The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1896-02-12
Decentralization OF SILVER.
HOW THE FRAUD WAS AC-
COMPLISHED.
The Bill Making the Tremendous
Change Was Never Read-Sena-
tor Stewards Testimony.

On the sixth day of January, 1868, Mr..
Sherman introduced a bill in the senate
apparently to assist in the unificat.on Of
the coins of nations. But in effect max
ing gold the single standard, and section
three of the bin limited the legal tender
of silver to $40. This bill was defeated
mainly through the power of the minor
ity report of Senator E. d. Morgan, Of
New York. Thus Ruggles and Sherman
were shelved for the time being
Says Senator Stewart
sFrom the establishment of the mint,
in 1892 to 1873, there was no year III
which there was not more or less legal
tender silver coins struck at the mints.
There were many years in which there
were no dollars coined, but there was no
year, month or day, Sundays and holi-
days excepted when the owner of silver
could not take It to the mint and have it
coined into dollars or some other de-
nomination of silver coins.
'"The total amount of silver coinage
previous to 1873 was S1O5, ,437 ,0256O.
Only about sS,0OO,O00 Of this amount was
legal tender silver dollars, but all the
balance was full legal tender siver mon
ey, excepting the subsidiary coin, coined
after 1853
Between 1860, the date of the opening
of the Comstock mine, and 1873, the de-
monetizaton of silver, there were 4,337,-
610 standard silver dollars coined; in the
year of 1871, 81, 115 706; in 1872, $1.100,-'
106, and between January 1st and Febru-
ary 18th, 1873, The date OF the passage Of
the mint act.there were S293 500 coined"
These figures are taken from the re-
Of no nf
page 247.
/ call particular attention to the fact
that there were coined during the years
1871 and 1872 2,232.210 standard silver
dollars, and then there were coined be-
tween the first day Of January, 1873,
when the first mint aot took effect, $685.
600 standard silver dollars If the COIN
age had continued at the same rate dur
ing the entire year there would have
been coined in 1873 81 2,492,1S5.
The statement which emanated from
the senator from Ohio that the silver
dollar was obsolete at the time of the
passage of the mint act, and which
statement has been constantly repeated
by the gold press and gold orators ever
since, is absolutely untrue.
The above shows us that free coinage
meant that anyone who had gold or ST.
yer bullion could take it to the mint and
have it coined at the ratio of 16 to I.
But now we will find the sly thrust to
assassinate free silver coinage.
On April 28th, 1870, a bill was intro
duced by Mr. Sherman and referred to
the committee on finance, entitled bill
revising the laws relative to the mint
assay offices and coinage of the United
States.
This bill did not emanate in the usual
way, but originated in the treasury de-
partment and was sent to Senator Sher-
man. chairman Of the finance committee,
accompanied by letter of recommends
tion from George S. Boutwell,, secretary
of the treasury. Mr. John Jay Knox was
deputy comptroller Of the currency.
Says Senator Stewart, in speaking Of
this subject:
"Mr. Knox was soon after promoted
from that office to the presidency of a
leading national bank, one of the great
financial institutions Of New York. Such
promotions of treasury officials who have
been faithful to the banking interests
have been too frequent to escape obser-
vation.''
The bill contained II sections and was
evidently to cover up deception for 1t
was not what the bill contained bu.
rather WIldL IL uTU IlOJ CURTAIN wherein
the deception lay The bill was SO con-
structed as to seem to be mere codifca-
ton Of the mint laws of 1853 But by
leaving out certain workings silver be-
came demonetized as soon as this bill
would go into operation
On December 18th, 1870, the bill was
reported to the senate with amendments.
On the 9th of January, 1871, the bill
came up in the senate and was discussed
in committee of the whole.
Says Senator Stewart
No allusion whatever was made during
the discussion to sections Is and IS; in
fact there was nothing Objectionable 1t
was not what the bill contained, but
what it did not contain that worked the
wrong and demonetized silver"
AContin1ed on Page EIvS1