The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1895-07-10
THE SHERMAN LAW REPEAL.

Two years ago, with the full machin-
cry of the government in hand, the
Democrats killed the Sherman law.
! SO says a contemporary which is
continually misrepresenting the facts
in regard to the attitude of the two
political parties in relation to the sill
yer question. Tt gives the alleged kill
ing of the Sherman law as one of the
causes of the panic and hard times of
1893. At the same time it knows that
the panic struck the country before
action was taken by Congress on the
Sherman law, and that one of the rea-
sons of the financial depression alleged
by business men and politicians of
both the great national parties, was
the existence of that provision in the
Sherman law which required the pur-
chase by the government of a large
amount of silver every month.
The Herald does not say that the
Sherman law was really the cause of
that depression. but simply cites the
fact that it was so regarded by both
Republican and Democratic financiers
and others.
AS a matter of fact it is a falsehood
to say that the Sherman law was killed
by anybody. The Sherman law stands
on the statute books of the country
intact with the exception of one pro-
vision. There was a great deal more
to the Sherman law than the clause
in reference to the purchase of silver.
The Sherman law, then, is not killed.
It was not repealed. Il is a law today.
The repeal of the provision of the
law which required the government to
purchase so many ounces Of silver
every month has been abolished. The
country, with the exception of a few
persons personally interested in hav-
ing a market provided for silver de-
manded its repeal. The action taken
in regard to it was right. 1t was "a
miserable makeshift.' 1t contained
the very essence of the heresy of pro-
lection. It required the government to
buy product for the benefit of a
class. The silver purchased was not to
be coined into money, but to be
stacked up in the treasury vaults. The
law was not measure looking to free
silver coinage, nor was it a step in
that direction. 1t was devised for the
purpose of evading that issue and was
despised by Democrats and RepubI-
cans alike. Even John Sherman, its
author, was anxious for it's repeal.
But is it true, as repeatedly alleged
by our lodging contemporary that the
Democrats killed the law or any part
of it? Did not the Republicans in Con-
gress assist in the slaughter, if any
there was? Let us see. The vote on
the repeal of the purchase clause of
the Sherman act was as follows:
In the House: For the bill-Demo-
Gratis. 1879; Republicans. SO; against the
Populists, 6. In the Senate: For repeal
Democrats. 20; Republicans, 90;
against repeal-Democrats 10; Repub-
licans, 9: Populists, f.
Now. then. if there was anything
wrong in the repeal of the purchase
clause of the Sherman act-which we
do not for a moment admit-then the
Republicans were more to blame if
anything than the Democrats, for
according to numbers they were vastly
greater in hostility to that act than
were the Democrats. In the Senate,
as we have shown, they were not only
in greater proportion in favor of re-
peal, but were actually greater in num-
Der.
1t is time our unprincipled neighbor
ceased the repetition of the falsehood
on which it falls back when it has
nothing else to offer in regard to the
record of the parties on the silver ques-
ton. We are ready to compare that
record at any time and to prove that
the odds on every point are against
the Republican party as the deadly
foe to free silver coinage.