The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1895-06-01
Hill ON SHERMAN.
Tho New Yorker Commnnts On tho Sonn-
tors Tanbsviii~ speech.


ALBANY, May 3l.-scnator lii to-day
was asked whether ho had road Senator
Shorman'a speech on tho monetary
question.
"YcB, said tho senator, "f hayo caro-.
fully poruscd Senator sherman's Zanes-
villo speech on silyor. II au Ohio Dom.
ocrat had made the speech thero would
have bccn condemnation all along tho
Republican ranks.
"lho implication startled me that
tlloto nrs, In prosperous state like
Ohio. Republican vo,ors who wish to
degrade our dollar standard, repudiato
onu'haIi our public dobt md pay their
debts In cheaper money than they pro.
missed to pay.
81 have not mot such voters In Now
York. 1t ia difficult for mo to believe
that majority in any American state
or In any American Congress will voto
to cronto now dollar merely in order
that thereby debtors may ovade tho
payment Of one.hali. or one.quar,er or
my percentage OF what they owo and
have promised. That would bo worse
and moro indeiousiblo than tho crea.
ton In 1862. by Senator Sherman's
party, OF tho full legal tendor greenback
dollar. Thon tho country was In tho
agony OF civil war, but now thero is pro-
found peace. Until | read the
latest legal tcndor decision In 1883,
by Republican supreme court In Juil-
lard's case | did not think that our high
est judicial tribunal could tolerate such
reputation OF private contracts by n
degradation OF our legal tender dollar.
1t had not been attempted in our his
tory till 1862. Whether our standard
dollar was silver or gold. or both, it was
from 1892 TO 1862 an honest standard,
an undegraded standard. During those
seventy yeaGs nobody lonnin1 dollars
felt it necessary in note or bond, Us
now, to describe tho dollars Of payment
as gold dollars OF present weight and
Gnencss. Not till 1852 did Congress be-
gin to force tho circulation OF degraded
dollars by impar,ing to them full ten.
der faculty.
"The failure OF Congress in 1884 to
adopt tho European international coin
Ing ratio OF l6i undervalued silver
and expelled it so that In order to keep
in the country minor silver the law OF
1858 authorized the coinage OF small
under weighted silver pieces, but they
were not Il full legal tender. That Sen.
ator Sherman describes as proper and
true bi-metallism. deny it was compul-
sorry treasury silver purchasing and
coming like the Bland.Allison statute
Of 1878. and his own stateme ent OF 1890.
which differed in no substantial aspect
from the law OF 1853. excepting that
those OF 1878 and 1890 coined silver dol
lars mot minor silver as did 1859 and
made them full legal tender.
Senator Sherman said at GAINESVILLE,
what was news to me, that for fourteen
years after the resumption OF specie
payments. while the Republican party
was in power. we had gold. silver and
paper money passing current in all
parts OF the commercial world. had
mover known that from 1880 until 1854,
when Cleveland came, our silver dol
lars and greenback dollars were export
able like our gold dollars. One OF my
objections to our prescott government
taking full legal silver and grsenback
dollars Is that they are not e1portable.
ave have suspended the compulsory
treasury purchasing OF silver aud coin
ing OF silver dollars. 1 urged it in the
interest OF international bime.alism.
ho suspension is steadily working in
Europe to that end. It has
persuaded Bismarck. II I could have
my wish, | would no. havo tho treasury
purchase another ounce oi silver or coin
another silver dollar under existing
conditions till the possibility Of inter-
national bimetallism ratio OF Isl has
been fairly tested by the whole power
OF the United States. exeried earnestly
and in good faith by their Congress,
their Prcsiden. and cabinet. their sec.
retary OF state, their diplomatic and
consular agents everywhere"