The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1895-07-26
The Crime of 1873

Senator Stewart has prepared a series
of article giving all exhaustive history OF
the demonstration of silver, which have
been published in the National Watch-
man, and if ever any man was convicted
on documentary evidence Senator Sher-
man of Ohio is that man. A more in
famous, dastardly piece of treacherous
work against country and people was
never so carefully, sneakingly and secretly
concocted and carried out as the demon
citation Of silver. The criminality of
the entire transaction was in progress for
more than three years, during which time
John Sherman was busy working out this
infamous plot. And after the bill had
passed, the evidence is SO strong as to
almost compel a candid belief that the
bill was doctored, and the trade, or APO
grain dollar, inserted in place of the one
intended, i. e., the French or 5 franc dol
lar of Isl to of gold. Sherman's course
on tine money question ever since servs to
strongly confirm the charge fixed upon
him.
The sequel to this clandestine act which
was engineered by Sherman is almost as
mysterious as the original crime. Three
years after the whole country was made
aware of the fact that the American dol
lar had been excluded from coinage, and
the entire country rose in protest against
the infamous act and demanded its rein
statement. Congress seemed to be nearly
the minis to free coinage.
In the presence of these facts why was
the "crime of '73' not reversed and the
dollar again returned to its time honored
place among the coins, and the minis
opened to free coinage of silver as we'll as
gold? That it was not is one of the
curious anomalies of our legislation.
That an active propaganda against
silver was begun and has been pushed
with increasing zeal by the money trust,
or the gold trust, more properly sperking,
from that time to the present, is motor
ious fact. No expense has been spared in
the pursuit of their infamous work. Party
leaders have been bought, the press,
especially the daily of the large cities,
has beeu subsidized or controlled by pur-
chase of their stock by the ring, and
nearly the entire banking class has been
persuaded or compelled to take sides
against silver, although at sacrifice of
their best interests. There is not a
country bank that would not be much
more prosperous than it is now with the
free coinage of silver, and only those
large establishments that trade in gold
and are interested more in speculation
than i'll honest banking are benefited by
the contraction and ready manipulation
of money which the single gold standard
gives them. Country bankers are either
afraid to express an opinion in opposition
to the large city institutions which take
their money on call or are so poorly in,
formed on the philosophy of money and
trade that they have no opinion except
that which is manufactured for them by
the goldite ring A combination of both
most likely fixes their status in banking
matters. They servilely accept what the
great moguls dogmatically announce is
orthodox on finance, as the average man
quietly, unthinkingly and servilely ac-
cepts his party dictum true or false it
appears to be no concern of his.