The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1895-08-11
BI.METALLIC LEAGUE
IN CORRESPONDING WITH ALL
SECTIONS AND GREATLY
ENCOURAGED.
A POSER FOR THE GOLD men.

A POSER FOR THE GOLD men.
Whenever They Talk About ssHonest
Money" Ask Them How They Came
by It--Mr. GoodIoe Says They Came
bysH0nest Money"by Demonetizins
Silver by an Act of Forgery Accom-
Epanied by Perjury--Silver was not
DemoDetized by John Sherman.
WASHINGTON, D. c., Aug 9.
To the Editor of the News and Observer:
The Bi metallic League, with head
quarters in this city, is not in allegiance
to either of the old parties, nor to any
party. 1t is simply an association of the
friends of bi-metallism, whose purpose 1t
is to diffuse correct information among
the people. 1t is composed Of men who
have had their attachments to the old
parties, but who are now aiming to con-
solidate public sentiment in favor of
what they regard as the paramount
question of the day. The leading spirit
in it is Hon. A. j.. Warner,
of Ohio, man of real abil-
ity, whose writings on the currency
display profound acquaintance with
the subject, and mind capable of Crap
pling with it. 1t is not new hobby
with him. He has been in and Of the
bi-metallic movement from the beginning
and the leading statesmen" who have
so recently had their eyes opened to the
beauties of the glittering yellow metal,
would do well to avoid an encounter with
him. The Association has its headquar-
tiers in the Sun building, on f street.
They have an extensive correspondence
in every part of the country, and have
reason to feel encouraged. The Western
States-those west of the Mississippi-are
solid for silver, at Is to /, and don't pro-
pose to vote for any man, whatever his
political antecedents, who is not with
them on this question.
This is an issue between the people
and the moneyed power. 1t is, there
fore, for the most part, the great cities
vs.. the country. The great newspapers
emanate from the great cities. They are
upheld by the rich, and are devoted to
the interests of the rich. Heavy capt.
talists own them. Their chief support
comes from advertising. The poor buy
the papers, but have no influence with
their publishers. The country newspapers
represent the people-when | say coun-
try, I mean those districts in which
there are no great cities.
There is one fact in the history of this
bi,metallic controversy which the friends
of silver have failed to make use of. 1t
is the methods by which. the champions
of the single gold standard came
by the 'honest money" of which they
boast. They hold that only gold is "hon
est money" and charge the friends of
silver with the dishonest purpose of aim
ing to set up a cheap currency in which
to pay off the United States bonds, re-
deem the greenbacks, and pay private
debts.
Well. They came by the ''honest
money" in this way: They demonetized
silver by an Act of forgery, accompanied
by perjury.
1t was not by the Act of Congress of
February ~, 1878, which John Sherman
and Hooper, of Massachusetts, smuggled
through Congress, and which Grant
signed without knowing what he was
doing That was shabby trick, IN
worthy of statesmen; but its effect was
only to stop the coinage of the
silver dollar. 1t did not declare the mil
lions which were then In the hands
of the people to be no longer legal ten
der. But decentralization was accomplish
ed the same year or early in the next, by
the men who had been appointed to re-
wise the statutes at large-throw out
such as had been repealed, or which had
been executed, and were no longer
operative These men took an oath to
put nothing into the revised statutes,
which was not in the statutes at large,
which had been passed from year to
year; and they were directed to put into
the margin of every page of the revisal a
note, referring to the original volume,
page, and date of the act which they
were copying.
The Commissioners made their report
to the Secretary of State, and the Score
tary turned it over to Congress. 1t (the
revisaI) was referred to committees in
the two Houses. In the House of Repre-
sentatiyes, Messrs. Poland, of Vermont,
and Gen. B. z. Butllr, of Massachua-
sets, who were on the committee to ex-
anime the revisal, declared their belief
that there was not a word in it which
had not been taken from the statutes at
large The reyisers had given them this
assurance, and they doubtless believed
what was told them. But when the
book of more than a thousand pages was
printed, it contained the following sec
ton, to which no marginal reference,
showing its origin was annexed:
"Sec. 1856 The silver coins of the
United States shall be legal tender at
their nominal value, for any amount not
exceeding five dollars in any one pay
ment."
Just above this section stood the sec.
ton, 1886, making gold coins a legal
tender for any amount, large or small.
There was nothing like this section in
the Status at Large; and it was for this
reason that, unlike every other secti' u
in the book, there is no reference to the
original Act from which it should have
been taken Mr. Busbee, who takes
lively interest in the subject, doubtless
has the edition of the revisal of 1874,
and can exhibit to any doubling Thomas
demonstrative proof of this statement.
1t is nothing less than forgery, accom-
panied with perjury. Mr.. Beck, the hon
orable Senator from Kentucky, de
nounced it as such. Mr.. Logan called
on Mr.. Sherman to say how the interpo-
lation crept in. Mr. Sherman could not
tell. have not been able, thus far, to
ascertain which of several Revisers, at
different times, had charge OF the work
when it was turned over TO Congress in