Greenback Legislation.

The Greenback in Congress is the title of the pamphlet published on January 15, by the Sound Currency Committee of the Reform Club of New York.  The pamphlet contains the legislative history of the first issue of legal-tender notes in 1862.  The debate upon the bill creating the greenback is given quite fully, and shows most conclusively that the main argument for the passage of the measure was that of the necessity which knows no law;  also that the issue of legal-tender notes was looked upon as a merely temporary measure, made imperative by the existing circumstances, but with the full intention of returning to normal and constitutional methods as soon as the pressure of war expenses had ceased.  The force of the argument of necessity was very great upon the minds of the statesmen who took part in these debates.  It is in fact very hard to realize it at the present day.  The United States, now a united and powerful nation as we see it to-day, makes it almost impossible to realize fully the weak, uncertain and trembling condition of men's minds in the midst of the dangers of 1861-63.  The rebellion was so sudden and so vast, and the machinations of secret traitors so threatening, that it was impossible for men to reason as calmly upon the ways and means of sustaining the Government as can be done when danger has been overcome.

The condition of things certainly seemed desperate to the legislators of that perilous period.  Men who calmly think over the condition of 1861 and 1862 in the light of later experience cannot perhaps agree that the necessity was as great as it then seemed.  They can reason calmly over the financial situation of those times, and point out methods, which are at least plausible, by which the resort to legal-tender notes might have been avoided.  There were those in Congress even in 1862 who strenuously objected to the law authorizing the legal-tender issues.  The position taken by these opponents of the law required great courage at that time.  Their arguments strike us, enlightened as we have been by the events of thirty years, as more forcible than the arguments of those who advanced the sole plea of dire necessity.  The attitude of Secretary Chase himself was one of extreme doubt.  He consented most reluctantly to the legal-tender measures.

During the year 1861 the expense of the war had been met by loans in gold made by the associated banks of New York, Boston and Philadelphia.  Three loans of $50,000,000 each were made to the Government on August 19, October 1 and November 16, 1861.  These loans were made in coin, and bonds issued for them at rates varying from seven to seven and three-tenths per cent. realized interest.

Mr. George S. Coe [president of American Exchange National Bank], writing to Hon. E.G. Spaulding, in October, 1875, recounts in a long letter the opening financial operations of the war.  He said:

"The problem to be solved by the banks was this:  How can the available capital be best drawn from the people, and devoted to the support of the Government, with the least disturbance to the country ? and by what means can arms, clothing and subsistence for the army be best secured in exchange for Government credit ?  These were simple questions of domestic exchange and most naturally suggested the use of the ordinary methods of bank checks, deposits and transfers, that the experience of all civilized nations had found most efficient for the purpose, and that this should be accomplished by the associated banks in a manner best calculated to prolong their useful agency and to preserve the specie standard, it was indispensable that their coin reserves remain with the least possible change.  Accordingly, it was proposed to the Secretary (Chase) that he should at once suspend the operations of the Sub-Treasury Act in respect to these transactions, and following the course of commercial business that he should draw checks upon some one bank in each city, representing the association, in small sums as required in disbursing the amounts loaned."

Congress had on August 5, 1861, passed an Act authorizing the Secretary to pursue this course.  But, for reasons never yet accounted for, he refused to do so.  Mr. Chase insisted upon drawing the specie received for the loans from the banks and depositing it in the Treasury and from thence disbursing the coin itself for actual expenses.  "This first great error," writes Mr. Coe, "if it did not create a necessity for the legal-tender notes certainly precipitated the adoption of that most unhappy expedient."

Notwithstanding this course taken by the Secretary and the disbursements of the coin by the Government, the coin itself, while the paper currency was restricted, came back to the banks in one week.  When the first loan of $50,000,000 was made the banks held $49,733,999 in coin.  Notwithstanding the ill-advised method taken by the Secretary, the coin came back so rapidly to the banks that on December 7, after the three loans had been made, the banks still held $42,318,610.  If there had been no other unwise measures this operation of borrowing from the banks might have been continued for some time longer, if not indefinitely, at least until the new customs duties payable in coin had begun to arrive, and until the proceeds of the internal revenue laws became available.  The customs duties would have gradually increased the stock of specie, and the operations with the banks would probably have assumed larger and larger proportions.

The Government notes known as demand notes had however been authorized in July, 1861, and in August they began to be issued.  All this time the public had freely taken the bonds issued to the banks by the Treasury.  But as soon as the demand notes began to pass freely into circulation, their effect on public sentiment as well as their actual substitution for coin began to cause a diminution in the reflux of coin to the banks, and in three weeks after December 7, the coin reserves of the banks, while still endeavoring to maintain specie payments, had dropped to $29,357,712.  It was this diminution of specie brought about by the circumstances recounted that compelled the banks to suspend specie payments.

In view of these occurrences and experiences it has been argued that if a different method of financial procedure had been adopted, the banks might have been relied on to supply the Government with the means of expenditure, gradually increasing, for some months to come, until methods could have been elaborated for still further extending the financial system, still maintaining specie payments.  The manufacturing and industrial efforts incited by the demands for war material were just beginning, and they would doubtless have developed payments on a specie basis as they presently did to an alarming extent on a paper one.

Secretary Chase in his report to Congress in December, 1861, proposed two plans for increasing the volume of the currency:  one the issue of Treasury notes;  the other, a system of currency issued through the medium of banks.  He deprecated the first mentioned method and was much in favor of the last.  The reason why the bank currency plan was thrown aside and the legal-tender note adopted is explained in Spaulding's financial history of the war.  This book is a most valuable and at the same time a most remarkable production.  The author published it to maintain his claim to have been the father of the greenback, now regarded as the prime cause of all the past and future financial disasters of a country otherwise well disposed to prosperity.  Mr. Spaulding has taken pride in proving himself the principal promoter of the legal-tender Acts of 1862 and 1863, the fruitful source from which all later financial ills have flowed.  He records that the legal-tender measure was taken up instead of the bank currency project, because of the time that must have elapsed before the latter could have been put in full operation.

No doubt this objection to the bank project as proposed by Secretary Chase was a valid one to some extent.  This was to substitute a new Federal system of banking in place of the prevailing State systems.  Chase seemed to have a rooted prejudice against the State banks, which almost universally, in 1861, whatever may have been their previous record, were in good condition.  He rejected the advice of Mr. O.B. Potter, of New York, who suggested that the banks as they then existed should be taken as the basis of the financial operations rendered necessary by the war.  It would have been a simple operation to have obtained legislation requiring the existing State banks, as recommended by Mr. Potter, to take the bonds of the United States as a basis for circulating notes.  But by elaborating an entirely new and distinct system, antagonistic to the State banks, Mr. Chase insured the very delay that rendered his bank scheme impracticable.  Mr. Spaulding drafted the National bank currency Act, but could not as a banker avoid being impressed by the difficulty of putting it into immediate operation.  Nevertheless in the light of the experience of the last thirty years it can be plausibly urged that if the Secretary had suspended the sub-Treasury Act, and had dealt with the banks according to banking methods, that coin money could have been borrowed for several months until the bank scheme, even the ill-advised one recommended in his report, could have been put in operation, and certainly that recommended by Mr. Potter.  The banks, as was subsequently shown, could easily have issued on a specie basis all the currency required to carry on the war.  At the same time they could have placed all the bond issues.

This line of reasoning is tolerably convincing that the necessity which formed the chief argument for the enactment of the legal-tender laws was not as severe and compelling as the Congress of that day esteemed it.  Whatever may have been the excusable error in financial judgment made by the Congresses of the Civil War period, the debates show that they never contemplated the legal-tender note issues as a permanent measure.  They provided for the funding of these notes and their retirement as soon as the emergency had passed.  The necessity, they believed, which induced them to agree to the issue of legal-tender notes would soon pass away.  Charles Sumner, in a terse way, summed up the situation when he said, "The medicine of the Constitution must not become its daily bread."

The publication of the actual facts which prevailed at the inception of the legal-tender note has a bearing on the necessity of their retirement and cancellation to-day.  Issued on the plea of necessity, the same plea of necessity is now much stronger for their retirement.  It adds somewhat to the argument to show even plausibly that the necessity for their issue was not really so great as the excitement of the times led Congress to imagine in 1862.

The Crime of 1873.

The Mintage Act of 1873 is a subject about which there has been a great deal of misunderstanding. And while no well-informed, self-respecting man now casts aspersions on either the methods or the motives of the men who enacted it, there seems to be a demand for a clear statement of its nature and of the method of its preparation and passage.

The Original Bill.

The original bill was prepared in the Treasury Department in the winter of 1869-1870, by John Jay Knox, then Deputy Comptroller of the Currency, under the direction of George S. Boutwell, then Secretary of the Treasury. The laws relating to the mint had not been revised for more than a generation, and much confusion existed. This bill was largely a codification of existing law, with such improvements as experience suggested.

Following is the letter of Secretary Boutwell, transmitting the original bill to the Senate:

Treasusy Department, April 25, 1870.

Sir--- I have the honor to transmit herewith "A bill revising the laws relative to the mint, assay offices, and coinage of the United States," and accompanying report. The bill has been prepared under the supervision of John Jay Knox, Deputy Comptroller of the Currency, and its passage is recommended in the form presented. It includes, in a condensed form, all the important legislation upon the coinage, not now obsolete, since the first mint was established, in 1792;  and the report gives a concise statement of the various amendments proposed to existing laws, and the necessity for the change recommended. There has been no revision of the laws pertaining to the mint and coinage since 1837, and it is believed that the passage of the inclosed bill will conduce greatly to the efficiency and economy of this important branch of the Government service.

I am, very respectfully, your obedient servant,
George S. Boutwell,
Secretary of the Treasury.

Hon. John Sherman,
Chairman Finance Committee,
Senate of the United States.

On page 2 of the report, Mr. Knox gives the following as

The Method of Preparing the Bill.

"The method adopted in the preparation of the bill was first to arrange in as concise a form as possible the laws now in existence upon these subjects, with such additional sections and suggestions as seem valuable. Having accomplished this, the bill, as thus prepared, was printed upon paper with wide margin, and in this form transmitted to the different mints and assay offices, to the First Comptroller, the Treasurer, the Solicitor, the First Auditor, and to such other gentlemen as are known to be intelligent upon metallurgical and numismatical subjects, with the request that the printed bill should be returned with such notes and suggestions as experience and education should dictate. In this way the views of more than thirty gentlemen who are conversant with the manipulation of metals, the manufacture of coinage, the execution of the present laws relative thereto, the method of keeping accounts, and of making returns to the Department, have been obtained with but little expense to the Department, and little inconvenience to correspondents. Having received these suggestions, the present bill has been framed, and is believed to comprise within the compass of eight or ten pages of the Revised Statutes every important provision contained in more than sixty different enactments upon the mint, assay offices, and coinage of the United States, which are the result of nearly eighty years of legislation upon these subjects."

Then immediately following, in the precise place where any one interested in such legislation or attempting to follow its course would most naturally look for a statement of what was contemplated, was a short paragraph headed in large capital letters:

Proposed Amendments.

In this paragraph an enumeration of "the new features of the bill" is made. There are twelve different amendments specified --one of which is plainly stated to be "discontinuing the coinage of the silver dollar."

Furthermore, the appendix to the report gives four tables: (1) Showing the existing coinage; (2) giving the proposed coinage, in which the silver dollar was omitted; (3) showing the suggested metric system, and (4) giving a comparison of coinage existing and proposed. A note at the foot of this table states that "the silver dollar, half-dime and three-cent piece * * * are omitted in the proposed bill."

Some Expert Opinions.

The first draft of the bill was submitted, as above stated, to the leading experts in this country and to some in Europe. Their answers are given in Ex. Doc. H.R. No. 307, second session Forty-first Congress. This document was transmitted to the House in June, 1870, as a supplementary report on the bill.

In this first draft sent out for suggestions, a silver dollar of 384 grains standard weight (i.e., 345.6 grains pure silver), was proposed, being just equal in weight to $1 worth of subsidiary silver coins, and, like them, limited in legal-tender character, and coined only on Government account. From the very beginning it was clear that the old silver dollar piece was to be dropped.

Mr. J. Ross Snowden, formerly superintendent of the mint at Philadelphia, opposed the proposition to reduce the size of the silver dollar, saying:

The Present Silver Dollar should not be Discontinued.

"I see that it is proposed to demonetize the silver dollar. This I think inadvisable. * * * It is quite true that the silver dollar, being more valuable than two half-dollars or four quarter-dollars, will not be used as a circulating medium but only for cabinets, and perhaps to supply some occasional or local demand;  yet I think there is no necessity for so considerable a piece as the dollar to be struck from metal which is only worth 94 cents."

Dr. Linderman, formerly Director of the Mint, discussing the provision for the 384-grain dollar in the preliminary draft of the original bill, said:

Discontinuance of the Silver Dollar.

"Section 11 reduces the weight of the silver dollar from 412½ to 384 grains. I can see no good reason for the purposed reduction in the weight of this coin. It would be better, in my opinion, to discontinue its issue altogether.

The gold dollar is really the legal unit and measure of value. Having a higher value as bullion than its nominal value, the silver dollar long ago ceased to be a coin of circulation, and, being of no practical use whatever, its issue should be discontinued."

Mr. James Pollock, Director of the Mint, favored the proposed reduction of the weight and character of the silver dollar, saying:

"Section 11. The reduction of the weight of the whole dollar is approved and was recommended in my annual report of 1861 (page 10)."

Mr. Robertson Patterson, of Philadelphia, submitted elaborate notes on the proposed legislation, in the course of which he said:

"Silver Dollar, Half-dime and Three-Cent Piece Discontinued.

"The silver dollar, half-dime and three-cent piece are dispensed with by this amendment. Gold becomes the standard money, of which the gold dollar is the unit. Silver is subsidiary, embracing coins from the dime to half-dollar;  coins less than the dime are of copper-nickel. The legal tender is limited to the necessities of the case;  not more than a dollar for such silver, or fifteen cents for the nickels."

And again, discussing the question of coinage profit, he said:

"But if the silver dollar is abolished (as seems to be agreed on, and properly so), a new normal or standard must be agreed on to estimate profit."

The judgment of nearly all the experts being thus against the useless coinage of silver dollars "only for cabinets" of curious coins, it was omitted from the bill sent to Congress.

Bills and Reports in Congress.

The bill as thus perfected was introduced in the Senate April 25, 1870, accompanied by a report giving the reasons for its introduction, the method of its preparation, and an explanation of every section in it. The original bill and the report accompanying it are to be found in Senate Misc. Document No. 132, of the second session of the Forty-first Congress.

The bill, though not very long, covered the whole subject of mints and mintage. There has never been any controversy over any but two or three of the sections. To these special attention is directed.

Section 14 of the bill, as will be seen by the copy given in the appendix, specified the weight and fineness of the gold coins, and made the gold dollar the unit of value.

Sections 15 and 18 were as follows:

"Sec. 15. And be it further enacted, That of the silver coin, the weight of the half-dollar, or piece of 50 cents, shall be 192 grains;  and that of the quarter-dollar and dime shall be, respectively, one-half and one fifth of the weight of said half dollar. That the silver coin issued in conformity with the above section shall be a legal tender in any one payment of debts for all sums less than $1.

"Sec 18. And be it further enacted, That no coins, either gold, silver, or minor coinage, shall hereafter be issued from the mint other than those of the denominations, standards, and weights herein set forth."

Discontinuance of the Silver Dollar Specifically Pointed Out.

The report accompanying the bill discusses these sections fully, saying among other things:

Silver Dollar--its Discontinuance as a Standard.

"The coinage of the silver-dollar piece, the history of which is here given, is discontinued in the proposed bill. * * * The present gold-dollar piece is made the dollar unit in the proposed bill, and the silver-dollar piece is discontinued." (page 11)

And the discontinuance of the silver dollar is specifically pointed out in three other places in the report, as noted above.$

$ Again on June 10, 1870, Mr. E.B. Elliott, of the Treasury Department, submitted to the Comptroller of the Currency, a full statement of facts and suggestions on the bill then before the Senate. This statement was laid before Congress a few days later. In it he says:

"The Silver Dollar--its Discontinuance as a Standard.

"The bill proposes the discontinuance of the silver dollar, and the report which accompanies the bill suggests the substitution for the existing standard silver dollar, of a trade-coin of intrinsic value equal to the Mexican silver piaster or dollar." [House Ex, Doc. 307, 41st Cong., 2nd. Sess., p. 70.]

Throughout all the discussions of the bill, and in every form of the bill, these two provisions (that making the gold dollar the unit of value and that omitting from coinage the silver dollar of 412½ grains) remained unchanged. Sections 14 and 18 of the original bill were in the bill as finally passed substantially as they appeared in the original draft. Section 15 of the original bill was changed from time to time, as follows:

In the original bill, S. 859, introduced April 25, 1870, and favorably reported at the following session, December 19, 1870, it was as given above. The bill in this form passed the Senate by a vote of 36 to 14, on January 10, 1871. (The records show that Senator Sherman voted against the bill, while Senator Stewart voted for it.)  It did not, through lack of time at the close of the Congress, pass the House at that session. But the bill was considered in the House;  and on February 25, 1871, it was amended in several ways, among which was an amendment to section 15 raising the legal tender of silver coins to five dollars, as under the Act of 1853.

In the first session of the Forty-second Congress, on March 9, 1871, Mr. Kelley reported the bill as H.R. 5. Section 15 of that bill was as follows:

"Sec. 15. And be it further enacted, That of the silver coins the weight of the half dollar, or piece of 50 cents, shall be 192 grains;  and the quarter dollar and dime shall be, respectively, one-half and one-fifth of the weight of said half dollar:  which coins shall be a legal tender, at their denominational value, for any amount not exceeding $5 in any one payment."

This is an exact reproduction of sections 1 and 2 of the Act of February 21, 1853, except that it omits the silver 5-cent piece.

Light-weight Limited Tender Dollar Proposed.

On January 9, 1872, this bill was brought up in the House for discussion. Then it was found that some members wanted a dollar piece, though all agreed that it should be simply the equal of two half-dollars, with limited coinage and tender. When the bill as a whole had been thoroughly discussed and various amendments suggested, it was referred back to the committee January 10, 1872.

When, on February 13, 1872, the bill was reported to the House by Mr. Hooper as H.R. 1427, it contained the following provision:

"Sec. 16. That the silver coins of the United States shall be a dollar, a half-dollar or fifty cent piece, a quarter-dollar or twenty-five-cent piece and a dime or ten-cent piece;  and the weight of the dollar shall be 384 grains;  the half-dollar, quarter-dollar and the dime shall be, respectively, one-half, one-quarter and one-tenth of the weight of said dollar;  which coins shall be a legal tender at their denominational value for any amount not exceeding $5 in any one payment."

Sec. 15. That the silver coins of the United States shall be a trade-dollar, a half-dollar, or fifty-cent piece, a quarter-dollar, or twenty-five-cent piece, a dime, or ten-cent piece;  and the weight of the trade-dollar shall be four hundred and twenty grains troy;  the weight of the half-dollar shall be twelve grams and one-half of a gram;  the quarter-dollar and the dime shall be, respectively, one-half and one-fifth of the weight of said half-dollar;  and said coins shall be a legal tender at their nominal value for any amount not exceeding five dollars in any one payment.

The bill containing this provision passed the House May 27, 1872. It will be noted that the dollar introduced into the bill, as just shown, contained only 384 grains, exactly the weight of two half-dollars, and, like the half-dollars, it had only limited coinage and tender. It was not the old standard dollar of 412½ grains, and did not have "free coinage" or full tender. This is the dollar which was afterward dropped out of the bill, and in place of which the trade dollar of 420 grains (with unlimited coinage but limited tender) was substituted.

The fourth and final form of the bill, which passed the Senate January 17, 1873, and was accepted by the House February 7, 1873, and was signed by the President February 12, 1873, contained the following provision:

"That the silver coins of the United States shall be a trade dollar, a half-dollar or fifty-cent piece, a quarter-dollar or twenty -five-cent piece, a dime or ten-cent piece;  and the weight of the trade dollar shall be 420 grains troy;  the weight of the half dollar shall be 12½ grams;  the quarter-dollar and the dime shall be, respectively, one-half and one-fifth of the weight of said half-dollar;  and said coins shall be a legal tender at their nominal value for any amount not exceeding $5 in any one payment."

These are all the provisions of the act referring to the kinds of silver coins.

The old Standard Dollar was Never in the Bill.

Ask the first twenty free-silverites that you meet, "Did the Act of 1873 ever contain the old standard silver dollar of 412½ grains ?" and nineteen of them, if not all, will promptly answer, "Why, certainly, and it was surreptitiously dropped out just before the passage of the bill."  Many a good man has had his righteous indignation aroused by being told this tale. And very frequently it has been told by men who sincerely believed that such was the case. The free-silver leaders are responsible for this erroneous impression. They have, with a few honorable exceptions, scattered this impression broadcast, for the purpose of stirring up the resentment which would be natural if the story were true. But, as we have seen, the story is not true. The 412½-grain dollar was never in the bill from first to last !  Its omission was carefully pointed out in the report accompanying the original bill, and the reasons for the omission were plainly given. The dollar for which the trade dollar was finally substituted was a 384-grain dollar, of limited coinage and tender. The change was made for the benefit of the silver producers, and at their request, to enable them to find a market for their silver in the East.

And the bill on its final passage was voted for by every man from the Pacific Coast. They had got exactly what they asked for.

That there was no intent to conceal the fact that it was proposed to discontinue the coinage of the silver dollar, but that, on the contrary, every effort was made to set forth that fact with perfect clearness, is evidenced by the prominence given the subject in printing the reports submitted with the proposed bill in April and June, 1870, from which extracts have been given above. The following headings to divisions of those reports were all printed in capitals:

(1) Proposed amendments [enumerating among others the omission of the silver dollar].

(2) Silver dollar, half-dime, and three-cent piece discontinued.

(3) Silver coin should only be issued in exchange for gold at par.

(4) Weight of silver dollar should be carefully considered.

(5) Discontinuance of silver dollar.

(6) The present silver dollar should not be discontinued.

(7) Gold and silver coins.

(8) The silver dollar -- its discontinuance as a standard.

It would have been impossible for a Senator or Representative to read the reports accompanying the bill and not know that the discontinuance of the silver dollar was under discussion.

Discussion Showing Why it was Omitted.

That the matter was fully discussed in Congress may be seen by the following extracts from the debates.

On January 9, 1872, in reporting H.R. 5, which (like the original bill S. 859) contained no silver dollar of any kind, Mr. Kelley, chairman of the committee in charge of the bill, said:

"The Senate took up the bill and acted upon it during the last Congress and sent it to the House.  It was referred to the Committee on Coinage, Weights and Measures, and received as careful attention as I have ever known a committee to bestow on any measure. * * * the committee proceeded with great deliberation to go over the bill, not only section by section, but line by line, and word by word.

The bill has not received the same elaborate consideration from the Committee on Coinage, Weights and Measures of this House, but the attention of each member was brought to it at the earliest day of this session;  each member procured a copy of the bill, and there has been a thorough examination of the bill again."

For reasons not particularly related to the question of silver coinage (one of the points of contention being the substitution of the nickel for the old silver half-dime, which experience had shown to be too small a coin), H.R. 5 was recommitted to the committee. On February 13 it was re-reported by the committee as H.R. 1427, and contained a silver dollar of 384 grains, as shown above. On April 9, 1872, this bill came up in the House for consideration. Mr. Hooper, in a carefully prepared speech of ten columns, explained the bill, section by section. The speech may be found on pages 2306-2308, volume 102 of the Congressional Globe. Discussing the silver coins, he said:

"Section 16 re-enacts the provisions of the existing laws defining the silver coins and their weights, respectively, except in relation to the silver dollar, which is reduced in weight from 412½ to 384 grains, thus making it a subsidiary coin in harmony with the silver coins of less denomination to secure its concurrent circulation with them. The silver dollar of 412½ grains, by reason of its bullion or intrinsic value being greater than its nominal value, long since ceased to be a coin of circulation, and is melted by manufacturers of silverware. It does not circulate now in commercial transactions with any country, and the convenience of these manufacturers in this respect can better be met by supplying small stamped bars of the same standard, avoiding the useless expense of coining the dollar for that purpose."

On the same day Mr. Stoughton, another member of the Coinage Committee, made a speech of seven columns, in which he said:

"The silver coins provided for are the dollar, 384 grains troy, the half-dollar, quarter-dollar, and dime, of the value and weight of one-half, one-quarter, and one-tenth of the dollar, respectively;  and they are made a legal tender for all sums not exceeding $5 at any one payment.  The silver dollar, as now issued, is worth for bullion 3¼ cents more than the gold dollar, and 7¼ cents more than two half-dollars;  having a greater intrinsic and nominal value, it is certain to be withdrawn from circulation whenever we return to specie payment, and to be used for only manufacture and exportation as bullion."

Mr. Potter, in discussing this part of the bill, said:

"Mr. Speaker, this is a bill of importance. When it was before the House in the early part of this session I took some objections to it which I am inclined now to think, in view of all the circumstances, were not entirely well founded, but after further reflection I am still convinced that it is a measure which it is hardly worth while for us to adopt at this time. * * * This bill provides for the making of changes in the legal-tender coin of the country and for substituting as legal-tender coin of only one metal instead as heretofore of two. I think myself this would be a wise provision, and that legal-tender coins, except subsidiary coin, should be of gold alone;  but why should we legislate on this now when we are not using either of those metals as a circulating medium ?

"The bill provides also for a change in respect of the weight and value of the silver dollar, which I think is a subject which, when we come to require legislation about it at all, will demand at our hands very serious consideration, and which, as we are not using such coins for circulation now, seems at this time to be an unnecessary subject about which to legislate."

And Mr. Kelley (who is reported as having said afterward that he "did not know that the bill omitted the standard silver dollar") said on this same day:

"I wish to ask the gentlemen who has just spoken [Mr. Potter] if he knows of any government in the world which makes its subsidiary coinage of full value ?  The silver coin of England is 10 per cent. below the value of gold coin, and, acting under the advice of the experts of this country and of England and France, Japan has made her silver coinage within the last year 12 per cent. below the value of her gold coin, and for this reason:  It is impossible to retain the double standard. The values of gold and silver continually fluctuate. You cannot determine this year what will be the relative values of gold and silver next year. They were 15 to 1 a short time ago;  they are 16 to 1 now.

"Hence all experience has shown that you must have one standard coin which shall be a legal tender for all others, and then you may promote your domestic convenience by having a subsidiary coinage of silver, which shall circulate in all parts of your country as legal tender for a limited amount and be redeemable at its face value by your Government. But, sir, I again call the attention of the House to the fact that the gentlemen who oppose this bill insist upon maintaining a silver dollar worth 3½ cents more than the gold dollar and worth 7 cents more than two half dollars, and that so long as those provisions remain you cannot keep silver coin in the country."

In another place in the same speech Mr. Kelley said:

"Now, sir, every coin of ours that is not gold is subsidiary. .... I repeat that silver coin is subsidiary."

Speaking on another subject a few months afterward, Mr. Stewart, then as now a senator from Nevada, said:

"I want the standard gold, and no paper money not redeemable in gold;  no paper money the value of which is not ascertained;  no paper money that will organize a gold board to speculate in it." (Record, page 1392; February 11, 1874.)

And about two weeks later, on February 20, 1874, the same gentleman said:

"By this process we shall come to specie basis, and when the laboring man receives a dollar it will have the purchasing power of a dollar, and he will not be called upon to do what is impossible for him or the producing classes to do, figure upon the exchanges, figure upon the fluctuations, figure upon the gambling in New York:  but he will know what his money is worth. Gold is the universal standard of the world. Everybody knows what a dollar in gold is worth." (Ibid., page 1677.)

These are the words of Senator Stewart before he became simply the representative of a special interest.

Extended Consideration of the Bill.

On May 27, 1872, the bill was once more called up in the House by Mr. Hooper for the purpose of offering an amendment in the nature of a substitute. In view of certain statements which have been going the rounds to the effect that the bill or its substitute was never read, it may not be out of place to state somewhat more fully the events preceding the passage of the act in the House, as they are recorded in the Globe:

(1) A motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill without reading was defeated;

(2) Mr. Hooper then asked that the bill about to be passed be read;

(3) The record reads, "The clerk began to read the substitute" (which was the bill passed);

(4) Mr. McCormick later said, "I ask that the nineteenth section be read again";

(5) After further discussion, in the course of which Mr. McNeely, of the Coinage Committee, said:

"As a member of the Committee of Coinage, Weights and Measures, having carefully examined every section and line of the bill and generally understanding the subject before us, I am satisfied that the bill ought to pass."

The bill was passed; yeas, 110; nays, 13.

The substitute at this time read, discussed and passed was identical, so far as concerns the silver coinage, with that previously reported from the Coinage Committee by Mr. Hooper, and, as shown above, contains no provision for the coinage of the old standard silver dollar, or for anything but the limited Government-coinage of the subsidiary dollar of 384 grains, with limited legal tender character.

The bill was again printed in the Senate on May 29, 1872, and referred to the Finance Committee, from which it was reported back December 16, 1872. After debate the bill was once more printed in full, with amendments, and was considered by the Senate section by section.

After passing the Senate January 17, 1873, the bill was sent to the House, and on January 21, 1873, it was again printed with amendments. Subsequently conference committees were appointed, consisting of Messrs. Hooper, Houghton, and McNeely, of the House, and Senators Sherman, Scott and Bayard, of the Senate. The reports of the Conference Committee were agreed to, and the bill became a law on February 12, 1873.

The Ernest Seyd Myth.

In the campaign of 1892 a story was repeated and believed by many honest people, and by others not so honest, to the effect that the passage of the Act of 1873 was secured by bribery;  that a gentlemen named Ernest Seyd came over from England with £100,000 of English gold, which he successfully used to debauch Congress.

There is a certain class of people to whom any story that lowers an honored name is always welcome. For them no proof was needed in support of this story. There are others who are slow to believe as true that which ought not to be true, but who have heard this story so frequently and so positively stated that some of them may regretfully half admit to themselves that there must be a modicum of truth in it somewhere. They will be glad to be assured, as I now assure them, after very careful study of the subject, that the whole story is an unmitigated falsehood, without even the shadow of foundation.

The facts of Mr. Seyd's connection with the Act of 1873 are simply these:  He was one of the eminent specialists to whom the printed bill was sent for criticism and suggestions. Like the others, Mr. Seyd returned his views in writing. His letter covers nine columns of the Congressional Record.

Section 15 of the bill, that providing for the silver coinage, received from him especial attention. His comments on that one section occupy more than a column of fine print. The opening sentence of his letter, together with a portion of his discussion of section 15, will indicate the spirit in which he discussed the matter.

La Princess Street, London, February 17, 1872.

"Dear Sir-- You were kind enough to forward to Mr. Alfred Latham a copy of your coinage bill for the United States, to be sent to me, and you expressed a wish to receive criticisms on its provisions.

"Sec. 15. I now come to the most important part of the bill, that of the valuation which, according to section 15, omits the coinage of the silver dollar ---[what bill did Hooper send to Seyd ? because the bill of February 13, 1872, contained a section 16 with a $1 silver coin of 384 grains in it] and confirms the debased silver coinage of half-dollars and below, under the tender limit of $5. I am aware, of course, that through the amendment of 1853 the same debased coinage was already established;  but, although the actual coinage of the silver dollar had practically ceased, still that piece was not abolished by law. As this new bill presumably repeals all previous enactments, I suppose that the total abolition of the silver dollar is contemplated.

"Permit me to beg that you will first investigate the question of double vs. single valuation.

"Apart from the theory, why should America have given up her silver dollar ?  The cause of its disappearance from circulation is due to the original error of there being too much silver in the piece. That cause would have been removed if the dollar weighed 400 grains, that being the true proportion of 1 to 15½ gold to silver, instead of 412½ grains, as by the old law. Why should it not be re-introduced at its true full weight of 400 grains and become again one of the active agents of commerce ?

"I am, dear sir, yours very obediently, Ernest Seyd."

"To Samuel Hooper, Esq., M.C.

These brief extracts are sufficient to indicate Mr. Seyd's attitude toward silver, and the manly, dignified way in which he presented his argument. The fact is that Seyd, Wolowski and Cernuschi were the three great champions of silver in Europe. They fought for it as knights of old fought for their lady loves. And it is the basest ingratitude for the friends of silver in this country to blacken the fair name of the greatest champion of their cause.

A garbled statement has been going the rounds pretending to be an extract from the Congressional Globe. It has misled many honest people. One form of it is as follows:

"Ernest Seyd, of London, a distinguished writer and bullionist is now here, and has given great attention to the subject of mints and coinage, and after examining the first draft of the bill, made various sensible suggestions, which the committee accepted and embodied in the bill."

Slight modifications of the wording are occasionally indulged in. For example, Mrs. S.E.V. Emery, in a pamphlet which seems to have been gotten up without the slightest regard for the truth, states that the following is to be found on page 2324 of the Congressional Globe for April 9, 1872:

"Ernest Seyd of London, a distinguished writer and bullionist, who is now here, has given great attention to the subject of mint and coinage. After having examined the first draft of this bill (for the demonetization of silver) he made various sensible suggestions, which the Committee adopted and embodied in the bill."

These words were attributed to Mr. Hooper, then chairman of the committee on coinage, weights and measures;  and, as noted above, are alleged to appear in the Congressional Globe of April 9, 1872.

The sentence as it actually stands in the Globe of that date is as follows:

"Mr. Ernest Seyd, of London, a distinguished writer who has given great attention to the subject of mints and coinage, after examining the first draft of the bill, furnished many valuable suggestions, which have been incorporated in the bill."

Looking at the alleged extract given before, we notice that the words, "is now here" have been interpolated. They are not in the Globe, and the interpolation is done so clumsily as to betray the fact that the one who did it was as ignorant as he was unscrupulous.

Another most audacious falsehood, also used by Mrs. Emery to corroborate her charge of bribery, is to be found upon the same page of her pamphlet, in which she states:

"In the Bankers' Magazine of August, 1873, we find the following on this subject:  'In 1873, silver being demonetized in France, England and Holland, a capital of $500,000 was raised, and Ernest Seyd, of London, was sent to this country with this fund, as agent for the foreign bondholders and capitalists, to effect the same object (demonetization of silver), which was accomplished.'"

This proves to be another forgery, as no such paragraph appears in the Bankers' Magazine for August, 1873, or in any other number of that periodical, so far as a careful search by the editor can disclose.

The following extract from a letter written by the son of Ernest Seyd is interesting, as settling all doubts as to whether his father was here in 1872:

"Ernest Seyd was not in the United States at that date, for the purpose of bribing members of Congress to vote for the demonetization of silver, never having been there since 1856. The statement is the more absurd as he was the first to take up the cause of silver in England against the prevailing doctrine here, and remained a consistent supporter of silver, as his numerous works on the subject will show."

Further than this, Mr. Alfred T. Storey, an English correspondent for The Voice, (May 30, 1895.) investigating the truthfulness of an alleged affidavit of one Frederick A. Luckenbach of Denver, Col., to the effect that Ernest Seyd had told him that he came to America in the winter of 1872-3, bringing with him £100,000 with which to accomplish the demonetization of silver, went to see the son and the brother of Ernest Seyd at London and was shown the letter books of the firm for the years 1872 and 1873, when Mr. Seyd was said to have been in America. He made an especial investigation of the signatures of Ernest Seyd, Sr., from October, 1872, to March, 1873 (covering the session in which the act was passed), and "found that they were frequent all through that period;  and there were certainly no breaks between the dates long enough for Mr. Seyd to have paid a visit to the States."  These signatures were pointed out to him by the cashier of the firm, who was in the business with them in 1872-3. The cashier said that he was prepared to take oath that the signatures were Ernest Seyd's, Sr.

The story of bribery by Ernest Seyd started in Denver, Colorado. It was manufactured out of whole cloth. Senator Teller, one of the ablest advocates in this country of the free coinage of silver, lives in Denver, and repudiates the story.

I almost feel like apologizing for spending so much time on this miserable fabrication. But so many good people have believed it and have been influenced by it, that I determined to state the facts in the case:  That Ernest Seyd has not been in this country since 1856;  that his only connection with the bill was to write a letter to Mr. Hooper, just as other experts did;  and that so far as his influence went it was against the omission of the silver dollar. And now, having done justice to the memory of an honest man, I dismiss the story with the full conviction that those who shall read this simple statement will never again allow the story to go unrebuked and unrefuted.

The Truth about the Act of 1873.

From the contemporary records, it is clear that the bill was before Congress for about three years;  that it was printed eleven times separately and twice in reports of the Comptroller of the Currency;  that it was considered at length by the Finance Committee of the Senate and by the Coinage Committee of the House during five different sessions;  that it was carefully debated in both houses, the debates in the Senate occupying 66 columns, and those in the House occupying 78 columns of the Congressional Globe; and it finally passed substantially as it was originally introduced. Every feature of the bill was thoroughly explained in the original report accompanying the bill, and repeatedly afterward in the debates on the bill itself.
---[Lying again, the 66+78 columns of the record show that the omission of $1 silver coin was not mentioned out-loud, not explained, not debated, not voted on;  it was merely placed in the final bill by somebody surreptitiously]

There, doubtless, were persons in both houses who did not pay attention to either the report or the discussions, for at that time such subjects were regarded as of interest only to experts, but it certainly can not be truthfully said that they did not have full opportunity to know all about it.

So far as concerns the coinage of gold and silver, there were just two important provisions in the Act of 1873, namely, the unlimited coinage of gold and the limited coinage of silver. Both of these provisions have endured and will endure;  because, as I have shown already, this is the only way in which we can have the use of both metals as money at the same time. And though some very excellent gentlemen in Congress in 1878, when the wave of "free silver" threatened to overwhelm every one opposed to it, may have said some foolish things about the Act of 1873, it is a significant fact that not a single Republican of those quoted as saying these things, unless he lives in a silver-producing State, has ever voted to repeal the essential provisions of the Act of 1873 above cited. Except as to the trade dollar (which was inserted as a special concession to the silver producers), the Act of 1873, based upon the experience of centuries, framed by men pre-eminent for ability and integrity, discussed in all its phases during the three years when it was before Congress, will be recorded in history as one of the wisest and best pieces of legislation ever enacted by the Congress of the United States. Its details may be changed, but its fundamental principles will endure.

SUMMARY OP PROCEDURE -THE ACT OP 1873.

Appendix A---The Silver Coinage Section.

As a further refutation of the charge that the bill was passed surreptitiously, and to facilitate reference to the changes made in it, during its extended consideration in Con gress, there are appended here : 1st, a copy of the section in reference to silver coins as it appeared in the draft first submitted to expeits and interested persons ; 2d, a copy of the section as printed in the report of the Treasury Department and as passed by the Senate ; 3d, a copy of the section as reported by Mr. Kelley in the House ; 4th, a copy of the sec tion as reported by Mr. Hooper in the House and as passed by the House ; 5th, a copy of the section as reported by the Finance Committee of the Senate ; 6th, a copy of the sec tion as passed by the Senate ; 7th, a copy of the section as reported from the Confer ence Committee and finally accepted by House and Senate and as it appears in the Act. (1) The following is the section as it appeared in the draft first submitted by the Treasury Depart ment to the experts on coinage : Sec. 11. And be it further enacted, That of the silver coins, the weight of the dollar shall be 384 grains, the weight of the half-dollar or piece of 50 cents shall be 193 grains ; and that the quarter-dollar, ime and half- dime shall be, respectively, one-half, one-fifth and one-tenth of the weight of said halfdollar. That the silver coin issued in conformity with the above sections Bhall be a legal tender in any one payment of .debts for all sums not exceeding $5, except duties on imports. (8) Section as it appeared in the bill transmitted to the Senate April 35th, 1870, and as printed in the two reports of John J. Knox, Deputy Comptroller of the Currency ; also in Senate Bill 859, Forty-first Congress, second session, April 88, 1870 ; in same bill as reported December 19, 1870 ; and as it passed the Senate January 10, 1871 : Sec. 15. And be it further enacted. That of the silver coins the weight of the half-dollar, or piece of 50 cents, shall be 192 grains ; and that of the quarter-dollar and dime shall be, respectively, one-half and one-flfth of the weight of said half-dollar. That the silver coin issued in conformity with the above section shall be a legal tender in any one payment of debts for all sums less than $1. (8) Section as reported from the House Committee on Coinage and printed February 25, 1871, and in House Bill No, 5, Forty-second Congress, first session, March 9, 1871 : Sec. 15. And be it further enacted, That of the silver coins the weight of the half-dollar, or piece of 50 cents, shall he 192 grains : and the quarter-dollar and dime shall be, respectively, one-half and one-fifth of the weight of said half-dollar ; which coins shall be a legal tender, at their denominational value, for any amount not exceeding $5 in any one payment.

(4) Section as printed in House Bill number 1427, reported February 9, 1872, and as again reported February 13, 1872, and as it passed the House May 27, 1872, and was printed by the Senate May 29, 1872:
Sec. 16. And be it further enacted, That the silver coins of the United States shall be a dollar, half-dollar or fifty-cent piece, a quarter-dollar or twenty five cent piece, and a dime or ten-cent piece:  and the weight of the dollar shall be 384 grains;  the half-dollar, quarter-dollar and the dime shall be, respectively, one-half, one-quarter, and one-tenth of the weight of said dollar;  which coin shall be a legal tender, at their denominational value, for any amount not exceeding $5 in any one payment.

(5) Section as reported and printed in the Senate December 16, 1872;  as reported and printed in the Senate January 7, 1873:
"Sec. 15. That the silver coins of the United States shall be a trade-dollar, a half-dollar or fifty-cent piece, a quarter-dollar or twenty-five cent piece;  and the weight of the trade-dollar shall be 420 grains troy;  the weight of the half-dollar shall be 12½ grains;  the quarter-dollar and the dime shall be, respectively, one-half and one-fifth of the weight of said half-dollar;  and said coins shall be a legal tender at their nominal value for any amount not exceeding $5 in anyone payment."

(6) Section as it passed the Senate, January 17, 1873, and was printed in the House, January 21, 1873 : Seo. 15. That the silver coins of the United States shall be a trade-dollar, a half-dollar, or fifty-cent piece, a quarter-dollar, or twenty-five-cent piece, a dime or ten-cent piece ; and the weight of the trade-dollar shall be four hundred and twenty grains troy ; the weight of the half-dollar shall be twelve grains and one-half of a grain ; the quarter-dollar and the dime shall be, respectively, one-half and one-fifth of the weight of said half-dollar ; and said coins shall be a legal tender at their nominal value for any amount not exceeding five dollars in any one payment.

(7) As reported from the conference committee and accepted by both houses and as it appears in the act:
Sec. 15. That the silver coins of the United States shall be a trade-dollar, a half-dollar, or fifty-cent piece, a quarter-dollar, or twenty-five cent piece, a dime, or ten-cent piece;  and the weight of the trade-dollar shall be four hundred and twenty grains troy;  the weight of the half-dollar shall be twelve grams and one-half of a gram;  the quarter-dollar and the dime shall be, respectfully, one-half and one-fifth of the weight of the said half-dollar;  and said coins shall be a legal tender at their nominal value for any amount not exceeding five dollars in any one payment.

The following section was contained in all the different bills and In the coinage act of 1873 : Sec. 18. And be it further enacted. That no coins, either of gold, silver or minor coinage, shall, hereafter be issued from the Mint other than those of the denominations, standards, and weights herein set forth.

Appendix B.---The Act of 1873.

An Act revising and amending the laws relative to the mints, assay offices, and coinage of the United States. [Statutes at Large, volume 17, p. 424.] Be it enacted, etc., That the Mint of the United States is hereby established as a Bureau of the Treasury Department, embracing in its organization and under its control all mints for the manufacture of coin, and all assay offices for the stamping of bars, which are now, or which may be hereafter, authorized by law. [Remainder of section provides for the appointment and term of office of Director of the Mint.]

[Secs. 2-12. inclusive, provide for the officers of the several mints and assay-offices, define their powers, duties and salaries, and prescribe the form of oath of office and official bonds required.] * A large part of the act is taken up with details as to the organization of the Bureau of the Mint, etc. Of such portions only a synopsis is given here;  but every section of a public nature referring to the matter of coinage is given in full,

Sec. 13.  That the standard for both gold and silver coins of the United States shall be such that of one thousand parts by weight nine hundred shall be of pure metal and one hundred of alloy;  and the alloy of the silver coins shall be of copper, and the alloy of the gold coins shall be of copper, or of copper and silver;  but the silver shall in no case exceed one-tenth of the whole alloy.

Sec. 14.  That the gold coins of the United States shall be a one-dollar piece, which, at the standard weight of twenty-five and eight-tenths grains, shall be the unit of value;  a quarter-eagle, or two-and-a-half-dollar piece;  a three-dollar piece;  a half-eagle, or five-dollar piece;  an eagle, or ten-dollar piece;  and a double-eagle, or twenty-dollar piece.  And the standard weight of the gold dollar shall be twenty-five and eight-tenths grains;  of the quarter-eagle, or two-and-a-half-dollar piece, sixty-four and a half grains;  of the three-dollar piece, seventy-seven and four-tenths grains;  of the half-eagle, or five-dollar piece, one hundred and twenty-nine grains;  of the eagle, or ten-dollar piece, two hundred and fifty-eight grains;  of the double-eagle, or twenty-dollar piece, five hundred and sixteen grains;  which coins shall be a legal tender in all payments at their nominal value when not below the standard weight and limit of tolerance provided in this act for the single piece, and when reduced in weight, below said standard and tolerance, shall be a legal tender at valuation in proportion to their actual weight;  and any gold coin of the United States, if reduced in weight by natural abrasion not more than one-half of one per centum below the standard weight prescribed by law, after a circulation of twenty years, as shown by its date of coinage, and at a ratable proportion for any period less than twenty years, shall be received at their nominal value by the United States Treasury and its offices, under such regulations as the Secretary of the Treasury may prescribe for the protection of the Government against fraudulent abrasion or other practices;  and any gold coins in the Treasury of the United States reduced in weight below this limit of abrasion shall be recoined.

Sec. 15.  That the silver coins of the United States shall be a trade-dollar, a half-dollar, or fifty-cent piece, a quarter-dollar, or twenty-five-cent piece, a dime, or ten-cent piece;  and the weight of the trade-dollar shall be four hundred and twenty grains troy;  the weight of the half-dollar shall be twelve grams and one-half of a gram;  the quarter-dollar and the dime shall be, respectively, one-half and one-fifth of the weight of said half-dollar;  and said coins shall be a legal tender at their nominal value for any amount not exceeding five dollars in any one payment.

Sec. 16.  That the minor coins of the United States shall be a five-cent piece, a three-cent piece, and a one-cent piece, and the alloy for the five and three cent pieces shall be of copper and nickel, to be composed of three-fourths copper and one-fourth nickel, and the alloy of the one-cent piece shall be ninety-five per centum of copper and five per centum of tin and zinc, in such proportions as shall be determined by the Director of the Mint.  The weight of the piece of five cents shall be seventy -seven and sixteen-hundredths grains troy;  of the three-cent piece, thirty grains;  and of the one-cent piece, forty-eight grains;  which coins shall be a legal tender, at their nominal value, for any amount not exceeding twenty-five cents in any one payment.

Sec. 17.  That no coins, either of gold, silver, or minor coinage, shall hereafter be issued from the Mint other than those of the denomination?, standards, and weights herein set forth.

Sec. 18.  That upon the coins of the United States there shall be the following devices and legends:  Upon one side there shall be an impression emblematic of liberty, with an inscription of the word "Liberty" and the year of the coinage, and upon the reverse shall be the figure or representation of an eagle, with the inscriptions "United States of America" and "E Pluribus Unum," and a designation of the value of the coin;  but on the gold dollar and three-dollar piece, the dime, five, three, and one-cent piece, the figure of the eagle shall be omitted;  and on the reverse of the silver trade-dollar the weight and the fineness of the coin shall be inscribed;  and the Director of the Mint, with the approval of the Secretary of the Treasury, may cause the motto "In God we trust" to be inscribed upon such coins as shall admit of such motto;  and any one of the foregoing inscriptions may be on the rim of the gold and silver coins.

Sec. 19.  That at the option of the owner gold or silver may be cast Into bars of fine metal, or of standard fineness, or unparted, as he may prefer, with a stamp upon the same designating the weight and fineness, and with such devices impressed thereon as may be deemed expedient to prevent fraudulent imitation, and no such bars shall be issued of a less weight than five ounces.

Sec. 20.  That any owner of gold bullion may deposit the same at any mint, to be formed into coin or bars for his benefit;  but it shall be lawful to refuse any deposit of less value than one hundred dollars, or any bullion so base as to be unsuitable for the operations of the Mint;  and when gold and silver are combined, if either metal be in such small proportion that it cannot be separated advantageously, no allowance shall be made to the depositor for its value.

Sec. 21.  That any owner of silver bullion may deposit the same at any mint, to be formed into bars or into dollars of the weight of four hundred and twenty grains troy, designated in this act as trade-dollars, and no deposit of silver for other coinage shall be received;  but silver bullion contained in gold deposits, and separated therefrom, may be paid for in silver coin, at such valuation as may be, from time to time, established by the Director of the Mint.

Sec. 22.  That when bullion is deposited in any of the mints, it shall be weighed by the superintendent, and when practicable, in the presence of the depositor, to whom a receipt shall be given, which shall state the description and weight of the bullion;  but when the bullion is in such a state as to require melting, or the removal of base metals, before its value can be ascertained, the weight, after such operation, shall be considered as the true weight of the bullion deposited.  The fitness of the bullion to be received shall be determined by the assayer, and the mode of melting by the melter and refiner.

[Secs. 23 and 24 provide for the assay of bullion and a report thereon by the assayer.]

Sec. 25.  That the charge for converting standard gold bullion into coin shall be one-fifth of one per centum;  and the charges for converting standard silver into trade dollars, for melting and refining when bullion is below standard, for toughening when metals are contained in it which render it unfit for coinage, for copper used for alloy when the bullion is above standard, for separating the gold and silver when these metals exist together in the bullion, and for the preparation of bars, shall be fixed, from time to time, by the Director, with the concurrence of the Secretary of the Treasury, so as to equal but not exceed, in their judgment, the actual average cost to each mint and assay office of the material, labor, wastage, and use of machinery employed in each of the cases aforementioned.

Sec. 26.  That the assayer shall verify all calculations made by the superintendent of the value of deposits, and, if satisfied of the correctness thereof, shall countersign the certificate required to be given by the superintendent to the depositor.

Sec. 27.  That in order to procure bullion for the silver coinage authorized by this act, the superintendents, with the approval of the Director of the Mint, as to price, terms and quantity, shall purchase such bullion with the bullion fund.  The gain arising from the coinage of such silver bullion into coin of a nominal value exceeding the co t thereof shall be credited to a special fund denominated the silver-profit fund.  This fund shall be charged with the wastage incurred in the silver coinage, and with the expense of distributing said coins as hereinafter provided.  The balance to the credit of this fund shall be from time to time, and at least twice a year, paid into the Treasury of the United States.

Sec. 28.  That silver coins other than the trade-dollar shall be paid out at the several mints, and at the assay office in New York City, in exchange for gold coins at par, in sums not less than one hundred dollars;  and it shall be lawful, also, to transmit parcels of the same, from time to time, to the assistant treasurers, depositaries, and other officers of the United States, under general regulations proposed by the director of the mint, and approved by the Secretary of the Treasury;  but nothing herein contained shall prevent the payment of silver coins, at their nominal value, for silver parted from gold, as provided in this act, or for change less than one dollar in settlement for gold deposits.  Provided, That for two years after the passage of this act, silver coins shall be paid at the mint in Philadelphia, and the assay office in New York City, for silver bullion purchased for coinage, under such regulations as may be prescribed by the Director of the Mint, and approved by the Secretary of the Treasury.

Greenbacks for Minor Coin Metals

Sec. 29.  That for the purchase of metal for the minor coinage authorized by this act, a sum not exceeding fifty thousand dollars in lawful money of the United States shall be transferred by the Secretary of the Treasury to the credit of the Superintendent of the mint at Philadelphia, at which establishment only, until otherwise provided by law, such coinage shall be carried on.  The superintendent, with the approval of the Director of the Mint as to price, terms and quantity, shall purchase the metal required for such coinage by public advertisement, and the lowest and best bid shall be accepted, the fineness of the metals to be determined on the mint assay.  The gain arising from the coinage of such metals into coin of a nominal value, exceeding the cost thereof, shall be credited to the special fund denominated the minor coinage profit fund;  and this fund shall be charged with the wastage incurred in such coinage, and with the cost of distributing said coins as hereinafter provided.  The balance remaining to the credit of this fund, and any balance of profits accrued from minor coinage under former acts, shall be, from time to time, and at least twice a year, covered into the Treasury of the United States.

Greenbacks for Redeeming Minor Coins

Sec. 30.  That the minor coins authorized by this act may, at the discretion of the director of the mint, be delivered in any of the principal cities and towns of the United States, at the cost of the mint, for transportation, and shall be exchangeable at par at the mint in Philadelphia, at the discretion of the superintendent, for any other coins of copper, bronze, or copper-nickel heretofore authorized by law;  and it shall be lawful for the Treasurer and the several assistant treasurers and depositaries of the United States to redeem, in lawful money, under such rules as may be prescribed by the Secretary of the Treasury, all copper, bronze, and copper-nickel coins authorized by law when presented in sums of not less than twenty dollars;  and whenever, under this authority, these coins are presented for redemption in such quantity as to show the amount outstanding to be redundant, the Secretary of the Treasury is authorized and required to direct that such coinage shall cease until otherwise ordered by him.

[Secs. 31 to 35 relate to the handling, delivery, melting, assaying, etc., of bullion and ingots within the mint.]

Sec. 36.  That in adjusting the weights of the gold coins, the following deviations shall not be exceeded in any single piece:  In the double-eagle and the eagle, one-half of a grain;  in the half-eagle, the three-dollar piece, the quarter-eagle, and the one-dollar piece, one-fourth of a grain.  And in weighing a number of pieces together, when delivered by the coiner to the superintendent, and by the superintendent to the depositor, the deviation from the standard weight shall not exceed one-hundredth of an ounce in five thousand dollars in double-eagles, eagles, half-eagles, or quarter-eagles, in one thousand three-dollar pieces, and in one thousand one-dollar pieces.

Sec. 37.  That in adjusting the weight of the silver coins the following deviations shall not be exceeded in any single piece:  In the dollar, the half and quarter dollar, and in the dime, one and one-half grains;  and in weighing large numbers of pieces together, when delivered by the coiner to the superintendent, and by the superintendent to the depositor, the deviations from the standard wight shall not exceed two-hundredths of an ounce in one thousand dollars, half-dollars, or quarter-dollars, and one hundredth of an ounce in one thousand dimes.

Sec. 38.  That in adjusting the weight of the minor coins provided by this act, there shall be no greater deviation allowed than three grains for the five-cent piece and two grains for the three and one cent pieces.

[Sec. 39 provides for the delivery by the coiner to the superintendent of coins for trial weight and assay.]

|Sec. 40 provides for the mode of delivery of such coins by the coiner to the superintendent]

[Sec. 42 provides for the disposition of clippings of bullion, etc.]

[Sec. 42 provides for the method of accounting between the coiner and the superintendent].

[Sec. 43 provides for the examination by the superintendent of the accounts of the coiner, melter and refiner, and what amount may be allowed for wastage.]

[Sec. 44 provides for accounting between the superintendent and the director of the mint, and for an expense account.]

Sec. 45.  That when the coins or bars which are the equivalent to any deposit of bullion are ready for delivery, they shall be paid to the depositor, or his order, by the superintendent;  and the payments shall be made, if demanded, in the order in which the bullion shall have been brought to the mint;  but in cases where there is delay in manipulating a refractory deposit, or for any other unavoidable cause, the payment of subsequent deposits, the value of which is known, shall not be delayed thereby;  and in the denominations of coin delivered, the superintendent shall comply with the wishes of the depositor, except when impracticable or inconvenient to do so.

Sec. 46.  That unparted bullion may be exchanged at any of the mints for fine bars, on such terms and conditions as may be prescribed by the director of the mint, with the approval of the Secretary of the Treasury;  and the fineness, weight and value of the bullion received and given in exchange shall in all cases be determined by the mint assay.  The charge to the depositor for refining or parting shall not exceed that allowed and deducted for the same operation in the exchange of unrefined for refined bullion.

Sec. 47.  That for the purpose of enabling the mints and the assay office in New York to make returns to depositors with as little delay as possible, it shall be the duty of the Secretary of the Treasury to keep in the said mints and assay office, when the state of the Treasury will admit thereof, such an amount of public money, or bullion procured for the purpose, as he shall judge convenient and necessary, out of which those who bring bullion to the said mints and assay office may be paid the value thereof, in coin or bars, as soon as practicable after the value has been ascertained;  and on payment thereof being made the bullion so deposited shall become the property of the United States;  but the Secretary of the Treasury may at any time withdraw the fund, or any portion thereof.

Sec. 48.  That to secure a due conformity in the gold and silver coins to their respective standards of fineness and weight, the Judge of the District Court of the United States for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, the Comptroller of the Currency, the assayer of the assay office at New York, and such other persons as the President shall from time to time designate, shall meet as assay commissioners, at the mint in Philadelphia, to examine and test, in the presence of the Director of the Mint, the fineness and weight of the coins reserved by the several mints for this purpose on the second Wednesday in February, annually, and may continue their meeting by adjournment, if necessary;  if a majority of the commissioners shall fail to attend at any time appointed for their meeting, the Director of the Mint shall call a meeting of the commissioners at such other time as he may deem convenient;  and if it shall appear by such examination and test that these coins do not differ from the standard fineness and weight by a greater quantity than is allowed by law, the trial shall he considered and reported as satisfactory ; but if any greater deviation from the legal standard or weight shall appear, this fact shall be certified to the President of the United States;  and if, on a view of the circumstances of the case, he shall so decide, the officer or officers implicated in the error shall be thenceforward disqualified from holding their respective offices.

Sec 49.  That for the purpose of securing a due conformity in weight of the coins of the United States to the provisions of this act, the brass troy-pound weight procured by the minister of the United States at London, in the year eighteen hundred and twenty-seven, for the use of the Mint, and now in the custody of the mint at Philadelphia, shall be the standard troy pound of the Mint of the United States, conformably to which the coinage thereof shall be regulated.

[Sec. 50 provides for a series of standard weights for each mint and assay office, and regulates the testing I hereof annually.]

[Sec 51 provides for the destruction of the obverse working dies at the end of each calendar year.]

[Sec 53 provides that dies of a national character and medals may be made at the Mint at Philadelphia.]

[Sec 53 provides that all receipts for charges, deductions, etc., shall be covered into the Treasury of the United States, and that no expenditures shall be made for salaries other than by appropriations.]

[Sec 54 provides for the officers of the assay office at New York and their appointment, and defines the business of the assay office.]

[Sec 55 defines the duties, oath of office and bonds of such officers.]

[Sec. 56 defines their salaries.]

[Sec 57 provides regulations for the assay offices at Denver, Boise City, and elsewhere, their officers salaries, etc.]

[Sec 58 defines the oath of office, bonds, etc., of officers of assay offices.]

[Sec 59 provides that the general direction of the assay offices shall rest with the Director of the Mint.]

[Sec. 60. The provisions of the act for the government of the mint to apply to the assay-offices.]

[Sec. 61 provides penalties for counterfeiting, etc., gold or silver coins or bars of the U.S.] [Sec. 62 provides penalties for counterfeiting the minor coins of the United States.]

Sec 63.  That if any person shall fraudulently, by any art, way or means whatsoever, deface, mutilate, impair, diminish, falsify, scale or lighten the gold or silver coins which have been, or which shall hereafter be, coined at the mints of the United States, or any foreign gold or silver coins which are by law made current, or are in actual use and circulation as money within the United States, every person so offending shall be deemed guilty of a high misdemeanor, and shall be imprisoned not exceeding two years, and fined not exceeding two thousand dollars.

[Sec. 64 provides penalties for fraudulently debasing the coinage of the mints, or embezzling metal and coin in the mints.]

Sec. 65.  That this act shall take effect on the first day of April, eighteen hundred and seventy-three, [Defines change of organization to occur at that time.]

[Sec. 66. Defines the names of the several mints and assay offices, and transfers unexpended appropriations.]

Sec 67.  That this act shall be known as the "Coinage Act of 1873;"  and all other acts and parts of acts pertaining to the mints, assay offices and coinage of the United States inconsistent with the provisions of this act are hereby repealed:  Provided, That this act shall not be construed to affect any act done, right accrued, or penalty incurred, under former acts, but every such right is hereby saved;  and all suits and prosecutions for acts already done in violation of any former act or acts of Congress relating to the subjects embraced in this act may be begun or proceeded with in like manner as if this act had not been passed; and all penal clauses and provisions in existing laws relating to the subjects embraced in this act shall be deemed applicable thereto:  And provided further, That so much of the first section of "An act making appropriations for sundry civil expenses of the Government for the year ending June 30, eighteen hundred and seventy-one, and for other purposes," approved July 15, 1870, as provides that until after the completion and occupation of the branch mint building in San Francisco, it shall be lawful to exchange, at any mint or branch mint of the United States, unrefined or unparted bullion whenever, in the opinion of the Secretary of the Treasury, it can be done with advantage to the Government, is hereby repealed.

Approved February 12, 1873.