Willmar tribune. [volume] (Willmar, Minn.) 1895-1931, 1896-01-14
TUESDAY, JANUARY 18th, 1896.
SENATOR JOHN SHERMAN.

He is real genius. A worthy
brother of General Uncle Billy
The greatest strategist on the
parliamentary battlefield Of the
age. For thirty years he has
pursued his one and only object
in life, the unifcation Of the mon
ey of the world on
the single gold standard.
And his course has been as per-
sistent and victorious as the
march from Chattanooga to At
lanta and the sea.
There is no more instructive
chapter in modern political histo-
nv than the career of u. S. Sena-
tor John Sherman during the
last thirty years. In that time,
he almost alone, it may be said,
and is spite of an overwhelming
public sentiment against him in
and out of Congress, has changed
the money standard of the coun-
try; changed one of the funda-
mental principles i,nbedded in
the organic law of the nation.
And he has done this by a series
Of strategic movements so skill
fully executed that the general
public sentiment of the country
has stood, and stands today pow
erless to successfully oppose the
victorious march of the genius
of this one man. John Sherman
is a veritable Napoleon of finance.
What Napoleon was in war,
Sherman has been on finance.
Like Napoleon, his conquest does
not confne itself to his native
soil, but extends almost world
wide.
His career begins in 1867 at the
monetary conference in Paris at
the Worlds Exposition. His
plan seems tohave matured some
time before that event. Hon. S.
B. Ruggles was sent as delegate
from this country to the confer
ence. Mr.. Sherman, himself was
also in Paris, but the work was
done mainly through Ruggles in
committee before the convention
Europe, outside of England, was
at that time on the 'bi-metalic
standard, believed in it, and had
no idea of abandoning it. Yet
that conference declared for the
single gold standard. How was
this brought about?
1t was'the genius of John Sher-
man that swayed the conference.
While in Paris John Sherman
wrote a letter May Is. 1867. to
Mr.. Ruggles outlining his pro
gram of a world standard of gold
In that letter he, John Sherman
says: ''The United States can
not become party to the Latin
Unionformed in 1865. That I'm
ion implied the bi-metalic stand
ard, and the United States could
not agree upon the silver stand
ard supposed to be implied in the
Latin Union.
Mr.. Ruggles represented to
the conference that United States
would undoubtedly in a short
time go to the single gold stand
ard. He greatly exaggerated the
production of gold in the United
States, and predicted an annual
product in the future of over
100000 900. It was on the basis
of these exaggerated representa-
tions of Mr.. Ruggles, in regard to
gold production here, and as to
our future policy that the confer
ence acted. Mr.. Sherman him
self confirms this view of the case
in a report on a finance bill intro
duced in the Senate in 1868.
On Jan, 6, 1868, Mr.. Sherman
introduced S. III, in relation to-
gold and silver coinage. This
was the first bill introduced in
Congress for the demonstration
Of silver. Itproposed the red uc.
tion Of the weight Of the gold dol
lar and also-1of the minor silver
coins, and prohi biting the coinage
81 the silver dolla
Oh he9th, st J ane, 1856, sgna1.