Phillipsburg herald. [volume] (Phillipsburg, Kan.) 1882-1905, 1896-09-24
carried unless they are opposed. Such
was the case on this occasion.
DECEIVED THE WHOLE SENATE.

Il
language IN which MIR. Sherman ex-
planned to the senate what kind OF
dollar was being placed in the law.
He had assured the senate that the
bill provided for a dollar which
would be good everywhere in the
world. 1t was TO be o realization OF
the dream Of international money.
And yet on this vital pOint--that il
was to be bereft Of it's legal tender
quality-he was as silent as the
grave. Our silver dollar certainly
could not float all over the world il
he deprived it of the great money
function of being a legal tender in
the payment Of debts.
"Mr. Casserly again pressed him as
follows; We can not have an inter-
national coinage on the basis OF our
silver unless our silver coin is to be
of the standard Of all the nations with
which we expect to have relations.
Now l ask the senator whether this
bill provides for silver coinage Of
that character
"To this Mr.. Sherman replied,
This bill proposes a silver coinage
exactly the same as the French, and
what are called the Associated Ma
tions OF Europe, who have adopted an
International standard Of silver coin
age; that is, the dollar provided for
by this bill is the precise equivalent
of the 5 franc piece. II contains the
same number of grains Of silver, and
we have adopted the international
gram instead Of the grain for the
standard of our silver coinage
Gould any assurance be stronger
than this that Che bill did not demon
etize silver, limit the legal tender
quality Of the silver dollar, or inter.
fere in any way with its money func.
tionY It was to be International
money and was TO Tboat all, over the
world Unfortunately, no senator
seems to have looked at the bill to
see whether Mr.. Sherman told the
truth. His explanation seemed to
render it unnecessary.
"Mr. Sherman further stated that
the bill also provided for the trade
dollar Of 420 grains. This was not a
substitute for the other He posi-
lively stated that they were both in
the bill. We have just shown that
he assured the senate that the new
bill provided for dollar of precisely
the weight Of tho, French 5.franc
piece. He then added:
1.-THE trade dollar" had been
adopted mainly for the benefit Of the
people OF California, and others en-
gagged in trade with China. This is
the only coin measured by the grain
instead Of the gram. The intrinsic
value of each is to be stamped upon
the CON-
Returning, after this, 10 the sub
ject Of the 3S4-grain dollar, he stated
that the change in the weight from
412a grsins) had been recommended
by the Chamber Of Commerce of New
York, and adopted by certain learned
societies. This change was the adop-
ton of the ratio Of 15I to /. He said
it was to make our silver coinage in
exact form and dimensions and shape
and stamp with the coinage Of the
associated nations Of Europe, who
have adopted international silver
coinage DID this leave any room to
doubt that Mr.. Sherman, above all
others, was upholding the standard
silver dollar and making it an inter-
national coin which would float every
where, as it could not do X the legal
tender function were taken away
from it2 In the face Of such decIara-
tions is it at all strange that senator's
did not scrutinize the bill or have any
ground for suspicion that il was to
work a mighty revolution in our mon
etary system9 That no suspicion was
being entertained at the time that
silver was being defAonetiGed by the
bill is evident from the declarations
subsequently made in the senate in
1878. On February Is Of that year
Senator Thurman said:
PASSED BILL UNDER MIsAPPREHENsIoN.
I cannot say what took place in
the house, but know that when the
bill was pending in the senate we
thought it was simply bill to reform
the mint, regulate coinage and fix up
one thing and another, and there was