The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1895-07-31
The Crime OF 1873
The Stenographic Report Of Mr. Har.
vey's Argument Which the Hews
-
Ss0ciati0ns
Saw Fit to Suppress. Harvey Quotes
the Law And Maintains His
Position.
HARvEY'S INDICTMENT OF CON-

GRESS.
Mr. Harvey-"As I proceed-in con-
nected manner, however, will fully an
swer Mr.. Horn
Among the many charges of corrup-
ton made at this period-1S73-there was
one of significance when we consider
that silver was demonetized by a single
sentence being omitted from the report
of the conference committee and enroll
ment of the mint bill, and indicates the
power, in this instance, corrupt clerk
could have. George A. Bassett, clerk of
the ways and means committee, 1873,
was charged with having demanded $3.50
month from the bankers and brokers
of New York to assist them in repeating
the tax on borrowed capital and $1,000
when the act passed.
Mr.. Harvey" Section 49, That the sill
yer coins Of the United States shall be
trade dollar "a standard dollar), a half
dollar or 50-cent piece, quarter dollar or
25-cent piece, a dime or 1O-cent piece;
and the weight of the trade dollar should
be APO grain troy the weight Of stand
ard dollar shall be 3S4 grain troy; the
weight of the half-dollar shall be II
grams and one-half of a grain; the quar-
ter-dollar and the dime shall be respec,
lively one-half and one-ffth Of the
weight Of said half-dollar; and said
fractionaD coins shall be legal tender
at their nominal value for any amount
not exceeding S. in any one payment.
Section 81. That any owner of silver
bullion may deposit same at any mint
to be formed into bars, or into dollars
OF the weight of 420 grains troy, desig-
mated in this act as trade dollars Cor into
standard dollars of 1884 grains), and no
deposit of silver for other coinage shall
De received but silver bullion contained
In gold deposits and separated therefrom
may be paid in silver coin at such valu-
alton as may be from time to time es-
tabl1shed by the director of the mint
las the bill passed both houses the unit
was on gold, and free and unlimited coin
age of both metals was provided for. BY
1t there was free coinage of silver in the
standard silver dollar and the trade dol
lars; fractional silver coins only were to
be regulated by the treasurer at his dis
erection. But as enrolled the minis were
closed to free and unlimited coinage of
silver, except to the trade dollar, after
ward abolished.
1.-THE standard silver dollar was fraud
ulently omitted after the bill had passed
both houses. (Applause) It will be ques-
toned by our best citizens that such a
fraud could be practiced, and the hest
fancy with which they accept it's truth
attest, the integrity of our citizenship
Before offering my proof, and l prom
Use you it shall be conclusive, 1 wish to
speak of official crimes
Mr.. Harvey-"I pause moment in the
logical arrangement of this argument
to reply to Mr.. Horn. He says that Judge
Kelley, who was chairman of the COM
mittee reporting this bill, said in 1872
something indicating that it was an hon
est measure.
Now, Mr.. Horn, I read you from vol
ume 5, part 1 XXXXIVth congress, Sec
ond session Congressional Globe page
ITO, date Dec. 10, 1870
Mr.. Kelley there says: Mr.. Speaker: I
have none Of the remarks quoted from
me to withdraw. They were not made
on the bill demonetizing the standard
silver dollar which was passed, and
which was a substitute, never read in
this house. and, being a substitute was
not the bill to which he had spoken. Gong
continued applause)
ION May 10, 1879, page 1885 (Congres-
sional Record, volue 9. part y, Mr. Kelley
again said: In 1872, when made the re-
marks which were cited by these gentle
men, and which have been frequently
quoted in both houses, and always with
tan air as much as to say that to convict
this man of the crime of having been in
trOduced by the logic of events would
forever settle this momentous question,
we were not using coin, and no gentle
man in either house appears to have APP
preciated the scope and magnitude of the
silver question or to have given it special
study. Hence the bill-and 1 wish the
gentlemen to know what that bill was
it was a bill to reOrganze the minis, not
to revise the coin money of the country
but to reorganiZe the minis, and it was
passed without allusion in dabte to the
question of the retention or abandon
ment of the standard silver dollar.
81 was chairman of the committee
that reported the original bill and 1 aver
on my honor that 1 did not know the fact
that 1t proposed to drop the standard sill
yer dollar and did not learn that it had
done it for IS months after the passage of
the substitute offered by Mr.. Hooper,
when disputed the fact and was shown
the law (Applause)
History teaches us that during the
period from the revolution to the end of
Queen Annes reign bribery was openly
practiced in the English parliament. The
speaker of the house of commons was
expelled for bribery, and then great MARI
borough could not clear his character
from pecuniary dishonest. During Wal
poles administration there is no doubt
that members of parliament were paid in
cash for their votes, and his memorable
remark that every man has his price
has been preserved as a characteristic
indication of his method of government
"The Encyclopedia Britannica says:
or reward that it may be motive in the
performance of functions for which the
proper motive ought to be a consci-
entious sense of duty 1t is difficult to
get the oriental mind to understand
how it Is reasonable to expect the temp
tation Of bride to be resisted, and this
has been the main impeachment to the en-
ployment of native judiciary or legis-
lature in the British eastern empire. In
no country perhaps, is the offense visited
with more dire chastisement when dis
covered than in Russia. yet the concur
rent testimony of all who are acquainted
with Russian society not only the Of
fetal department but the courts of law
at this day are influenced by systematic
bribery"
LOWERING OF THE PUBLIC CHAR
ACTER
Mr.. Harvey-Mr. Horn criticises me for
the history of bribery leading up to the
salary grab of congress of 1873. 1 don't
mean to say that all congressman are
dishonest or that the majority of them
are I do not mean to say that all the
members Of the congress of 1923 were
dishonest. 1 do say this, that as selfish
individuality by aggressiveness accumu-
lates the wealth of the world and what is
left is fought over by the other people,
and as the value of property and means
of living in sight is lowered, human char
acter is lowered and that it has contin-
ued on a general average to be lowered
since that congress, and we will only
preserve this republic by recognizing and
noting the sin that has destroyed all past
republics.
THE Chicago Post, gold standard pa
pepper, does not agree with Mr.. Horn in
his philippe of a few months ago. 1t
says editorially, in yesterdays issue:
H. kcl~z