The aegis & intelligencer. [volume] (Bel Air, Md.) 1864-1923, 1896-10-30
HOW I'VE Obtained THE MONO
lEETILLIC STtNDIRH.

term itself.
The currency question was up for
discussion before the second session
of the fortyffth Congress, and in the
House of Representatives on February
81, 1878, it was no other than Hon
John q. Carlisle, the present Secre-
tary of the Treasury, who said: ''Ac-
cordiug to my view of the subject,
the conspiracy which seems to have
been formed here aud III Europe to
destroy by legislation and otherwise
from three-sevenths to onehalf of the
metallic money Of the world is the most
gigaHtic crime Of this or any 0her
age. The consummation OF such a
scheme would ultimately entail more
misery upon the human race than all
the wars, pesti!ences and faluines that
ever occurred i'll the hist'ry of the
world Congressional RecDr%, 18th
Congress 2d Session, Volume 4, Pult
j, and IppeHdic page A.
This is strong language and could
only flow from deep conviction of its
truth. But passing by the name. let
us see how silver was lemonetized.
Had the people become dissatisfied
with the coin and coinage laws under
which the country had proSpered
from 1892 to 1873. Was there dissatis
faction wide pread and unIuistakable,
as there is to-day at the present mono
metallic standard Perhaps the
fairest and surest way to ans wer these
questions is to see what those have to
say about the matter who were the
leaders in the executive and legisla-
tive branches of the government at
the time of the passage of the Act,
designated by its title rs an act re-
viSing and amending the laws relative
70 the mints, assay offices and coin
age of the United States"
Under this unassuILing title the
currency of the nation was changed
from Il bimetallic standard to a
monometallic gold standard with
out discussion, either in Congress or
the newspapers. The speaker of the
House of Representative did not
know what was in the bill. Eight
months after he had signed the bill,
President Grant, as is shown by Il
letter written by him and quoted i'll
UcPheTSOH'S H0Hdb0Oh; Of Poiitics for
1874, page 1874, did not know that silver
had been demonetized, although his
own pen had contaminated the act.
The following dialogue took place
in the United States Senate on Feb.
10, 1878, between Senator Daniel w.
Voorhees,, of Indiana, and Senator
James q. Blaine, given as it appears
in the Congressional Record of the
Forty-ffth Congress
'Mr. Voorhees, want to ask nv
friend from Maine, whom | AIN glad
to designate in that way, whether ]
may call him as one more witness to
the fact that it was not generally
known whether silver was demone-
tized. Did he know, as Speaker of
the House, presiding at that time.
that the silver dollar was demonetized
in the bill to which he alludes?
Mr.. B!aine.-I did not know any
thing that was in the bill at ALL AS
l have before said, little was known
or cared on the subject Laughter.
And now | should like to exchange
questions with the Senator from
Indiana. who was then on the floor
and whose business it was, far more
than mine, to know. because by the
designation of the House was to put
questions; the Senator from Indiana.
then on the floor of the House, with
his power as a debater, was to unfold
them to the House. Did he know:
Mr.. Voorhees,. very frankly say
that | did not
General James a. Garfield said as
to the passage of this Act of rs which
demonetized silver, as also appears in
the Congressional Record of the
Forty-ffth Congress
perhaps | ought to be ashamed to
say so, but it is the truth to say that,
| at that time being chairman of the
Committee on Appropriations and
having my hands overfull during all
that time with work, | never read the
bill. | took it upon the faith of a
prominent Democrat and a prominent
Republican, and | do not know that |
voted at all. There was no call of the
yeas and nays, and nobody opposed
that bill that | know of. 1t was put
through as dozens of bills are, as nv
friend and | know, in Congress, on the
faith of the report Of the chairman of
the committee; therefore ! tell you,
because it is the truth that have no
knowledge about it,
The results of this careless legisla-
ton on question of such vital i'm
portance are now being reaped The
evils crept in slowly, but none the less
surely, and today we are confronted
by actual conditions, and not theories.
From 1852 to 1884 the law of the land
provided for the free and unlimited
coinage of gold and silver at ratio of
II to ]. This law was framed by
Hamilton, endorsed by
Thomas Jefferson, and approved by
George Washington.
LII 1bDts ~ dthSOu ulIilIIliS-
tration, the ratio was changed TO IL to
/, and so remained until 1873.
In his farewell address, Andrew
Jackson said: The Constitution of
tine United States unquestionabIy in
tended to secure the people It circulai-
ing medium of gold and silver. Ely
humble efforts have not been spared,
during my administration of the GOV
ernment, to restore the constitutions
currency of gold and silver; and SONG
thing, trust, has been done towards
the accomplishment of this most de
object"
On February :, 1873. James &
Blaine said, in the United States Sen
ate Il believe gold and silver to be
the money of the COnstitutiuI-.tI-
deed, the money of the Americ tn pee
pie anterior to the Constitution, which
that great organic law TeCo-uiH- "a IA
quite Independent of its own tSi-r,
ence. No power was conferred uu
Congress to declare that either metal
should not be money"