n dollar
contained 416 grains, or 31/2 grains more than the old silver dollar,
it had an advantage in trade with China and Japan over our dollar,
and that a coin containing a few grains more than the Mexican dollar
would give our people the benefit of this use for silver. This
dollar was, in conference, agreed to by the House, but was a legal
tender for only five dollars. On final action on that bill, the
conferees on the part of the Senate were Messrs. Sherman, Scott
and Bayard. The amendment of the Senate adopting the trade dollar
was agreed to by the House, and the bill passed in both Houses
without a division.

There never was a bill proposed in the Congress of the United States
which was so publicly and openly presented and agitated. I know
of no bill in my experience which was printed, as this was, thirteen
times, in order to invite attention to it. I know no bill which
was freer than any immoral or wrong influence than this act of 1873.

During the pendency of this bill, the Senators and Representatives
from the Pacific coast were in favor of the single standard of gold
alone. This was repeatedly shown during the debates, but now they
complain that the silver dollar was demonetized, and that, though
present, taking the most active interest in the consideration of
the bill, they did not observe that the silver dollar was dropped
from the coinage. The public records are conclusive against this
pretense. Mr. Stewart, Senator from Nevada, and all the Senators
from the Pacific coast, who took an active part in the debate on
the bill, must have known of the dropping of the silver dollar from
the coinage. It appears from the "Congressional Record" that, on
the 11th of February, 1874, Mr. Stewart 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."

Again, only a few days after this, on the 20th of February, when
he was speaking in favor of the resolution, instructing the committee
on finance to report a bill providing for the convertibility of
treasury notes into gold coin of five per cent. bonds, he said:

"By this process we shall come to a 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 exchan