rence was appointed,
which resulted in a measure fixing the amount of United States
notes outstanding at $382,000,000, and making no provision for
their redemption. It was a crude and imperfect measure. I voted
for it because it provided for a redistribution of national banks
among the states. I said: "Because I cannot get a majority of
both Houses of Congress to agree to specie resumption I ought not
therefore to refuse to vote for a bill on the subject of banking
and currency." The bill was approved by the President on the 20th
of June, 1874. This long struggle prepared the way for the result
accomplished at the next session.

When Congress met in December, 1874, the feeling that the remedy
for existing evils was the return to specie payments, was general
among Republican Senators and Members. The abortive efforts of
the previous session and the veto of President Grant of one of the
bills referred to contributed to it. At the first Republican
conference I called attention to the necessity of our uniting, if
possible, on some measure that would advance United States notes
to par in coin and moved that a committee of eleven Senators be
created to formulate a bill for that purpose. It was agreed to,
and, as the names of the Senators composing the committee have
already been published, I feel justified in repeating them: The
committee consisted of Senators John Sherman (chairman), William
B. Allison, George S. Boutwell, Roscoe Conkling, George F. Edmunds,
Thomas W. Ferry, F. T. Freylinghuysen, Timothy O. Howe, John A.
Logan, Oliver P. Morton, and Aaron A. Sargent.

When the committee met it was agreed that each member should state
how far he would go in the direction of specie resumption. When
these statements were made it was manifest that the divergence of
opinion was so great that an agreement was almost impossible. Yet,
the necessity of an agreement was so absolute that a failure to
agree was a disruption of the Republican party.

The first section of the act to provide for the resumption of specie
payments, which related to the coinage and issue of fractional
silver under the act of February 21, 1853, and the redemption of
an equal amount of fractional currency outstanding should be
redeemed, and was readily agreed to. This fractional currency was
so worn and filthy, and it cost so much to reissue, that by general
consent its destruction was agreed to, and its replacement by bright
new silver coin,