The weekly Thibodaux sentinel and journal of the 8th Senatorial District. [volume] (Thibodaux, Lna. [i.e. La.]) 1875-1898, 1896-09-12
COMMUNICATED.
BI.METALL1SM.

NC. 3
1t has teen charged that the Act of
1873, which demOnetized silver receiv-
Cd the signature Of President Grant,
who was nOt then aware that the law
made no provision for the free coinage
If silver. His son attempts in q very
lame way to show that his father knew
what he was doing, and was not i'm
pOsed np"n by the conspiratOrs
against silver. We have tho clearest
possible evidence to snstain the asser-
ton that President Grant was made
the unwilling tool of the money sharks
Of Wall Street and Lombard Street in
the crime Of 1873.
In a special message sent to Congress
on Jan. 14th 1875. after signing the
Act providing for Specie Resumption,
President Grant said:
sin fact. to carry ont the first Sec
ton Of the act would take q period
probably beyond that fixed by law for
specie resumption. 1t would
seem q fair argument in favor OF adopt
ing M or more Of these cities "a the
place Or places tor the establishment
Of new coinage facilities"
The recommendation Of the Presi-
dent was that mints he este blished at
Omaha, Chicago aud st. Louis in order
to coin silver, and thus hasten the re-
sumption Of specie payments. If he
had known that silver could not I've
coined under the Act Of 1878, was it
not absurd for President Grant to rec
ommend the establishment Of new
mintiDg facilitiesf
While we think it absolutely certain
and clear that President Grant did
not know, three years after the de.
monetization of silver that such had
taken place, and prove our assertion
by the above language from his Spe.ial
Message to Congress in 1875, We intend
to make the matter 40 clear and con-
vincing that no q will venture to
question the fact of tho surreptiti0ua
character Of the Act Of 1873, in 90 far,
at least a. the President who signed
the Act 10 concerned. We will call
President Grant in his individual ca.
pacity to TIE witness stand. In q
letter written eight manths after the
Special Message above referred to t.
, Mr.. COwdrey, aud which eau b
found in McPherson's Handbook n
Politics for 1874, pages 1874 and 1&,
Grant used these words:
"The panic has about brought green
backs to q par with silver. l wonder
that sill liver is not already coming int
the market to supply the deficiency il
the circulating medium. When /
does come, and l predict that it vii
soon, We will have made . rapid
stride toward specie payments. Cur
reucy will never 70 below silver aftel
that. The circulation of silver vii
have other beneficial effects. Expe
risuce has proved that it takes abou
forty millions Of fractional currency t,
make small change necessary for th,
transaction OF the business of the coun
try. Sil"er will gradually take thu
place Of this currency and further
will become the standard of value
which will be boarded in . small way
estimate that this will consume iron
, two to three hundred millions 10 time
of this species Of our circulating me
dium.
1t will leave the paper currenc,
6 free to perform the legitimate fuDc
!. tions of trade and will tend to brin,
! us back where We must come at last
: to q specie basis. l confess to . de
! sire to see q limited boarding Of mon
3 ey. 1t y firm foundation il
: time Of need. But l want to &c
! the boarding Of something that has
standard of value the world over
;. Silver has this, and if we once g.
back to that our stride toward q high
. or appreciation of currency wi
be rapid. Our mines are now prOdu
cling almost unlimited amounts Of sil
= ver and it is becoming u questio
"What shall we do with it I" l aug
: gest here q solution that will answe
for some years and suggest to 20
bankers whether you may not initial
it: To put il iut0 circulation nov
keep it there until it is fixed, and the
, we will find other markets."
ia Comment would seem unnecessaI
upon this letter. for it's words are Gle,
and uneQuivocal. DEMOCRAT.