The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1895-04-24
THE SPECIALIZED Decentralization
OF

most effective one of the advocates of
free silver coinage at the present ratio,
is that the so-called characterization of
silver was a monstrous crime, a delib-
crate and premeditated wrong upon the
American people; that it was accom-
plished surreptitious1y; that the bill was
slipped through Congress like the tread
of a cat" etc. These charges " been
reiterated a thousand times n in a
thousand varying forms. Even so in
telligent a bimetallist as Hon. P. S. Ken
nedy says in a letter published in the
Charlottesville Journal a day Or two
ago, mo Secretary of the Treasury had
ever limited at it the characterization of
silver in any official document" This
is a mistake, as will appear further on.
The passage of the act of 1873 by
which the practical demonetization of
silver was effected was not a crime. 1t
may have been a mistake of judgment
and an unwise piece of legislation, but
so, in the opinion of a great many peo-
pie, was the passage of the present
tariff bill and the repeal Of reciprocity.
Admitting all hat has been claimed in
so - Consequences
the decentralization of silver, it cannot
have cost the people more than the
tariff agitation of 1892, the panic of 1893
and the subsequent prostration Of busi-
ness and trade. But the most ardent
advocate of protection would not claim
that the passage of the Wilson bill was
a crime. Call it a blunder. stupid legis-
lation, misfit craftsmanship or what you
will, but it is absurd to call it a crime.
The Congress of 1873 had the same right
to enact a new coinage law that the
Congress of 1892 had to enact the orig
inal one, and it is as absurd to attribute
wrong motives to one as to the other.
Silver was demonetized in 1873, that
is to say, the coinage of the silver dol
lar was stopped for reasons which at
the time seemed to be entirely salts
factory from a business and monetary
point of view. Silver had been prac-
tically demonetized in the United States
in 1884. and for nearly forty years there
had been very few silver dollars coined,
and none at all in circulation. There
was manifest throughout the world, at
least in all commercial countries, a dis
tinct preference for gold and a ten
dency either to adopt the single gold
standard or to suspend the free coinage
of silver. The international monetary
conference Of 1867 had pronounced de-
cidedly in favor of the single gold stand
ard. Germany had adopted this stand
ard in 1871-73, and France seemed to
be moving in the same direction. Under
these circIpr Cfo poaC IL coouooH fo he the
part of wisdom for the United States,
preparatory to the resumption of specie
payments, to fall in line with the move
ment OF other commercial nations.
The proposal to adopt the single gold
standard, drop the silver dollar from our
coinage Inc make silver a subsidiary
coin was first embodied in a bill intro
duced in the Senate in 1858, five years
before the measure finally passed. The
bill was not acted upon that session.
Two years later the Secretary of the
Treasury, Hon.. George S. Boutwell,,
again brought the subject to the atten-
ton of Congress, showing that the silver
dollar having long disappeared from cir
culation and serving no purpose what
ever except as bullion, it's coinage should
be discontinued. He repeated the
recommendation in his next two annual
reports. In that of 1872 h, said:
In the last ten years the commercial value
of silver has deprecated about 3 per cent.
rency has been discontinued by Germany
and some other countries. The financial
condition of the United States has prevent
ed the use of silver as currency for more
than ten years, and | am of opinion that
upon grounds of public policy no attempt
coinage should be limited to commercial pur-
poses and designed exclusively for CONNER
value of a metallic currency should CORE
spOnd to it's commercial value, or metal
should be used only for the coinage of
tokens redeemable by the government at
their nominal value. As the depreciation of
silver is likely to continue, It is impossible
to issue silver coin redearnable in gold with
out ultimate loss to the, government; for
when the difference becomes considerable
h fion and w leave pIe It n the the h haandT t Of the feae gop-
eminent, to be disposed of subsequently at
a loss.
The Secretary therefore renewed his
previous recommendation for the enact
ment of a new coinage bill, with such
alterations as will prohibit the coinage
of silver for circulation in this
try" Thus it will be seen that so far
from the decentralization of silver never
having been limited at by any Secretary
of the Treasury it was discussed and
recommended by Secretary Boutwell, in
three successive annual reports. In adj
dition to this, the Secretary transmitted
to Congress in 1870 with his approval
a report of the Controller of the Cur
rency relative to the bill. stating dis
tinctly that it proposed to discontinue
the issue of the silver dollar. Various
experts to whom the bill was submitted
approved this feature of it, and their
opinions were printed. They were all
based on monetary grounds and con-
siderations of public policy. The bill
was before Congress nearly five years,
reported several times from committees,
printed thirteen times and discussed at
length. Hon. John Jay Knox, formerly
Controller of the Currency, and who as
sisted in framing the bill, said in a work
published in 1884: 1T is not probable
that any act passed by any Congress
ever received more care in it's repair
ton or was ever submitted to the criti-
cism of a greater number of practical
and scientific experts than was this
coinage act Of 1873 The Director of
the Mint, in his annual report for 1876.
said:
49,. - - ~ ILL