Phillipsburg herald. [volume] (Phillipsburg, Kan.) 1882-1905, 1896-09-24
Parts l and q, third session, Forty
second Congress, pages 668 GA.

seconu congress, pages 900 Oh.
There was no reference in the de-
bate to the fact that the bill would
abolish the legal tender quality OF
silver, The house bill changed the
weight Of the silver dollar from 4l2I
grains to 1884 grains, and made 1t, like
the smaller coins, a legal tender for
IS only. Mr.. Sherman had reported
an amendment to strike this out, and
insert q trade dollar to weigh 400
grains, with the same limitation as to
legal tender quality. The bill pro-
hibited the issuance from the mints of
any coins not named therein. This
was to make sure that the 412I grain
dollars would not survive by any i'm
plicstion.
"The debate on the subject Of the
silver dollar came up incidentally
only, on the unimportant question of
the provision to omit the figure of the
eagle from silver coins, MIR. Casserly
Of California objected to it.
SHERMAN COVERS UP THE SCHEME.
"Mr, Sherman stated that the reason
for leaving of the eagle was to make
room for the words describing the
weight and fneness of the coin.
When pressed for reason for doing
this, he stated that il was RECON-
mended by the officers of the mint.
He said: ry .f-
"'Fhe reason given to us is be-
cause it has been adopted as a mode
Of international colnage.n
"As Mr.. Casserly became quite in
sistent, Mr.. Sherman went into the
subject more explicitly. He declared
that the bill provided for information
al silver dollars. He referred Mr.
Casserly to the preceding section (l5),
which, in the form in which it passed
the house, provided for 34S-grain
dollar, which, as he explained, was
the exact weight Of the 5franc piece
OF France. Here are Mr.. Sherman's
words; ~Lri,a,p.a .a,ra
, asIt3he senator will allow me, he
will see that the preceding section
provides for a coin which is exactly
interchangeable with the English
shilling and the 5-frsnc piece Of
France; that liz, a 5 franc piece Of
France will be the exact equivalent Of
a dollar OF the United States in our
silver coinage, and IN order to show
this wherever our coin shall float
and we are providing that it shall
float all over the world-we propose
to stamp upon it instead OF our eagle,
which foreigners may not understand,
and which they may not distinguish
from a buzzard or some other bird,
the intrinsic fneness and weight Of
the coin"
"The section to which Mr.. Sherman
referred Mr.. Casserly was section Is,
which, as it came from the house, did
provide for a silver dollar Of the
exact weight of a French 5-franc
piece, namely, 364 grains. But the
Record shows that when Mr.. Sher-
man uttered the above quoted words
section Is had just been amended by
his own motion by striking out the
384 grain dollar and substituting the
420 grain "trade" dollar. And yet
he told the senate that the bill still
provided for a silver dollar of the
weight Of the French 5.franc piece.
This was a palpable misrepresenta.
ton. '','
1.-The question may be asked, How
could Mr.. Sherman thus deceive the
senate as to its own action of few
moments bebore7 The reply is that
the bill was being hurried through by
him on his statement, at the outset,
chat it's consideration would not
probable consume any more time
than the time consumed in reading
it, That meant that its seventy-one
sections contained nothing Of sufficient
importance TO even require explana-
ton by him, much less to call for de-
bate. 1t was represented by him TO
be merely a bill to enact into law
some changes in the mintsge laws
which the mint officers deemed nee
cesssry. He evidently satisfied sens-
tors that it was not worth their seri-
GUS attention. Those who have any
acquaintance with senate proceedings
understand very we'll that such mere
routine Legislation as this was repre-
sented to be attracts no attention IN