The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1896-09-10

OIle Oh the most jealous advocates III III
diara of debasing currency by the free and
unlimited coinage of silver is Prof. John C.
Ridpath, the present Popocratic candidate
for Congress in the Fifth district. There
is no noisier denouncer of 1.-The crime of
1879 in the State than he. Professor Rid
path is the author, or compiler of some
historical works, including "A Popular His
tory of the United States Of America from
the Aboriginal Times to the Present Day.
AS the work published in 1891 it pur-
ports, of course, to bring the history of
the United States down to that date. In
his preface the author says he has aimed
ITO give an accurate and spirited MARIA
tive of the principal events in our national
history" and to give to every fact,
whether of peace or war. it's true place
and Importance in the narrative" This
history published eight years after the
passage of the coinage act which consti-
tutes the so-called crime of 1873 yet the
author does not much intimate that
a crime was perpetrated or that any wrong
done or contemplated. The only allu-
sion to the so-called crime is in the fol-
lowing language:
In the years 1894 at time when, ow-
ing to the premium on gold and silver,
both metals We're out of circulat ton. a Sc
ries of acts were adopted by Congress
bearing uDon the standard unit of value,
whereby the legal-tender quality of silver
was first abridged and then abolished.
These enactments were completed by the
report of the coinage committee in 1874. by
which the silver dollar was finally omitted
from the list of coins to be struck at the
national minis. The general effect of these
acts was to leave the gold dollar the sing:e
standard Init Ct value in the United States.
That is an incomplete but, considering
the condensed character of the work, not
unfair statement of the scope and eff
feet of the act of 1873. but there is no init
nation of anything sinister wrong in
the legislation. On the next page the his
torian says:
Early in 1873 a measure was passed by
Congress for the restoration of the legal
tender quality of the old silver dollar, ana
providing for the compulsory coinage of
that Unit at the minis at the rate of not
less than 81 600 900 a month The President
returned the bill with his objections, but
the veto was. crushed under a tremendous
majority; for nearly three-fourths of the
members of Congress, without respect to
party affiliations, gave their support to the
measure and the old double standard of
values was restored.
Here again we have very matter-of-fact
statement without any intimation that
crime perpetrated in 1873 The two
prime duties of a historian are to know
the truth and to tell it, to ascertain facts
and to state them. If in 1873 a legislative
crime perpetrated affecting the rights
and interests of the people and the pros
perity of the country, it certainly was the
duty of an alleged historian. writing eight
years afterwards, to expose and denounce
it, If the act of 1873 was "a crime that
was the essential and paramount feature
of the case, and to allude to the act with
out stating that fact was objectionable.
If a crime was perpetrated the fact that
Professor Ridpath. writing history in 1881,
made no allusion to it shows that he either
telling it; that he had not ascertaned the
facts or was willing to conceal them. There
is one other condition. viz: that no crime
was committed, and that is the conclusion
ali intelligent men have reached To those
who are disposed to attach any Importance
to the present asseverations of Professor
Ridpath and other free silverites on the
subject the Journal commends the state
ment of Hon. Carl Schurz in his recent
speech:
AS conscientious student of contem-
pCraneouS history | am bound TO say that
in the forty years during which / have
been an attentive observer of public af-
fairs | have never witnessed nor heard of
such INSCRIPTIONS, shameless, persistent
audaciouS, cumulative, gigantic lying as
has been and is now done with regard to
the act of 1873, its origin, itG nature and its
consequences.