Arizona weekly citizen. [volume] (Tucson, Ariz) 1880-1901, 1896-09-05
THE CRIME OF '73.
The View Entertained by q Citizen
Correspondent.

The View Entertained by a Glitter
Correspondent.
"rhs following contribution was re
ceivsd by the Prospector. Its srgu
ments are unanswsrsbls and therefore
we cheerfully give it space
In 1873 there was not q breath OF
suspicion that congress was about t.
| displace silver as mUney metal. That
! act was not petitioned by q single board
of trade, chamber of commerce or group
| OF merchants. There never had been
| any depreciation of silver; and the
| apparent depreciation was actually but
the spprecistion OF gold. When silver
was discarded all debts became pay able
in gold and the result was that the pro
ducer was compelled to give more of the
products of hIs labor 10 pay his debts.
When the war debt was contracted it
could have been psid off with ore billion
bushels of wheat. By the act of 1873
the national debt was increased so per
cent. As values have fallen, the tend
ency was to contract and this in time
produces u SCARCITY of money"
A correspondent suggests that the
CITIZEN by publishing the facts IN the
case in connection with the foregoing
may do the public service, and deal a
needed reQroof to the campaign scribblsr
The evident sincerity of the writer
and his apparent ignorance of the his
tory Of the matter upon which he treats
should shield him from the criticism
due to the campaign liar from whom be
seems to have drawn his Inspiration
A bill to revise the coinage laws, for
mulRted in the Office of the controller OF
the treasury was transmitted to congress
April 18th 1870, with an explanation of
it's features, calling attention to the
omission of the Silver dollar and the
reasons therefor, passed the senate but
was not taken up in the house.
Ii was reintroduced in the senate of
tt And congress-, brought up, discuss
ed and amended over and over again,
after being printed separately by con-
gress eleven times sni twice by the
controller OF the treasury, it finally
became lew Feb. II, 1873, carrying the
trade dollar OF 120 grains, which with |
the subsidiary coins WAS made legal |
tender for all amounts up to five dollars. |
The records show, that the coinage of |
the silver dollar was suspended by |
Jefferson In 1906 and not resumed till |
1884, when unoer an act cham pioned by |
Webster and Benton, and approved by |
Jackson congress adopted the rate of /
10 to i, with the avowed purpose of |
making gold the standard.
In 1858 another revision OF the COIN
age laws (when ali branches OK the gov
eminent were under democratic control)
reduced the amount of silver 10 the sub
sidiRry CONS but made them legal tender
for all sums up to five dollars. Thus it
appears that owing to the suspension of
the coinage OF silver dollars. from 1906
to 1884 and the fact that from 1884 to
1873 the bullion value Of 4l212 grains
,f silver was greater than the face value
,f the Ape dollar, the silver dollar was
practically out of circulation and not an
.ppreciable factor in the currency OF
he United States, when las the Pros
,ector grayely informs us) there was
lot breath of suspicion that congress
vas about to displace silver as a money
METAL ----sn and by the same fell
troke "increase the national debt 80
Der cent"
The glaring sbsurdity of the talk
bout the demonstration Of silver in
873-''ths crime Of 10" causing q con-
raction of the currency, and shrink
ge of values OF property and the pro-
ucts OF the country is apparent, when
be mint statistics show that from 1906
o 1878 but S.031, 238 silver dollars were
olned, most Of which, owing to its
reater bllllon value was absorbed in
be bullion commerce OF the world, $
nile in the i've years from 1873 to !
87S, 81, 905, 929 silver dollars were COIN
d. and under the Blsnd-Allison act of |
S78, 400, 740.04l silver dollars, or more !
han 81 times as many as had been E
oined between 1892 and 1919.
AS to the remainder of the ''argu- +
'snts?" under consideration our oorres- b
ondent agrees with the Prospector n
they are unRnswerable."
Don't forpet the ice craam s..;.l M