Rock Island Argus., 1896-10-02
THE CRIME OF '73!
.hE GREAT CONSPIRACY LAID BARE
eY GEO. c. cORMAN.

BY GEO. G. GOHMAN.
line Dark Methods Used by Senator Sher-
man and Others 70 secure the Demon
stizatisu of silver p--etatemssss Of sens
tsrs and Meosers sa the sshject-
Colonel George c. German. for many
years resided in California. and was
q member of the national Republican
committee from that state from 1SSS
to 1850. He was secretary of the Uni
ted States senate from 1855 to 1879.
and was in the national political coun-
ellis of the Grant and ConkIing element.
He edited The National Republican AZ
Washington for four years. For more
than twenty years he has favored the
restoration of the free coinage of sill
yer. and left the Republican party In
June last. when it adopted the gold
standard. and is now an earnest sup
porter of Bryan and Sewall. He has
written the following letter:
The Hon. Charles p. johnson, St
Louis, Mo.-Dear Sir: In compliance
with your request l present the fol-
lowing narrative of the steps which
led to the decentralization of silver In
the United States in 1873. and the
methods adopted to accomplish that re-
suit:
The national debt at the close OF the
civil war was about $2.500. .000. 900. the
principal being payable by law In any
legal tender money. and the interest
in coin. Certain great banking houses
Of Europe--following the example set
by their predecessors in England i'm
mediateIy ater the fall of Napoleon.
and setting an example which was fol-
lowed by their class in Germany after
the Franco Prussian war-inauEurated
a scheme to greatly enhance the value
of this vast obligation by making il
payable in gold and then increasing
the value of gold.
The Methods Adopted.
This involved two legislative meas
ures:
First. Such changes in the laws of
the United States as would provide for
the payment of the principal of the
bonds in coin only. and would forbid
the payment of any portion of II prior
to the resumption of specie payment. in
legal tender treasury notes. in which 1t
was expressly made payable by the
law authorizing the issue of the bonds.
and in exchange for which. when
greatly deprecated, they had all been
issued.
Second. The demonstration or silver
in the United S'stes SO thst com
would mean gold OF =. and the value OF
that metal at the same time oe sreatiy
enhanced.
The Hon. John sherman. q senator
from ONO. became the chiet promoter
OF this foreign scheme
On the 18th OF May. 1867. being then
on visit to Paris and having just Wis
tied London. he addressed letter to
the United states commissioner To the
international conference on coinage.
weights and measures. then in session
in the former city. In that letter. which
was published. he strongly urged the
OF his own country: AS coin is not
now IN general circuiation We can cas-
lily fiN oy law the size. weight ana
measure OF future issues. Ihe con-
ference adopted the gold standard. ana
our commissioner reported .hat inns re-
suit was iargeiy que 10 the ie''er OF MT.
on. r'nah.
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81 con,inp;ng the douh,o standard n.
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