Staunton spectator and vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1896-1916, 1900-03-02
THE crime OF rs.
Some Startling Facts About How
Il Was Committed.
TESTIMONY FROM ABROAD.
A Britisher Claims it Was the Brlbe
Money Of England Bankers that
Dealt Silver a Death Blow in
Our Country.

1t has been claimed by some of the
gold advocates that when the bill to de-
monetize silver was before the House
that it had flood OF sunshine thrown
upon it when submitted by the Secre-
tary of the Treasury, April rs. 1870.
and was under the review OF two Con-
crosses; that it was printed, reported
upon, amended. debated, referred to
conference committees, whose reports
were approved by the Senate and
the House, and finally became a law
the 18th of February, 1873. nearly three
years after it was proposed. They
claim it had large majorities in both
Houses, the vote in the Lower House
being ITO ayes, 13 nays.
Now, what are the facts? They
are, first, that the section of the bill
demonetizing silver was surreptitlously
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 unpar-
liamentary manner, without being
printed, read or discussed; third, that
the members OF Congress were deciev-
ed and led to believe that the bill pro-
vided for the standard silver dollar,
when in its ultimate passage it did not
so provide. Let the facts be submitted
to a candid world by the 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 characterization of sill
yer, he said on the floor of the House:
'In connection with the charge that
advocated the bill which demonetized
the standard silver dollars, l say that,
though the Chairman of the Commit
tee on Coinage, was as ignorant of
the fact that it would demOnetiZe the
silver dollar, or of its dropping the sill
yer dollar from our system Of coins, as
were those distinguished Senators.
Messrs. Blaine and Voorhees,, who were
then members of the House, and each
of whom,a q few days since, interrogated
the other: Did you know it was
dropped when the bill passeda' NO.
said Mr.. Blaine, did you2' NO. said
Mr.. VOORHEES,, Il do not think there
three members in the House that knew
it,"
Senator Peck, in speech in the
Senate, said: ut 1.-THE demonstration
billy never was understood by either
House of Congress. I say that with
full knowledge of the facts. No news
paper reporter-and they are the most
vigilant men ever saw IN obtaining
observation-disclosures that it had
been done. .'-Congressional Record,
Volume Z, Part 1, Forty fifth Con-
gress, second session, page 260.
Senator Thurman said: II cannot
say what took place in the House, but
I know when the bill was pending in
the Senate, we thought it was simply
q bill to reform the mint, regulate
lcoinage and fix up one thing and an
|other. and there is not single man in
the Senate, I think, unless a member
of the committee from which the bill
came, who had the slightest idea that
lit was even a squint toward demone-
tizatiOn."
Congressman Bright, of Tennessee,
thus tells how it passed: ''It passed by
fraud in the House, never having beer
printed in advance, being a substitute
for the printed bill; never having been
read at the Clerks desk, the readins
having been dispensed with by an i'm
preston that the bill made no altera
: tion in the coinage laws; it was passed
without discussion, debate being cu'
off by operation Of the previous ques
tion. It was passed, to my certain
information, under such circumstan
ces that the fraud escaped the at
tention Of some OF the most watchful
as well as the ablest statesmen in Con
gress at the time. Aye, Sir, it was
fraud that will stink In the nostrils o
posterity, and for which some perso
must give account in the day OF retrl
button. "-Congressional Record, Vo
lume Z, part /, second session, Forty
fifth Congress, page 5S4.
According to the statement OF Judg
kelly, given above. the silver bill
when it left the hands of the Commi
tee on Coinage. did not demonetize tt
silver dollar. On the contrary, it mac
provision for it's continued coinag'
After the bill was paesed it was di
lowered that the provision for tt
silver dollar was omitted-had bee
surreptitiously obliterated from tt
document. Here we have the crime
l1S73. Who did this nefarious worl
By whose request or suggestion was
that the doctored substitute for t
. original printed bill was not read
~, Uyhn o1,rf off 6oho TO .