The evening bulletin. [volume] (Maysville, Ky.) 1887-1905, 1896-10-03
THE CRIME OF '73!
THE GREAT CONSPIRACY LAID BARE
eT GEO. c. GORMAN.

WIS Hhu hflhCSTs Oh INV Su'J
Colonel George C. German, for many
years resided in California, and was
a member of the national Republican
committee from that state from 1865
to 1850. Re was SECRETARY Of the Uni
ted states senate from 1868 to 1879,
and was in the national political coun-
ellis of the Grant and Conkling element
He edited The National Republican at
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 $500, 100000, 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
mediately alter the fall of Napoleon,
and setting an example which was fol-
lowed by their class in Germany after
the Franco-Prussian war-inauguratedl
a scheme to greatly enhance the value
hN qlZinO 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 it prior
to the resumption Of specie payment, in
legal tender treasury notes, in which it
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 decentralization of silver
in the United States so that coin
would mean gold only, and the value of
that metal at the same time be greatly
enhanced
The Hon. John Sherman, a senator
from Ohio, became the chief promoter
Of this foreign scheme.
On the 18th of May, 1867, being then
on a visit to Paris and having just Wis
tied London, he addressed a 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
adoption of the gold standard, and said
of his own country: LAS coin is not
now in general circulation we can cas-
lily fix by law the size, weight and
measure of future issues" The con-
ference adopted the gold standard, and
our commissioner reported that this re-
suit was largely due to the letter of Mr..
Sherman.
Senator Sherman next attempted to
easily fix by law" in this country the
new monetary system so essential to
the success of the scheme above de-
scribed. To that end on the Sth of
February, 1865, he introduced in the
senate a bill (No. 21O to demonetize
silver by disseminating the coinage of
the silver dollar He reported this bill
favorably from the finance committee,
but Senator Z. d. Morgan. of New
York, vigorously antagoniZed it in a
minority report, in which, after show
ing the advantages to the United States
of continuing the double standard, he
said:
I'VE have q distinctive American
policy to work out-one sufficiently free
from the traditions of Europe to be
suited to our peculiar situation, and
the genius of our enterprising coun- -.
trymen." ..
From this stalwart blow by the great |
merchant senator from New York the
bill never recovered. Mr. Sherman
never again called it up. /
The movement for a gold standard |
was not renewed in any quarter until :
nearly two years afterwards, and more O
than a year after the expiration of !
Senator Morgan's term Of office.
Strengthening the Bondholders.
Meanwhile, in obedience to the con- 9
certed newspaper clamor inspired by y
the operators in bonds, congress passed =
the act of March, 1869, ITO strengthen 9
the public credit" by which, without .
any consideration whatever, the prin- =
ripal Of the bonds of the government,
then payable in any lawful money, was
made payable in coin only. The ad- =
this gave to the bondholders I,
will be apparent when we consider that n
the major portion of the bonds were by n
law redeemable in any lawful money z
At the pleasure of the United States. The n
act of 1869, to strengthen the purses of
The bondholders, surrendered this priv n
lege and bound the government to re- n
leem in coin, hen at an enormous pre- "
MUM. p,
This was followed, July IA, 1870, by a
he refundng act under which exist N
ng bonds were authorized to be con- N
'erted into bonds payable, principal Il