The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1896-07-16

IT makes one sick to hear this clap
trap talk by populists of the crime of
1873" Mrs. Lease who knows as
much of finance as Hottentot does
of political economy, coined this
phrase. Coin" took it up and PEG
pie who have taken their ideas from
Coin" without an attempt to verify
his statements, have talked of the de
monetlzation of silver in 1873 and
speak of that act as crime.
The PLAIN facts are:
~ There was no silver. except
fractional currency in circulation in
1878.
o. There was less than SS0,000,000
of silver coined from the establish
ment of the mint until the perpetra-
ton of this crime.
(3l Though coinage was free there
was no silver bullion presented for
coinage at any of the minis for the
reason that silver was at a premium
and was more valuable as an article
of commerce than as coin.
az The silver people didn't care a
snap about the coinage of silver, and
as it was not being coined and was
not in circulation, and was not being
used as money. the people took no
more interest In what congress was
doing with it than if congress should
decree that water will seek its level.
% Instead of having been secret
the crime" began in 1870 in a report
of the secretary of the treasury which,
presumably was published in every
daily paper Of the country. The bill
was printed and distributed among
experts, an unusual course of pub
licity in proposed legislation, with re
quests that comments be made on the
ACCESSIBILITY of the movement contem-
plated All the replies were to the
effect that as silver was not being
coined, it was useless to keep in force
a law which was abrogated by the
governing law of trade.
(6) The passage of the law was SO
secret that the bill was printed 13
times before its passage that the pro
ceedings on it occupy IA columns of
the Congressional Globe. and that
speeches against making a gold dollar
the unit of value were made by Clark
son N.Potter, W.L.Stoughton, Samuel
Hooper and W. ID. Kelley. The editor
of The Pilot has read copious extracts
from editorials in many of the leading
papers of the country on this bill
while it was before congress, but of
course these were not preserved. The
other facts here given are official and
should certainly have more weight
than the unsupported word of Mrs.
| Lease.
~ Silver was not demonetized but
was made a legal tender for an
amount not exceeding five dollars.
That is a right not given national
bank currency a form of money which
is extremely distasteful to the popu-
lists
(S) The full legal tender quality
of silver was restored in 1878, and it
was required that at least S20O0,OOO
per month of it be coined. The
government would thus coin al
most one third as much silver in
one year as the total coinage of
that metal up to 1873 from the
institution Of the government. Under
this act S41S,332,55O of silver was
coined. That is, the crime" resulted
IN tbs coinage of about times as
much silver in II years as was coined
before the preparation of the CRIME,
IN so years. In 1890 the amount of
silver to be coined, or purchased, per
month was more than doubled and IN
a little over three years silver was
purchased and certificates put in
circulation to the amount of $152,-
735, lSS or two times as much as
during the so years preceding the
| preparation of the ''crime" upon
which Mrs. Leases followers are
bowling SO Justify.
While the results Of the crime were
being felt in contraction of prices,
over 6 times as much silver was coined
as before the enactment of the crime
when times were good
1t makes one sick to hear pupils of
Coin" make use of his arguments
without any attempt at verifying
them and with proof Of their falsity
SO abundant. The arguments of the
populists that values have decreased
because of the demonstration of
silver is the veriest nonsense in the
light of facts.