Democratic Northwest and Henry County news. [volume] (Napoleon, O. [Ohio]) 1894-1905, 1895-05-23
SILVER In OHIO.
The View Of Hon. Henry BOIL in 1875,
AN INTERESTING TALK
WITH A PROMINENT
CITIZEN.
What the States May Declare
Concerning Silver Under the
United States Constitu-
tiOn.

We make the following extracts from an
interesting interview, from the pen of Hon.
W. w. Armstrong with Hon. Henry Boil, of
Columbus and printed in the Cleveland
Press. Mr.. Hohl said to Mr.. Armstrong:
AFTER silver was surreptitiously demone-
tized in 1873 in revising the U. s. statutes,
and through the influence of one Ernest
Seyde; of England, who, it is charged, YVES
sent to this country by English capitalists
with $780, to secure the demonstration
OF silver,-I introduced bill in the Ohio
House of Representatives in the cd General
Assembly, under Governor Hayes admins
tration, in the year 1876, to make silver a
legal tender in Ohio for all debts, public and
private. Said Hou'e was strongly Republi.
can, and after debating the bill with Hon.
W, P. Rowland, Of Ashtahula county, the
ablest Republican of the House, who was a
candidate for Uuited States Senator against
Hon. Stanley Mathews, the bill passed the
house and was sent to the State Senate,
which was also strongly Republican. The
Chairman of the Finance Committee of the
Senate. Hon. Richard Stanton, banker Of
McConnellsville, was strongly opposed to
the bill and did not report the bill back to
the Senate for its consideration, so the bill
did not become law" Mr.. BOIL took the
position that as the United States Constitu-
ton recognized gold and silver as the money
of this country, that the States had the right
to make silver a legal tender, and was sus-
tanned by the House in this view, as it passed
his bill. This was the first legislation in
the Ohio Assembly on the silver question.
"The next or 63d Ohio assembly, being
strongly Democratic. under Governor Bish.
ops administration, introduced and pass
ed through both Houses, house joint resolu-
tion No. 1, declaring the public debt, princi-
pal and interest, to be payable in coin, either
gold or silver, at the option Of the Cove rn-
ment, and in favor of the Bland silver bill
for free and unlimited coinage of silver. 16
to !, then pending in the House of Congress.
"This resolution was passed almost unani-
mously in both Houses, and was transmitted
by Governor Bishop to the U. s. Senators
and members of Congress from Ohio, and
was the basis of the great silver speech of
Senator Mathews in the U. s. Senate, favor.
ing free and unlimited coinage of silver.
II am still in. favor of the double standard
gold and silver, huthave doubts whether we
can maintain double standard, as against
the single standard of European nations 2
MFR. Bohl states that when he introduced his
measures in the Ohio Legislature in favor oi
silver that two thirds of the money of the
world was silver, but whilst silver was moi
up to that ratio at present, the fact remained
that two-thirds of the people of the earth
used the silver metal as circulating medi
um.
He says the only man in Congress from
Ohio who knew that silver was being de-
monetized in the act of 1873, was Senator
John Sherman, for Garfield made speeches
| in Ohio afterwards, in which he stated in thu
most positive terms that he did not know
when he cast his vote for the act of 1873, tha
he voted to demonetize the silver dollar, ant
President Grant explicitly declared after
wards that had he known that act established
the single standard of gold he never woult
have signed the act.
Mr. BOIL states that England gains largel,
by the single standard, because IL is
creditor nation, but that the United State
loses heavily thereby, because it is debto
nation, and only benefits Wall street banker
and bond holders, because as the value O
the gold dollar increased it's purchasin,
power, that the value of property, merchan
disc and labor must 60 down on the othe
side correspondingly, as supply and demant
regulate the money question, the same as
does all kinds Of commodities.