The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1896-09-22

ITIgWIe1ItU
and shook, and he commenced praying to
be saved from the earthquake The house
shook and ratified and finally down came
the chimney through the ceiling, which
frightened him very much and he prayed
all the more earnestly: 20 God ccme down,
come down and save US; come right now;
come in person; don't send your Son. for
it's time to fool with boys. Laugh
teri Fellow-citizens l don't know what
people have any time to fool with such boys
as Mr.. Bryan.
THE CRIME OF 80.
After the change in the ratio of coinage
to Is to l in the years 1894 and 1897 silver
went out of circulation. At that time there
was just as much silver in two half dol
lars, four quarters or ten dimes there
was in a silver dollar, and the small coin
as well as the silver dollar went out of cir
culation because they were worth more to
sell than to pay out as money. Now, if
there is any old gentleman who can rerem-
Der back of 1858 he will remember when sill
Yer change all went out of circulation
when merchants wrote out little due bills
and used them for change. They also cut
dollars UP into quarters when they could
set hold of them for change, and used
postage stamps. The small silver would
not stay in circulation any more than the
silver dollars The LEGISLATORS of that day
were unfortunate in not having Mr.. Bryan
with them to tell them what to do, If he
is right. They did not know any better, SO
time On only put 3S4 grains OF standard sill
yer to the dollar in the halves and quar-
tiers and dimes instead of 4l21a as thereto
fore. This they did to reduce their value
and secure their circulation as money.
They also stopped the free coinage of those
coins and required the government to buy
bullion and coin this small change on its
own account, and limited it to So as a legal
tender. Another crime never heard of from
the PopuliSt friends-the crime of 1858. Do
you know who brought in that bill? Cyrus
L. Durham, one of the brightest lights of
tee on coinage. He said it was necessary
in order to have the silver in circuiat ton.
1t had gone out of circulation because more
valuable to sell than to a money. That
law made the small silver coin subsidiary
to gold and was another step recognizing
Democratic friends? Thomas A. Hendricks,
the old-time leader of the Indiana Democ-
racy, voted for it, People did not think it
crime. After that we had plenty of silver
change up until it went out or circulation
again during the war. The law, however,
still provided for free coinage of silver dol
lars. Our Populst friends tell us that free
coinage of silver made lots of silver money.
Now, if this is true some one ought to
L will ask here what I have asked all
over this district: How many men, Repub
licans, Democrats, Popuiists, here tonight
can say that they ever saw an American
period of five years before the war? Cross
your hearts and ten me the honest truth.
Speak up What's the matter? SO none of
you ever did? No. and / have found no one
be some mistake about free coinage making
lots of money in circulation. Silver was
worth little more to sell and went out of
circulation, and to-day if we had free coin
age of god and silver gold would go out
of circulation because it would be worth
more than silver and we would drop down
to silver standard at once, and our paper
money. being also redeemable in silver
would be worth only as much as the silver
During the we had greenbacks. and
gold and silver both went out of circulation
because greenbacks could be paid as money
a n az Sif m orc
to sell than as money, and neither of them
remained in circulation.
But you say to me. What makes the sill
Yer dollar now as good as gold? man in
Wells county came into a store holding UP
a silver dollar. and said; rs this dollar
redeemable? Has it a redeemer?" I said:
No my friend; it has no redeemer, but
it has a SAVIOR" Haughter.l Uncle Sam
cents and when do [ viii keep it right
up there at parity with gold, and what
ever is necessary to keep it there. that viii
his word is the word of the people We
want gold as the standard, because it is the
all the metals, indestructible and I'M
changing. 1t is the highest standard, and
We keep all of our money up to that stand
ard. Even a little girl or boy always says
as good as gold You never heard any
one say las good as silver" They talk
about silver being the poor nans
not as good as rich mans? When we
issue a silver dollar we make it as good
and saves it from depreciation.
THE CRIME" OF '73.
We come UP to the close of the war, when
we We're proposing to redeem the green
back. Why? The greenback was a war
It went over the battlefieIds
through the swamps and into prison pens
of the South. with the boys in blue as
they carried the stars and stripes to vic
tory. loud cheering) We Were to keep
a promise and make that dollar as good
as gold. The Democrats, some of them,
said we could not and would not, but we
did do it, with John Sherman at the head
Of the Treasury Department. The first
thing was to revise the coinage laws, and
in 1870 the Director of the Mint brought
in revision Of the coinage laws so as to
make one uniform law. This bill was pend
ing in Congress from April. 1870, to Feb
ruary, 1873. two years and ten months.
The Populists cali it the crime of '73.''
and they had nearly worn themselves out,
but these Bryan Democrats have taken up
the cry after them, and their speeches on
uiist speeches. They say we took one-half
Of the peoples money away from them. 1
have just shown you by the testimony of
old men that there was no silver in circu-
lation. so we did not take any from the
people The law did not and could not
take away what was not in existence.
coined. 1t simply did not provide for coin
ing any more in the future They say this
would not accuse my fellow-citizens of not
knowing anything about it, for it was pend
ing in Congress for two years and ten
months, and it never did have any provi-
sion in it for the coinage of standard sill
yer dollars. They say that the provision
for their coinage was dropped out of the
bill on third reading, but ii could not have
been dropped out, for it was never in it.
Mr.. Hooper, from the coinage committee in
the House, at enc time favored putting in
the bill q provision for coming 3S4-grain
dollars instead of 41212-grain, making it Just |
equal to two half dollars under the law
Of 1858, and here is what he said about it,
Section 16 re-enacts the provisions of the
existing laws defining the silver coins
in relation to the silver dollar which is re-
luced in weight from 4l2la TO 3S4 grains.
thus making. it a subsidiary coin in har-
nony with the silver coins of less denom-
nation, to secure its concurrent circulation |
with them. The silver dollar of 4121b
grains, by reason Of its bullion or intrinsic |
value being greater than it's nominal val |
ue, long since ceased to be a coin of cir |
cuation and is melted by manufacturers
n commercial transactions with any coun-
try, and the convenience of these manu- |
facturers in this respect can be better met |
by supplying small stamped bars of the |
same standard, avoiding the useless ex- |
1ense of coming the dollar for that pur-
pose
Now during all of these two years and
in the standard silver dollar: nobody ever |
suggested free coinage of silver" Why |
didnt they? / want to show you why. At |
that time, in 1873, silver was still high in |
price, not until 1875 did it begin to go down |
to any considerable extent In 1876, on ac- |