Clinch Valley news. [volume] (Jeffersonville, Va.) 18??-2019, 1896-09-25
1.-The Crime off873''

decentralization OF Silver of silver.
tin ks he has exposed tue leading
criminal in the 1873"
Col German hassbesn Republi
can all his life, but this does not pre-
vent hin from exposing what he be
lieves to have been the greatest
crime of modern financial legislation.
A few days ago he wrote letter TO
ex Gov. Charles Z. Johnson. who
read 1T in political speech at St.
Louis last Saturday night. The let
ter is said to have created great
sensation. The letter openly charg
es Senator Sherman wish having de
liberately deceived his fellow Ssna-
tors in order to have the bill passed.
The letter reads as follows:
From the record, which / have
faithfully reproduced, it is impossi-
bic to reach any other conclusion
than that the confidence of the
House was abused by Mr.. Hooper,
that the confidence Of the Senate
WAS abused by Mr.. Sherman, and
that by their Joint efforts the most
important piece OF leg. slatiou Of the
century was carried through Con
gress by stealth, and the double
stanf ard, which had existed by the
people for more than eighty years,
was taken away from them without
the consent or knowledge, in the in
terest OF aliens. by the manapuations
described. The men who did this
work did 1t furtively aud fraudently.
because they knew that if submitted
either to the people or to Congress,
its over whelming defeat would
have been insured"
Col. Gorham's letter is an exhaus-
tive one, but it is filed with some
startling facts taken from the records
OF the Senate aud house. He points
out that SenatorSherman made three
attacks upon the double standard be
fore he accomplished his foul pur.
pose by stealth. Of this Col Cor
ham has this to say:
The national debt, at the close Of
the Civil War, was about twenty. five
hundred millions, the principal being
payable in any legal tender money
and the interest in coin. Certain
great banking houses of Europe, fol.
lowing the example set by their pre-
decesSors i'll England, and setting an
example which was followed by their
class IN Germany after the Franco
Prussian war, inaugurated scheme
to greatly enhance the value of this
vast obligation by making it paya
lie in gold and thus increasing the
value of gold.
This involved two legislative
measures:
Il. Such changes in the laws of
the United States as would provide
for any portion of it, prior to the re.
sumption OF specie payment. in legal
tender. Treasury rotes ia which it
was expressly made payable by the
law authorizing the issue of bonds,
and in exchange for which, when
greatly deprecated, they haG all
been issued.
y. The decentralization Of silver
IN the United States. 50 that coin
would mean gold only, and the value
of that metal at the same time be
greatly enhanced.'
After describing the first attempt
to accomplish the Gemonetiztion of
the white metal, Col. Gorham saws
that a second unsuccessful attempt
to accomplish the characterization e
white metal, Col Gorham says that
second unsuccessful attempt at the
decentralization of silver was inauru
rated on the % of April. 1870, by
the introduction in the Senate by
Senator Sherman of "a bill No. 5S9)
revising the laws relating to the
mint, assay offissrs and coinage of
the United States"
According to this statement the
bill was ''framed in the Treasury
Department by distinguished body
of experts" 1t contained II sections
the fifteenth of which gave list of
all silver coins to be thereafter is,
sued, and the eighteenth of which
prohibited the issuance of any not
named therein. The silver dollar
was omitted from the list, and the
inints were thereby to be closed
against deposits of silver bullion for