The San Francisco call., 1895-07-19

hdrNey 10 smircn the Congress OF the
| United States as infamous" Mr.. Horr
said:
1.-The people of this country-and the
| Congressman is no exception-as an aver
age are upright, honest business men. 1
admit that Judge Sherman was guilty of
| crime. That was never in any way con-
nected with his brother, John Sherman,
and you know it. They exonerated him.
Judge Sherman resigned Immediately;
they drove him from the bench But what
has that to do with the question whether
Mr.. Knox openly and squarely presented
this bill to Congress- 1t was debated in
the Senate for three days. 1t came. to a
vote IN the Senate January 10, 1871, and
passed by an aye and no vote. The Sena-
tors from the Pacific Slope voted for it and
senator Sherman voted against it. The
fl1ty-hrst Congress adjourned without
action having been taken on the BILL
Mr.. Harvey continued his line of attack
on the honesty of Congress and its en-
ployes in 1873, referring particularly to the
charges of corruption made by individuals
and the press against George A. Bassett,
clerk of the Ways and Means Committee.
The salary grab bill, which had to be re-
passed by the Congress which demone-
tized silver. The people could understand
salary grab, but they could not under
stand scientific spoliation of their rights.
'To make plain how the fraud was prac-
ticed," continued Mr. Harvey, 81 will read
the sections as they stand in the law and
include the words which were erased from
the bill surreptitiously in its passage"
''By whom? What proof have you that
anything was erased?" interrupted Horr
81 will get to the proof of that little
later" resumed Harvey. GAS the bill
passed both houses the unit was in gold,
| and free and unlimited coinage of both
metals was provided for. But as enrolled,
the mints were closed to free and unlimited
! coinage of silver, except as to the trade
dollar, afterward abolished. The standard
silver dollar was fraudulently omitted
after the bill had passed both houses
upon the face of his own bili," said
Horr, "there is proof to any man who
has studied this question that is conclu-
sive. The vile attempt to prove that any
such bill ever went from the House and
Senate is false. Does any man in his
senses believe that they ever undertook to
give free coinage of silver to a standard
dollar of SS4 grains? The old dollar was
not relnstated, but the silver dollar was
reduced in weight from 4121I grains to 384
grains, and made subsidiary coin like all
the other silver coins of the United States"
After the debate was ended for the day
Judge Miller announced that questions
from the audience would be received.
Mr.. Horr said: "Th;s is a question by
] Il or l.
| ican people always act independently on
great questions, why do you oppose their
doing so on the free coinage of silver2"
[Applause.]
"Why do you cheer till you know what
I sayP Why don't you wait? Maybe you
won't cheer. Ny answer to that is I did
not know that had opposed anywhere on
the face of the earth their acting on the
subject and did not know that anybody in
the United States had ever opposed it. 1t
is new thing to me-"
"The next question is from J. c. Sibley
of Pennsylvania-In view of your state
ment that the silver dollar was worth
more by at least 8: per cent than the
gold dollar in 1873, what justification do
you make of the claim of the monometal-
lists that silver was demonetized because
of its decline in value arising from over
production of silver?" my answer to this
is that the monometallists do not claim
anything of the kind. Laughter. Wait
till l get through. When questions are
asked me you must let me answer them.
The monometallists claim that silver was
demonetized, because the men in Congress
in 1873 believed that silver was not good
measure for value; that it was more un-
stable than gold and they demonetized it
on that account, because they thought
there was going to be an influx brought in
from Germany. They claim that after
ward the over-production of silver was such
as to drive the price downtown, and they
have refused to enact any laws reinstat-
ing the free coinage of silver on the old
ratio, because over production has continu-
ally reduced the price. That was not
given as the reason for passing the law.
Germany did not give it, England did dot
give it, France did not give it; but they
gave the reason that silver is not the best
measure of value for the people of the
civilized world. They gave the reason that
it is continually cheapening the price
because of the constant increase in produc-
ton. It that satisfactory"
Mr.. Sibley said: GAS long as you ask
me, 1 will answer you. You will allow,
then, if the claim is made by monometal-
lists that silver was acknowledgement
OF the large increase of production that
that statement would be incorrect"
Said Mr.. Horr: "That statement would
be nonsensical, because it was not cheap at
that time. Certainly you and don't
differ about it; that is business PROPOSE
ton. A man with your sense-and have
got about as much-would not get into
any such foolish nonsense
The next question is by Howard s. Tay-
lor OF Chicago, one of the referees in this
case. want to give him dignity: rs it
true that in volume 2, page 165, public
document on finance, Mr.. Jefferson COM
municated to Congress report of the
director OF the mint inwhich the reason as
signed for disseminating the coinage of the
dollar was the need of small change among
bankers, and the fear that the specie would
be exported2
II present the book open at that page.
1t is true. January 15, 1906, Mr.. Jeffer-