Democratic Sentinel, Volume 17, Number 25, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 7 July 1893 — WHAT THE SHERMAN ACT IS. [ARTICLE]

WHAT THE SHERMAN ACT IS.

Wabash Times: It is safe to remark that not onethird of the Am rican people know what the much-talked-about Sherman act is. The prevailing supposition is that it is a law authorizing the purchase of silver bullion in gold. But this is wrong. The Sherman act could not well be more vicious in principle, but it would be absolutely disastrous to every interest of the country with a provision to compel the purchase of silver in gold. The act provides for the purchase of 4,500,000 ounces of silver bullion each month on a gold basis, or at a i rice estimated in gold. Legal tender n otes are issued on this bullion and put into circulation. The bullion when so bought may be coined into money, but this money is not put into circulation until the legal tender notes issued on the bullion from which the silver is coined are res deemed or called in by the government . Under the act all legal tender notes are made payable in coin. Those holdin them demand gold, aid th’s takes the yellow’ metal out of the United States treasury. A few’ a all Street‘gold horde all the go d they can obtain and demand a premium on it. This is what impairs the credit or th- country. These men hold the key to the situation. If the Sherman law specified the redemption of these legal tender notes issued on stored bullion in either gold or silver coin all the viciousness of the pct would disappear. Silver is completely demonetized when the law' gives those holding legat tender notes issued on silver bullion the right to demand gold in payment. Silver should be placed on an equality with gold. This is what the democratic party means to do at the coming session of congress.

labor Commissioner Peck, who betrayed Lis trust and got up a lot of fraudulent statistics for the use of the Republican national campaign committee last fall, is finding out that the way of the transgressor is hard. "When he was waited on, during the campaign, by a committee armed with authority to investigate his alleged statistics he burned the original returi.s so that his forg'rier- should not be discovered. At first he denied that h 3 had destroyed th i doc umerts but when the fact was brought hom? to him he said they were not state papers and he could do what he liked with them. He was arrested and indicted, but again set up die plea that they were not state papers. The New Yoi k courts have dee ided the destroyed pape s belonged to the state and as soon as the decision was announced Peck threw up his job and fled the country to escape the penitentiary. Unfortunate’y the forged statistics remain as part of the state papers of New York, and when the facts of the forgery are forgotten they may mislead honest inquirers into the condition of labor and wages in the Empire state in the beginning of the last decade ©f the nineteenth century.

Our i eighboi of the Republican mav as well rest easy. The Sher man silver bill which robs the national treasury of its gold sup ply, and the “robber tariff” which robs the consumers of the land are dooi> ed. That s a happy suggestion which says it was much better for the democrats to come into power with a panic on their hands, than to have met with a nanic during the administratin''. They now have an opportunity to demonstrate to the world that they can bring order and prosperity out of chaos. There was a very slim ttendance at the New York meeting of Re publican clubs, and Whitelaw Reid’s letter of regret in which he condemned th<» unwise Republican legislation of recent years and asked Republicans to stand by Cleveland in his efforts to remedy existing evils, knocked all the en thusiasm out of the few who did attend.

The Repnblica i notes with glee the shutting down of some manti facturing eetablishme ,ts in the face of the highest tariff known in the history of our government, but adds that ‘confidence in the future has been destroyed” by the “sweeping success” of the Democ racy last fall. Are not such ac tions designed to intimidate con grass and prevent, if possil le, tar iff reduction? Such tricks have been played by these shemers be fore. Notwithstanding,• the <ob ber tariff will have to go.