The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1896-08-12
THE ACT OF 1873.
A Few Interesting and True Statements
Regarding the Same.

Anent the free silver agitation and
in which many statements are made
which may be taken with salt and
without. we print the following which
will prove interesting and which re-
flutes the statement made by several
speakers that the act Of 1873 was
surreptiliously passed and that the
members of congress at that time did
not know what they were voting for:
There had been no general revision
of the coinage acts since 1887, and no
amendments adopted since 1853 In
1870 the secretary of the treasury, Mr..
Boutwell,, framed bill intended to
bring under one chapter all the acts
relating to the coinage since the mint
was established in 1888. This was
printed and copies of it sent to experts
throughout the country: and after
their suggestions had been considered
it was introduced in the senate and
referred to the committee on finance
April %, 1870. 1t did not pass the
senate until Jan. 10, 1871, having been
for some months upon the files of
members in printed form. Previous
to its passage. which was by vote of
Sc to IA, it was discussed for two days,
Senators Sherman, Sumner, Morrill,,
Bayard and number Of others hav-
ing taken part in the discussion.
The bill did not pass the house of
that congress, but was introduced in
in that branch of the next congress
March 9, 1871, by Hon. VIM. D. Kelley
of Pennsylvania. Ten months later,
Jan. 9, 1872, it was favorably reported
by the house committee on coinage,
weights and measures, Mr.. Kelley
saying that. in that committee, sit
received as careful consideration as l
have ever known committee to be-
stow upon a measure" 1t was dis
cussed in the house by Messrs. Kelley,
Garfield, Maynard. Dawes, Holman
and others, and May q. 1872, it was
passed by vote of 10 to l3. 1t went
to the senate and, with amendments,
passed that. body Jan. Il, 1873, after
a discussion which took up 10 columns
of the congressional Globe. In the
house it was again printed. with the
senate amendments, in some Of which
the lower body failed to concur.
| Conference committees were appoint
ed aud their report was agreed upon
by both houses. the bill becoming a
law Feb. u, 1873.
1t will thus be seen that the bill
was before congress and its COM
mittees nearly three years. 1t was
| printed as congressional document
Ii times, and in the report of the
| deputy controller Of the currency
twice, making 13 times in all. 1t was
considered by the finance committee
Of the senate and the committee On
coinage. weights and measures of the
house during five different sessions,
and the debates On the measure in
the senate filed IS columns in the
Congressional Globe, and those in the
house 16 columns. Surely there is
nothing surreptitious nor ''stealthy''
about this.
AS to the so-called denomination
of silver, neither that nor any other
act OF congress ever took away from a
single standard silver dollar any legal
tender quality once given to it. The
silver dollars coined before that time
were then. and have been ever since,
legal tender for their face value.
The law simply discontinued the coin
age Of the silver dollar. and its use as
standard. The reason given by the
director OF the mint, II. r. Under
man. in recommending the bill, was
that having a higher value as bullion
than its nominal value, the silver
dollar long ago ceased to be coin of
circulation, and being Of no practical
use whatever. its issue should be dis
continued; The comptroller Of the
currency gave similar view. when.
referring to the fact that the silver
dollar disappeared from circulation
long before 1873 simply registered in
the forming of statute, what had
been really been the unwritten law
for 40 years"
There was no trsck and no secrecy
about the passage Of the law. It was
a welI-considered measure. and under
the conditions then existing. 4 wise
measure. 1t established by law {.
standard which was already the
standard in feet, and it aided in the