The Butler weekly times., 1896-08-20
THE CRIME OF 49,
If the Demonstration of Silver
Was Not a Crime What
Was 1t,

Was 1t;
Rev. DR.. Lambert In New York Freemsn's
journal.
The Rochester Post Express is
indignant at the use of the above
phrase by the advocates of free sill
yer to characterize the act OF 1913,
by which the silver dollar was de-
monetized. 1t says:
"How it can be considered crime
passes ordinary comprehension"
We propose to show that it comes
within the easy reach OF ordinary
intelligence. That a crime was com.
mitted is beyond all reasonable
doubt-a crime which should have
landed its perpetrator or perpetra-
tors IN the penitentiary, if it could
have been brought home to him or
them at the time. This will appear
in the course of our remarks on our
esteemed contemporaries article.
The Post.Express says:
"It is said that the act was sur.
reptitiouslv adopted. This is a
downright falsehood. No act can be
secretly adopted under the parlia.
mentary rules that obtain in con.
gress. This act especially had flood
of sunlight thrown upon it. Sub
mitted by the secretary of the treas.
ury, April 25, 1870, it was under the
review of two congresses. was print
ed, reported upon, amended, debat-
ed, referred to conference commit
tees, whose reports were approved
by the senate and the house, and
finally became law on the 18th OF
February, 1873, nearly three years
after it was proposed. 1t had large
majorities in both houses, the vote
in the lower house being ITO ayes
and 13 nays, many of the affirmative
votes being given by the very men
such OF them as survive-who are
now most clamorous in denouucipg
it,"
We propose to refute the above
statements by unimpeachable testi.
mony, and show, first, that the Sec
tion of the bill demonetizing silver
was surreptitiously altered after it
left the hands of the committee on
coinage and before it ultimately
passed the house; second, that it
passed the house in an unparliamen.
tary mannor, without being printed,
read, or discussed; third, that the
members of congress were deceived
and led to believe that the bill pro.
vided for the standard silver dollar
when in it's ultimate passage it did
not so provide. We now present our
witnesses.
Judge Kelly of Pennsylvania was
chairman of the committee on coin
age, weights and measures in 1872,
when the bill originally passed the
house. When charged with having
advocated the demonetization of sill.
ver, he said on the floor of the house:
'In connection with the charge that
I advocated the bill which demone.
tized the standard silver dollar, L say
that, though chairman of the commit
tee on coinage, I was as ignorant of
the fact thatit would demonetize the
silver dollar, or of it's dropping the
silver dollar from our system of
coins, as were those distinguished
senators, Messrs. Blaine and Voor.
hees, who were then members of the
house, and each of whom, few days
since, interrogated the other: Did
you know it was dropped when the
bill passed. "No," said MIR. Blaine,
did your No. said Mr.. Voorhees,.
I do not think there were three
members in the house that knew it..
I doubt whether Mr.. Hooper, who,
in my absence from the committee
on coinage, and attendance on the
committee on ways and means, man.
aged the bill, knew it. I say this in
justice to him Congressional
Record, vol. vii, part 2. Forty.fifth
congress, second session page 1,6O5 }
In the Forty. sixth congress, the
same Judge Kelly threw an X.ray
into the mystery when he said: CAL
I can say is that the committee on