People's voice. [volume] (Wellington, Sumner County, Kansas) 1890-1917, 1895-07-25

men in charge of the mint thought
that the time had come when some
thing should be done. Among the
men consulted upon the question were
Mr.. Boutwell,, the secretary Of the
treasury, director Of the mint, and
Mr.. Parson, superintendent of the
mint at Philadelphia. My friend
here intimates that this law must
have been wicked because it was
hitched on to the revision of the mint
laws. Why, that is where it be.
longed. That was the place to find
it.
"The bill, with the correspondence,
was submitted to congress in the most
complete form and with an elaborate
report from Mr.. Knox, which explain
ed all its provisions.
Thousands of copies of the bill
were sent broadcast to all parts of the
country. The Banker Magazine, 10
its number of July, 1870, printed this
report of Mr.. Knox and commented on
the same. The bill prepared by Mr..
Knox was endorsed by Secretary Bout.
well Of the treasury, and transmitted
to the senate on April %, 1870. The
bill, as it was at that time drafted,
dropped the dollar silver coin Of the
United States and changed the unit
of value. That was in the original
bill as it was sent to the senate with
a letter from the secretary. Now, no
body tried to cover up that fact. In
this report of Mr.. Knox were found
all the letters of these different ex.
perts to whom had been sent a draft
of the bill and who had been asked
for their opinion on it. Those letters
were al printed by order of the SEN
ate in connection with the carefully
prepared report of Mr.. Knox.
Mr.. Harvey-"Mr. HOrr, permit me-
Have you that bill and those letters
with yOu?"
Mr.. HORT have not got then
here today, but l have them in the
city, | think"
Mr.. HarVey-"Will you produce
them during the debates?"
Mr.. HOrr-'I will if l have them;
don't know whether l brought then
with me, but l think l did"
'Mr.sPattersOn wrote to Mr.. Knox
and his letter was printed in the pub
lie documents. l will say to this
house that every single document
have referred to l copied from the
books of the government in the city
of Washington, myself individually
so l know what am talking about.
"Mr. Patterson says: The silver
dollar, half dimes and three cent
pieces are dispensed with by this
amendment. Gold becomes the stand
ard money, Of which the gold dollar is
the unit. Silver is subsidiary, EN-
bracing coins from the dime to the
half dollar.
"Can anything be more plain than
that? Was there any covering up OF
anything in that letter."
Mr.. Harvey: SIN presentation Of
characterization l have called atten,
tion to the condition, morally, of con.
gress at the time Of the passage Of
the act, to the impeachment charges
against Vice President Colfax-in
lS73-for fraud in connection with
legislation; to the resignation OF Sec
rotary of War Belknap for bribery,
1873. l now proceed, after first stat.
ing for Mr.. Horr's information that
MIR. Delmar, the English historian,
says that the act of 1916 demonetizing
silver in England had a clause in il
that it might be reinstated by the
king; that that clause giving a right
to reinstate was repealed in 1871, and
that the act in which it was repealed
was within two weeks in the hands
of Mr.. Knox, the comptroller of the
United States treasury, Applause,
and was in part the basis Of the act iu
this country.
There was an era of corruption in
congress at that time. Clinton Col.
gate confessed before the ways and
means committee Of 1873 to the use Of
money to influence the incorporation
of special features in the internal
revenue bill, testlfying among other
things that Charles Sherman Of Ohio
brother of Senator Sherman, had
been paid $4,000 by the New Yorf
exchange in connection with the reve
nue. bill. The officials of the stool
exchange were subpoenad and tn,
facts developed that while the money
had not been paid, Judge Sherman
had rendered a bill to the ex
change for his services, and as h,
claimed, for securing the services O
his brother, Senator Sherman, to pu
the bill through (applause).
ut would readily exhaust tn,