The Caldwell tribune. [volume] (Caldwell, Idaho Territory [Idaho]) 1883-1928, 1894-10-10


,ix to nothing; that is, they were
AGAINST it six times and for it, not once.
In 1873, Republican Secretary of the
Treasury and Republican Comptroller
IF the Treasury, urged by a petition
from the State of California. prepared
4 bill to codify the currency laws. From
that bill was omitted provision for the
further coinage of the dollar Of the
daddies," and in lieu thereof was pro-
vision for coming the so-called trade
dollar. Who was it that favored the
abolition of the daddie dollar and
the substitution of the trade dollar?
Why, the people of the west. They
wanted it to facilitate trade with
China. 1t has been itersted and re-
iterated that the members of that Con-
gress did not know the silver dollar was
dropped out of the bill. Candid reader.
you don't believe that, if you have ex-
amined the record. OF course they
knew, but they didn't know the effect
it would have, and after the evil had
begun to operate so that everybody
realized that mistake had been made,
then some members of that Congress
tried to sneak out of their share of the
responsibility, by pretending they didn't
know it was loaded. OF course, they
knew, how could they help lt' Atten-
ton was called to the fact over and over
again. But they all agreed it was the
proper thing, and every last member OF
Congress, Republican and Democratic,
senator and representative, voted for
the so-called infamy of 1873. These
are cold facts. Why, Senator JONES
and Senator STEWART voted for it.
Now they say they didn't know that
the bill demonetized silver. Well, we
would simply like to know what the
devil they were doing along about that
time. What were these great apostles OF
the white metal about, any way? Fact
of the matter is, they did know and
couldn't help it, but they didn't under
stand what the consequences would be.
At that time silver was at premium.
That is, the ratio in the United States
was l6 to 1. In order to get the money
equivalent of an ounce of gold, IL
ounces of silver had to be deposited in
the United States minis. In France
the ratio was 15H of silver to ! of gold
hence, in that country one could buy 10
ounces of gold with $685. ounces of sill
ver while in this country, if one had
his silver coined, he would receive only
about Az ounces of gold for 1929
ounces OF silver. Consequently, as a
plain matter of business and common
sense, everybody sold his silver in the
French market, and the coinage of sill
yer in this country was practically sus-
pended. In other words, the 16 to l
dollar of the daddies" became obsolete
and at that time there did not appear
to be any occasion for its further coin
age. The Republican party must be
held responsible for its lack of financial
foresight in this instance, but who
could be expected to peer into the un-
known depth of the silver ribbed noun
tains of Colorado and Nevada? I'm
mense discoveries of gold in California
and Australia had deprecated the yell
low metal, and everybody believed the
outpouring of wealth would continue
without limit of time. Gold was the
debased metal and drove the royal white
metal out of circulation. Silver be-
came too valuable in the United States
to enter into current coinage. The
financiers Of that time did not know
that in nature there was law of none
tary equilibrium and that very soon the
hills would begin to yield their wealth
of silver. They were good men and
wise in their generation. but they did
not understand the immutable designs
and secrets of the God Of the universe,
as we do. The Republican party de-
monetized silver in 1873, but in 1873
even that short time-it began to dawn
on some of the brighter Republican
minds that a mistake had been made,
and an efforts was made to rectify it.
The Allison law was enacted by Re-
publican Congress and under it 378,-
166, 783 standard silver dollars were
coined. Then more radical correction
of the error of 1873 was undertaken by
the Republicans and the Sherman law
of 1880 was enacted, which provided
for the purchase and coinage of four
and half million ounces of silver
monthly. Under that law, the silver
product of the United States was ab-
sorbed. The operation Of the law was
not quite satisfactory to the advocates
OF free coinage; that is to say. it did
not work out as well as was expected
However, it must have served a highly
beneficial purpose, otherwise its repeal
would not have met with such strenu-
Gus opposition by silver men. Wiping
the Sherman law out Of existence was
the last financial stroke of the Demo-
cratic party. According to the record,
then, the ratio of the Republican party
towards silver stands once against and
twice for, partially. Now, we come to
the Popu)ist party, but as it has no
legislative record on any national ques-