Crittenden press. [volume] (Marion, Ky.) 1879-1907, 1895-05-02
MONEY.

while man slept, his enemy came
and sowed tares among the wheat anC
went his way, but when the blade
was sprung up and brought forth
fruit, then appeared the tares also.
Matt Oh. 13.
The United States suspended specie
payment-gold and silver during the
civil war and maintained a purely
paper money system up to 1879. II
was during this time, when no metal
currency was in circulation, and while
her people slept, feeling secure in the
intelligence and patriotism of their
law makers, that an arch enemy crept
in with traitorous stealth and sowed
in our fields of happiness and plenty
seeds of destruction which were in
due time to scatter our happiness to
the four winds and yield a crop more
prolific of want and suffering than all
the crops of pestilence and famine for
a century. The seed of demonetiza-
ton sown by the act of 1873, began
to show their fruittulness in 1879.
when specie payment was by law re-
sumed. 1t was then that the prospects
Of an enormous yield were discovered
The discovery produced consterna ion
and indignation among the people,
who at once recognized The effect such
a law would have. In order to divert
attention and avoid exposure the pro-
motors of this act, justly termed con.
spirators, began at once to devise
plans to further deceive. the people,
acts providing for limited purchases
Of silver by the government, such as
the Allison act Of 1878 9 and the
Sherman act of 1890, all apparently
aiming to undo the mischief of 1873,
but in reality they were intended to
enshroud our coinage laws in a laby-
rinth of mystery so that the people
would not and could not ferret out
the evil. These later acts we're Offer.
ed as compromises, but were intended
to further complicate the system. and
prejudice the people against free coin
age. AS said in last weeks paper, no
reason was given or argument offered
at the time silver was demonetized,
either in Congress or to the people, as
t. why any such action should
be taken, and such arguments as are
now offered by the gold standard ad-
vocates are afterthoughts to justify
the admitted wrong, thoughts that
were as foreign to the promoters of
the act as 1895 is to 1873. Any per.
son having a doubt as to the secret
and silent stealth used in the demon
citation Of silver, can satisfy himself
by lnquiripg. of any man living in
1873 if he knew of the passage OF any
such act. The papers contained no
account of it, and it was not consid
cred of sufficient Importance to lie
telegraphed out of Washington. That
which has since 1879. the time of is
discovery, convulsed half the wore
and occupied the bulk Of the news
and editorial: columns of the papers
Ct our country, went at the time of
its ens ctment without notice. 1t has
since been entrenched and defended
by all the power that capital can
weld, and the people have been pow
erless to reverse the great wrong. Not
a man then in Congress has acknowl'
edged that he knew the purport or
effect of that bill, and nearly all deny
responsibility for its passage. Gen.
Grant, who was at that time Presi-
dent, is on record as saying that he
had not read the bill, and signed it
on the rep esentation and understand
ing that it was codifcation Of tie
then existing statutes, with few
changes in detail.
The House and Senate journals
show that the bill bearing the inno-
cent title, "a Bill to Reform the
Coinage and MINT Laws" was discus
sed and passed, but on examination Of
the Congressional Globe, giving full
reports of the discussion, disclose the
fact that no clause changing the unit
of value from silver to gold. or de-
stroying the free coinage or legal ten.
der character Of silver we're in the bill
when passed.
When it is conceded by nearly ev'
cry member Of the 42d Congress that
the passage Of the bill was secured BY
fraudulent deception, or BY such me-
thods that no gold bug will explain o.
defend. even had the bill : shadow Of
merit. would not this alone b su&
( - - e. - seQlpl "a ssge