The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1896-08-17


the acts passed by Congress are passed
by stealth. 1t is probable that there are
provisions in every act of any length that
congressman who voted for them would
say years after that they did not remem-
Der or did not know were there. But
must have known every congressman
who gave attention to the
act of 1878 1T dropped the silver
dollar. The report which accompanied
the bill used this language:
The coinage of the silver dollar piece,
the history Of which is here given, is dis
continued in the proposed bill.
The present gold dollar piece is made the
dollar unit in the proposed bill, and the
silver dollar price is discontinued.
Nothing surreptitious about.that certain
ty. But notsonly was the fact of theSdis-
continuance OF the silver dollar plainly
stated. but it was generally understood,
for some members objected to it and after
recommitment the bill reappeared with
provision to restore the silver dollar,
not dollar of 4i2 1-2 grains, but one of
3a4 grains which was just the number of
grains contained in two half dollars, and
not full legal tender either, but only to
the amount of IS. AS the bill finally
passed it contained provision for the
coinage of a trade dollar 1t will be seen
therefore that the dropping of the dol
lar was not only known, but that at
tempts were made to restore it. 1t will
be seen also that the bill in none of its
forms even made provision for the resto-
ration of the standard dollar, and never
attempted to make silver full legal tender.
The Bangor Commercial quotes letter
alleged to have been written by William
ID. Kelly, saying that he didn't know the
standard silver dollar had been dropped.
If Mr.. Kelly ever wrote such letter as
that his memory must have failed him
sadly, for in volume 1902, page 2310 of the
Congressional Record, during the de-
bate on the act of 1873, he is reported
speaking as follows:
just spoken If any government In the
world makes its subsidiary coinage Of
full value. The silver coin of England
Is ten per cent below the value of gold
coin, and, acting under the advice of
the experts of this country and of Eng
land and France, Japan has made her
silver coinage within the last year 10 per
cent below the value of her gold coin,
and for this reason: 1t is impossible to
retain the double standard The values
of gold and silver continually fluctuate.
You cannot determine this year what
will be the relative value of gold and sill
yer next year. They were 10 to short
time ago; they are 16 to 1 now. Hence
all experience shows that you must have
nv cto nrA OAir NIB nh hall In1
tender to all others, and then you may
promote your domestic convenience by
having subsidiary coinage of silver,
which shall circulate in all parts of your
country for a limited amount and be re-
dsemable at It's face value by your gov
eminent. But, sir, I again call the at
tention of the House to the fact that the
gentlemen who oppose this bill insist Oh
retaining silver dollar worth 8 1-2
cents more than the gold dollar and
worth z cents more than two half dol
lars, and that SO long as these provisions
remain you cannot keep silver coin in
this country.
And in another place in this same de-
bate he said
Every coin that is not gold is subsidi-
arr. l repeat 1T, sir, every coin that is
not gold ia subsidiary.
In the face of these remarks it is absurd
to argue that Mr.. Kelly did not know
that this bill dropped the sill
yer dollar. He not only knew it, but he
was in favor OF doing it and opposed the
effort made to retain it,
Senator Stewart is another man that is
re presented as not knowing when he
voted, that the act of 1878 demon
OF al 10 lie Of tha
est silver shouters, but on February 30,
1874, he said this in the House of Repre-
sentatiyes:
By this process we shall come to
specie basis, and when the laboring man
receives dollar it will have the pur-
chasing power of dollar, and he will
not be called upon to do what is i'm
possible for him or the producing classes
to do, figure upon the exchanges, figure
upon the fluctuations, figure upon the
gambling in New York, but he will know
what bis money is worth. Gold is the
universal standard of the world. Every-
body knows what dollar in gold is
worth.
1t is doubtless fact that good many
representatives and senators did not fol-
low the provisions Of the act of 1873 very
closely, and the reason was that thea act
had the endorsement of the men who had
made currency a study-of the experts
Men not familiar with the subject relied
upon these experts. The doctrine since
enunciated by Mr.. Bryan that people
who have given the question no study at
all wers better qualified to determine
what the currency of the country should
ho ho ho hou ho;u
currency laws had not then
gained foothold.
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