![]() When the coinage law of 1873 was enacted all of the States except those on the Pacific coast conducted their business upon the basis of greenbacks or United States notes, then at a discount of about 13 per cent. They wanted to pay existing debts and obligations contracted upon the gold basis in silver, but took care in their contracts to stipulate for the payment of the gold to them, and this has been, and is now, the general practise in the silver States. Then they wanted a market for their silver. On June 1, 1874, Senators Jones and Stewart, and all the representatives and senators of the silver States, were urgent and honest in saying that gold was the best and only standard of value, but they changed their minds when the largely increased and increasing production of silver in Nevada and other States reduced the market value of silver below that of gold at the established ratio of 16 to 1. The English people once thought they could get along without gold for a while, but they had to come back to it. Gold has made the world respect it all the time. ![]() ![]() There have been a great many battles fought against gold, but 201 gold has won every time. They will fight it over again, and the same party will win. Everybody has to say that the laboring man was entitled to a good dollar. The question will never be settled until you determine the simple question whether the laboring man is entitled to have a good dollar, if he earns it, or whether you are going to cheat him with something else. It is strange that the very men who supported and urged this coinage law of 1873 and demanded the exclusive coinage of gold are the very men who now demand the free coinage of silver, and denounce as "goldites" and "robbers" all those who believe in the coinage of both gold and silver. The total number of silver dollars coined from 1792 to 1853 was 8,031,238, while the number of trade dollars issued under the coinage act of 1873, containing 7 1/2 grains more silver than the old dollar, was 35,965,924, and the number of standard silver dollars coined under the Bland-Allison Act of 1878 was 430,790,041, or fifty-four times the number issued before 1873. When we test the outcry against this act with the sober facts shown by official records, it appears simply ludicrous. It was, in fact, a wise measure of public policy, carefully discussed and considered during three years. This has been called the "Crime of 1873," and as the bill was under my 200 charge in the Senate I was held to be the chief criminal. The bill passed both houses and became a law February 12, 1873, by practically a unanimous vote of both parties, and was specially supported and voted for by the senators and members from the silver States. ![]() There was but one yea and nay vote on the bill, and that was on the proposition to repeal the charge made by the mints for the coinage of gold. It was finally determined at the urgent request of members from the Pacific coast to insert among the silver coins a trade dollar containing 420 grains of standard silver but this dollar was made, like the silver coins, a legal tender for $5 only. This bill was pending in Congress for three years, was carefully considered in both houses and special attention was called to the omission of the 412 1/2 grains silver dollar, which was never in the bill at any stage, and the reason for this omission given. This bill omitted from the coins of the United States the silver dollar, precisely as was done in 1853, but provided for the coinage of the fractional parts of the dollar in accordance with the act of that year. ![]()
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