The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1894-09-30

silver dollar was not mentioned On it.
1t contained a simple sentence, read
ing:
NO coins shall hereafter be issued
from the mint other than the denom-
nations, standards and weights herein
set forth
/ The nature Of the bill was not allud-
ed to in its title. That read:
can act revising and amending the
laws relating to the mint, assay offices
and coinage of the United States
Following the passage of this act, in
June, 1874. to make the debasement
perfect, there was interpolated into the
revised statutes of the United States,
the words:
THE silver coins of the United States
shall be a legal tender at their nominal
value to any amount, not exceeding five
dollars in any one payment
And there was no longer any law
authorizing the coinage of the standard
silver dollar. The decentralization of
silver was complete. AS result there
was added to every debt of the land.
public and private, from so to SO per
cent. in favor of the creditor class
There is mystery surrounding the
passage of this wicked and villainous
bill. A man by the name of Ernest
Seyd, an agent of European money
lenders, figures in it. He is said to have
been present in Washington with a cor
ruption fund which he used. with effect
The Bankers Magazine of August.
1873, contained these words:
In 1873, silver being demonetized in
France, England and Holland capt.
tai of 100000 was raised and Ernest
Seyd, of London. was sent to this
country with this fund, as agent of the
foreign bondholders and capitalists, to
effect the same object, (the demonetiz-
alton of silver, which was accom-
plished"
The man Ernest seyd, was here be-
yond question. The Congressional
Globe of April 9, 1873. page 1904, said !:
Ernest Seyd, of London, a distin-
guished writer and bullonist. who is
now here, has given great attention to
the subject of mint and COINAGE. After
having examined the first draft of this
bill for the demonstration of silver.
he made various sensible sugges tons.
which the committee adopted and en-
bodied in the BILL
So. then, there is the confession that
the agent of British bankers was sug-
costing and procuring legislation by
the Republican party. which robbed the
people. Judge Kelly stated that he saw
the original draft of the bill and it
was in the handwriting of Ernest Seyd
, CONGRESSMEN IGNORANT OF IT'S
PROVISIONS.
While the bill was under considera-
ton in Congress, except a mere allu-
sion by Mr.. Hooper and Mr.. Potter,
there was no discussion Indicating that
anybody understood that change was
to be made in the standard of value in
the United States, or that it was part
of a concerted movement to drop silver
Of 10 N.
discussion which took place ard which
pertained to other matters, such as
minor coins, and whether the eagle
should be retained, or fractional silver
pieces or not. it is evident that such
thing was not contemplated by any ex-
cept those in the confidence of John
Sherman. The bill was not printed, for
it was substitute for the original bill
1t was not read at the clerks desk, for
the reading was dispensed with. 1t
was sneaked through. Leading men of
both parties were unaware that it de-
monetized silver. No newspaper re-
porter discovered the fact and no
newspaper in the country commented
upon it.
But, while leading Republicans were
deceived when the bill passed, they
soon showed that their party was and
is an enemy to silver. The panic which
followed the passage of this bill drew
attention to the fact that there was no
longer free coinage of silver and in
1876, Mr.. Bland, an ardent champion of
the white metal and a true Democrat,
introduced in the House bin provid-
ing for free silver coinage. The House
was Democratic and the bill passed
that body. 1t went to the Senate.
That body was Republican and 1t so
amended the bill that when it again
reached the House the free coinage
principle was eliminated and the Scare
tary of the treasury was authorized to
purchase bullion and coin s2,000,000 of
silver per month.
Thus did the Republican party, in
the Senate, place silver upon the basis
of a commodity in which the govern
ment could speculate, instead of al
lowing the holders of silver bullion to
go to the mint and have their bars of
silver coined, as their neighbors could
to--- sid The