposes the discontinuance OF
the silver dollar and the report which &C
companies the bill suggests substitution
for the existing standard silver dollar of q
trade coin of intrinsic value equivalent tt
the Mexican silver plaster or dollar"
And on page 10 of the same volume we
find the following statement by Robert
Patterson, another of the experts to whom
the bill had been submitted:
1.-The silver dollar, half-dime and Scent
piece are dispensed with ny this amend
ment. Gold becomes the standard now, o.
which the gold dollar is the unit. Silve.
is subsidiary"
Senator Stewart, who then, as now, rep
resented the little sta of Nevada, in one
of his speeches in 1873, made use of the fol
lowing language:
Il want the standard gold, and no pa
per money that is not redeemable in gold
By this process we shall come to a speci
basis, and when the laborer shall receiv,
his dollar it will have the purchasing
power of dollar. Gold is the universal
standard of the world Everybody knows
that"
This is the same Senator Stewart who
now talks so necessarily against gold.
The Ernest seyd Myth.
In the campaign of 1892 story was re
peated and believed by many honest peo
pie, and by others not honest, to the effect
that the passage of the act of 1878 was Sc
cured by bribery; that gentleman named
Ernest Seyd came over from England with
100000 of English gold, which he success
fully used to debauch congress. There is
certain class of people to whom any
story that lowers an honored name is al
ways welcome. For them no proof was
needed in support of this story. There are
others who are slow to believe as true that
which ought not to be true, but who have
heard this story so frequently and so posi-.
gretfully half admit to themselves that
there must be modicum of truth in it
somewhere They will be glad to be as
sured, as l now assure them, after years OF
careful study of the subject, that the
whole story is an unmitigated falsehood,
without even the shadow of foundation.
The facts of Mr.. Seyd's connection with
the act of 1878 are simply these: He was
nrln of hn a.,,1;
the printed bill was sent for criticisms
and suggestions. L Ike the others, Mr..
Seyd returned his views in writing. His
letter covers nine columns of fine print in
the Congressional Record and contains
many important sugges ions. Mr.. Seyd
discusses, with the vigor and clearness OF
master, such practical questions, peril
nent to the bill, as the proper size of gold
pieces, their value and denomination,
questions relating to mintage, the ques-
ton of mint charge, the question whether
the coin should be milled or should be
surrounded by a rim cast separately etc.
Many OF his suggestions were so evidently
wise, like sugge :tions received from the
other critics of eminent ability, that they
were Incorporated in the bill.
Section Is of the bill, that providing for
the silver coinage, received from him espe-
cial attention. His comments on that one
section occupy more than column of fine
print in the Congressional Record. I hold
that portion of his letter in my hand. The
opening sentence of his letter, together
with a portion of his discussion of section
Is, will read to you, in order that you
may see the spirit in which he discussed
the matter:
'La Princess Street, London, Feb. II,
1872.-Dear Sir: You were kind enough to
forward to Mr.. Alfred Latham copy OF
your coinage bill for the United States, to
be sent to me, and you expressed a wish to
receive criticisms ON it's provisions.
''Sec. Is. / now come to the most i'm
portant part of the bill, that of the valua-
ton, which, according to section Is, omits
the coinage of the silver dollar, and con-
firms the debased silver coinage of half
dollars and below, under the tender limit
of S. l am aware of course, that through
the amendment of 1858 the same debased
coinage was already established; but, al
though the actual coinage of the silver
dollar had practically ceased, still that
piece was not abolished by law AS this
new bill presumably appeals all previous
enactments, l suppose that the total aboli-
ton of the silver dollar is contemplated.
Permit me to beg that you will first
investigate the question of double VS..
single valuation.
apart from the theory, why should
America have given up her silver dollar!
The cause of it's disappearance from circu-
lation is due to the original error of there
being too much silver in the piece.
That cause would have been removed if
the dollar weighed 400 grains, that being
the true proportion of l to Is 1-2 gold to
silver, instead of 412 1-2 grains as by the
old law. Why should it not be reintro
duced at it's true, full weight of 400 grains
and become again one of the active agents
of commerce? Against this dan
ger of too much silver, America can guard
itself without the total abolition of the
full value of the silver dollar. 1t is but
necessary to modify the severity of the
gold valuation as to ad NIT of reasonable
use of silver dollars. Surprising that a
certain amount of silver dollars of full
value 400 grains) were issued, coined fo1
the owner at charge of, say, per cent
mintage and that the limit for tender for
such pieces were fixed at, say, $50 to $780,
would this in any way interfere with the
supremacy of the gold valuation? / con-
tend that the gold valuation would remain
supreme with either of these restrictions,
viz, either a certain limited issue and Civ
ing full tender weights to the coin, OF