People's voice. [volume] (Wellington, Sumner County, Kansas) 1890-1917, 1896-02-06
About the year 1877 the American

About the year 1877 the American
people made discoyery-Dot pleas
ing discovery. They found that they
were ginned In trap which had beer
set for them without their knowledge
four years previously. The date fol
the resumption Of specie payment:
was near at hand. The means fol
such resumption had to be provided
The national treasury could not re.
sumo on nothing, but must be supplied
In advance with the coin necessary
for such an enormous transaction and
for keeping up the work when il
should be once begun. The people
had been supposing that both gold
and silver would be gathered without
discrimination for the discharge Of
the debts Of the government. To
their amazement, they found that
they had been beaten by a game. Not
a silver dollar was coming or could be
legally coined at the minis to meet
the coming emergency.
Only a few years before, the enor-
nous treasures Of the Rocky Mount
aims had been laid bare. 1t were hard
to say whether there was greater
cause Of amazement or rage when the
people found that the very resource
to which Lincoln had pointed in his
last public utterance as the means Of
paying the war debt had been Dur.
posely cut Off When the reason of
this was inquired, ShyIock pointed his
benevolent finger to the act OF 1873.
It was unlawful to coin silver dollars!
The debt must be paid in gold. When
the inquiry was pressed as to whether
the silver dollar had not always been
the dollar Of the constitution and the
statute, whether it had not been In
particular the dollar Of primary money
when the bonded debt was incurred,
Shyl0ck shufled and lied and made an
affidavit that he was an honest man!
Hereupon a clamor-frst of many
arose in the country. The people
broke into insurrection against the
money power. There was a wrestle
between them and their oppressors.
For the time being their representa-
tives in congress, less swayed than
afterwards by the tremendous inhu-
ences around them, stood fast for
truth and right. A battle was fought
in the second session of the Forty-ffth
congress, and on the 2lst Of February,
1878, the act was triumphantly passed
for the restoration of the silver dollar
and for the compulsory coinage of
that unit at the minimum rate of two
millions Of dollars a month.
We need not here recount how the
Act of demonstration was sent to
President Hayes of the United States
to meet at his hands the puny rebuff
of a veto. Nor need we refer to the
other fact that the veto itself was
buried, without a word Of debate, un-
der a majority Of 46 to 10 in the senate,
and of 1876 to 70 in the house of repre-
sentatives. So perish all similar docu-
ments evermorel
1t was by means Of the Act OF 1878
that the government Of the United
States was enabled to make good its
declaration Of specie payments at the
appointed time. Within eleven
months the ordeal came and was
passed. The premium on gold was
obliterated. Both money metals stood
side by side in the accomplishment Of
this work. The first metallic money
that reappeared in the channels of
ordinary trade was the old silver dol.
lar, restored, not indeed to Its unlim.
Tied and equal rank, but to measure
of efficiency. ivy
The Act Of Reconciliation was in
force for twelve years and five months.
In this period at the minis Of the
United States were coined more than
three hundred million silver dollars. |
These were added to the volume Of