St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1895-07-21

sideration whether we would go to
the French ratio as whole or not.
So that when the bill in 1873 was be-
! ing considered, at a time when no
body was thinking about coins and
very few knew anything about it,
| these men who were steering the
bill said: We are re-enacting the
| act of 1883 There can't be anything
wrong about that, and that is what
| they made senators and congress
| men believe they were doing, except
| that they were going to reduce the
| size Of the silver dollar, to put us
on the French ratio, but talking to
men who knew nothing about BIZ
metallism or the previous history
Of coinage, the act Of 1873 served
| that purpose to get the language
in the bill concerning the fractional
coin, and the preceding clause, that
had the dollar in it, into language
of the act of 1858. So that all they
had to do was to strike out the line
that had the dollar in it in the words
! of the act of 1853 which was a free
coinage dollar, and there you had
an act without any free coinage sill
yer in it. This bill was passed in the
senate on Jan. II, so that the morn
ing papers on the 18th would contain
! any news if there were any showing
that the fundamental laws of the
government had been changed; the
only reference that appears in the
paper. is in a press telegram from
Washington, which says this-I read
it: Mr.. Sherman called up the bill
to revise and amend the laws relat-
ing to minis, assay offices and coin
| age of the United States, which was
| amended and passed" That is all;
not another word.
ALL IN THE DARK.
One of the money metals of the
United States, as is now conceded, was
struck down by that bill; the constitu-
ton had been overthrown; the dollar
that had regulated all other coins had
been abolished; a great war debt to
be paid off, and one of our money re-
sources for paying it had been de-
| stroyed. Nong, continued applause)
No information Of that fact was con-
veyed to the people through the news
papers of the country. (Applause)
The reporters at Washington did not
know it; the congressman as a whole
did not know it. The money of the
people, that had served them well,
was destroyed, and now I challenge
Mr.. Horn to show me anywhere in the
newspapers of the United States, dur
| ing the passage of the bill which he
says has no faint of fraud attached
IN II wbaTa tina hot -
was being considered by congress that
was to destroy as money one-half of
the money metal Of the country, or that
they had passed such a bill I have
charged that it was passed secretly
The fact that a fundamental law of
the government had been reversed,
and that no information of it had gone
to the people whose government it
was, either before or after the pas
sage Of the bill, until il was discovered
several years afterwards, is one of the
best evidences of its secret passage.
ALL IN HIS FAVOR.
The contestants being clearly at
loggerheads, as to the point of dis
cussion, little further progress was
made, until adjournment was taken
till Monday. The debate prior to run
ming against the big snag had been
full Of interest. Mr.. Harvey opened
with statement of the points so far
established. They were, that prior to
1873, gold and silver were the money
of the constitution; that silver was
the unit of value; that Up to that time
the debtor was permitted to pay in the
cheaper money, and that silver was
not denlcnetized because of any over
production at the time the act of 1873
was passed. Taking up the debate
proper, Mr.. Harvey denied that he had
at any time tried to impeach the in
tegrity of the American people, but
he did not propose to allow corrupt
| legislators to throw that mantle of
national honesty around them for their
own protection. The speaker recog-
nized the integrity of the American
| people, and it was to that that he
| appealed. The speaker then resumed
the statement which was interrupted
| at the close Of the talk on Thursday,
/ of the various steps leading up to the
| passage of the act of 1873.
MIR. Horn, in opening, declined to al
| low Mr.. Harvey to accept as admitted
! any statement Of Mr.. Harveys which
| MIR. Horr failed to deny. Mr.. Horn
| said Mr.. Harvey had been reading a
series of carefully prepared essays and
| he CMr. Horn could not be expected TO
| remember all of the statements made
| in them. He would, however, furnish
| Mr.. Harvey a rule to go by. He might
take it for granted that he Horr) de-
| MED everything except what he eX-
| presSly asSented to.
WHAT LED TO THE ACT.
| Having thus squared himself on the
| record, Mr.. Horr took up the interna-
tional monetary conference in Paris at
| which the leading civilized nations of
! the world We're represented, and point
| ed out that after eight days considera-
| ton, the representatives of all the ma
| tons present, including the United
states, voted unanimously with the ex-
| cepuon of the representative of Hol-
| land, In favor Of gold standard. 1t
| was after this that our statesmen be-
gan TO consider the question of cur
legitimate outcome of this interna-
| tlonal conference, that the act Of 1873
! was passed. Mr.. Horn argued at
length, quoting from letters and docu-
ments, TO prove that the charge that
! the decentralization act was passed
through the influence of British brides
was false.
Mr.. Harvey, replying, said that the
argument adduced to show that the
! most important letter submitted by Mr..
Horn showing that the man who was
| supposed to have done the bribing had
! IN fact advised that the nation continue
| DllItLdlllSil, WAS IncOnclQSlEe. A [
some future time, a letter written by
! Hon. John G. Carlisle might be pro-
| duced, showing that he was q bimetal-
| list, instead CT a single standard secre-
| tary of the treasury. Mr.. Harvey then
| resumed the history of the act of 1873.
| quoting from the debate in the senate
when the bill was put on its passage
! THE TRADE DOLLAR.
Mr.. Horn said that there was in the
| Dill OF which Mr.. Harvey had spoken
a provision for a token dollar worth
| i've francs. The senate struck that out
| and substituted the trade dollar.
Mr.. HarVey-If YOU will show NE
anywhere in the debate that the SEN
ate struck out that provision, we will
| stop the debate right here. Great ap-
| plause from Mr.. Harvey's friends)
Mr.. Horr-The bill as passed con-
tanned the trade dollar, did it not?
Mr.. Horr-Yes, sir.
Mr.. Horr suggested that that COW
cred the point, and proceeded with
his argument. He said that nobody