The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1896-09-16

rold ~ the single standard In that country
and silver as Subsidiary coin.
In 1884, durirg the administration of
President jackson and under the leader
ship Of Daniel Webster and Thomas H.
Benton, congress adopted the ratio of is of
silver 20 I Of gold by reducing the mum.
Der Of grains In the gold coin As silver
was thus slightly undervalued IL was not
largely coined.
Gold Ba~is EstabIishsd.
Silver could be coined In France at the
ratio of lbh % l, and the owner Of silver
bullion could send IL 60 France and have IL
converted into coin at that ratio, thus re-
ceiving about per cent more for his bull
lion than II coined at the American ratio
OF 10 TO ]. Gold became the only Ameri-
can coin In circulation, and the avowed
purpose of the passage of the law of 1884
was TO make gold the standard. This WAS
declared by the committee of the house Of
representatives who had charge of the bill.
who said in their report:
1.-The committee think that the desider-
alum In the monetary system Is a standard
OF uniform value They cannot ascertain
that both metals have ever circulated
simultaneously, concurrently and indis-
crtminately in any country where there are
banks or money dealers, and they enter
tain the conviction that the nearest APP
proach To an invariable standard Is its
establishment in one metal, which metal
shall compose exclusively the currency for
large payments. T"
This law, heartily approved by Andrew
Jackson, would now be called 1.-THE crime
Of 1884 In 1853, upon the report of SEN
ator Hunter, when Pierce was president,
and when all branches of the. government
were under Democratic control, congress
reduced the quantity of silver in the frac-
tional coins (half dimes, dimes, quarters
and half dollars) more than 6 per cent di-
rected the purchase of the silver for their
coinage on government account, abolished
the law for their free coinage and made
them a legal tender for So only, leaving
gold still practically the only full legal
tender United States coin. At this time
the silver dollar had disappeared from the
current coins of the United States and was
practically and purposely demonetized.
The purpose Of this act is thus stated by
the chairman Of the committee having the
bill in charge in the house of representa-
tives
1--WE propose, 40 far as those coins are
concerned, to make silver subservient TO
the gold coin of the country. We intend TO
do what the best writers on political econ
omy have approved" what experience,
where the experiment has been tried, has
demonstrated 20 be the best and what the
committee believes 10 be necessary and
proper-to make but one standard of cur
rency and TO make all others subservient
TO II. We mean TO make gold the standard
coin. "
Democratic Party Once q Gold Party.
This, / suppose, would now be called
1.-The crime of 1853. Silver was practical
ly demonetized by this act and the act of
1884,
II is certain that from 1901, when Mr..
Jefferson became president, TO the close of
Buchanan's administration in 1861, the
Democratic party was IA gold party, opposed
TO silver and all forms Of paper money. AS
/ have already stated, Mr.. jefferson, in
1906, suspended the coinage of silver dol
lars, and il remained suspended for more
than 80 years The act of congress of 1884
established gold as practically the only coin
In circulation. Gold coins were Benton's
"mint drops" All Democrats were then
"goldbugs" Senator Hunter, in 1853,
during Pierce s administration, secured the
passage of "a law which reduced the silver
in the half dimes, dimes, quarters and half
dollars, making them subsidiary coins,
abolished their free coinage and limited
their legal tender TO IS. The silver dollar
was not mentioned and practically was ex-
cluded from coinage or circulation-yet
now the Democratic party, upon the de-
mand of the Populist party, and when sill
yer has fallen in market value TO nearly
one half its former value seeks 10 demone-
tie gold and TO establish silver as the sole
standard of value.
When the Republican party came into
power in 1861 by the election of Mr.. Lin
coin, IL had TO face formidable rebellion
Gold and silver were alike banished from
circulation, and irredeemable paper money
of all denominations, from 10 cents TO ST.
900, was substituted In place of coin. When
the war was over, the Republican party
sought TO restore specie payment as soon
as practicable. In March, 1869, it pledged
the faith of the nation TO payment In coin
or its equivalent of all bonds of the United
States and 10 redeem the United States
notes at the earliest practicable moment
in coin.
The Law Of 1873.
In order to carry out this pledge IL be-
came necessary TO revise the various coin
age laws of the United States. This was
promptly and very carefully done by bill
framed in the treasury department while
Mr.. Boutwell, was secretary. 1t was thor
oughly considered by the experts of that
department and was printed and submitted
To all persons in the United States who
were supposed TO be familiar with the
coinage laws. The bill, containing 81 SEQ
tions, accompanied by mass of informa-
ton that fills volume, was sent TO con-
gress April 25, 1870, by Secretary Bout
well, and its passage was strongly recon-
mended by him. This bill omitted from
the coins of the United States the silver
dollar, precisely as was done in 1853, but
provided for the coinage of the fractional
parts of the dollar in accordance with the
act of that year This bin was pending In
congress for three years-was carefully
considered in both houses and special at
tention was called TO the omission of the
412K grain silver dollar, which was never
in the bill ut any stage, and the reasons for
this omission given 1t was finally deter
mined, at the urgent request of members
from the Pacific coast, TO insert among
the silver coins a trade dollar containing
400 grains of standard silver, but this dol
lar was made, like the minor coins, legal