Q. David Bowers
Silver Producers, Unite! (1893)
The following is a broadside published in Butte, Montana
On June 28, 1893:
"To the Friends of Silver:
"DEAR SIR:
"The undersigned take the liberty of calling your attention to the critical situation of the market for silver bullion.
"We also wish you to note the fact that the coming Congress will be the theatre of the greatest battle that has ever been waged between the advocates of the gold and the bimetallic standards, representing the interests of the European usurers and their American agents on the one hand, and those of the great producing classes of the nation on the other.
"We invite your most serious consideration to a fact not creditable to the silver miners of Montana, i.e., that while the representatives of every interest of the United States are preparing for this great conflict, the producers of silver are inactive, irresolute and idle, waiting in dumb dismay for something to turn up, instead of proceeding themselves to playa part in determining results clearly within their reach.
"In view of this situation, we take the liberty of asking all mine owners, proprietors of reduction works and all others interested in the production of silver, to meet in convention at the Broadwater Hotel, near the city of Helena, on the 6th day ofJuly, where it is hoped that a perfect organization will be perfected, so that silver producers will do their own fair shareof the burden of the battle that is now on.
"We feel that we have the right to demand your personal attendance, or that you be represented by a person with full authority to act for you and your company.
"This is a serious crisis and a failure at this time to respond to the call of duty and self interest, and will betoken an indifference which can only result in serious criticism of our motives and the justice of our cause.
"Marcus Daly, Samuel T. Hauser, Anton M. Holter, James A. Murray, Wm. E. Hall, C.H. Palmer, T. Couch, Henry Williams, Jos. K. Clark, JE. Gaylord, AJ. Seligman, F.A. Heinze, Charles Molsen, W. Thos. Hart, R.T. Bayliss, B.F. White, Samuel Ward.
"All who desire to attend the conference should notify Mr. James B. Lehigh, chairman of the Silver Committee of the Trans-Mississippi Congress.
"Congressman Richard P. Bland, the great silveradvocate, is here. Reviewing the silver situation as affected by the action of the Indian government, he said: 'Heroic measures will be required on the part of this government for remonetizing silver. Most emphatically I do not think it is a knock out for silver in this country. On the contrary, I think if Congress does not adopt some measure looking to a bi-metallic standard, it will make the battle of standards the coming issue in this country. This battle will disrupt political parties and cause a contest between the commercial centers and the agricultural districts in this country. The free coinage of silver is demanded by the laboring classes, and this is what the free silver men will now demand in Congress. The demonetization of silver is a conspiracy between the banking institutions of England, and the eastern portion of the United States, and the suspension of silver coinage in India is a part of this conspiracy to bulldoze the Congress of the United States to the adoption of a single gold standard.
"I do not believe they will succeed. If the Democratic Congress stands true to its pledges this conspiracy will not succeed. The low price of silver is due to the fact that this and other governments are discriminating against it, and that the money interests of this and other countries have fought it. No important commercial country has recently had a mint for the free exchange of gold and silver. An effort has been made to dam up silver and prevent its free exchange to the commerce of the nations. That the United States, by free coinage, can restore silver to its original value was practically admitted by the British Royal Commission of 1888, consisting of twelve members, six of them uncompromising gold-monometallists. They admitted that France alone could maintain a parity of the two metals at a ratio of 15-1/2 to 1. This country is stronger in material wealth, developed and undeveloped, than France and England combined.'Washington Telegram, June 28th, 1893."
The Year 1893 in History
Poor conditions on the American financial markets, which had begun in 1892 when European investors withdrew funds, continued apace, creating the Panic of '93. On May 5th the stock market dropped sharply, and a collapse occurred several weeks later on June 27th. A depression was underway, and before the end of the year, over 500 banks failed, 15,000 businesses closed, and 74 railroads were bankrupted. The repeal on November 1, 1893 of the Sherman Silver Purchase Act of 1890 did not help matters. Government subsidy to silver ended, and prices fell. "Free and unlimited coinage of silver" became the rallying cry of politicians, who felt that a stronger market for silver would benefit miners, farmers, and others. The slump in the economy would last through at least 1897. The Comstock Lode was for all practical purposes, exhausted.
The Hawaiian Islands were declared a protectorate of the United States. In 1898 it would be annexed as a territory, and in 1959 it would become the 50th state. The Chinese Exclusion Act passed in 1892 was declared unconstitutional.
Henry Ford, age 3D, tested his first gasoline-powered automobile, a step that would lead to the founding of one of America's greatest industrial empires. Decades later, the inexpensive and ubiquitous Model T Ford would bring automobile ownership within the reach of just about everyone. In Salt Lake City, the immense Mormon Tabernacle was dedicated.
A nationwide interest in the difficulties experienced by the working class and in the vicissitudes of slum life arose around this time. Maggie, a Girl of the Streets, a novel by Stephen Crane, was well received, as were other books, songs, and plays on these subjects. However, it would not be until early inthe twentieth century that effective labor laws were enacted on a widespread basis. A familar legacy today of the year 1893 is the song, Happy Birthday to You, first published as Good Morning to All. Antonin Dvorak's New World Symphony was premiered in New York City. Stage plays In Mizzoura and In Old Kentucky made their debut and went on to become favorites all over America. The composer Tchaikovsky died of cholera from drinking unboiled water, not long after the premiere of his masterwork .the "Pathetique" Symphony. Many thought the act deliberate; the symphony contains references to death including a quotation from the Russian Orthodox liturgy for the dead.
The World's Columbian Exposition, dedicated on October 12, 1892, was thrown open to the public in 1893, a year behind schedule. On sale for $1 each were Columbian half dollars and Isabella quarters. The United States Mint Collection was exhibited and drew many onlookers. Before year's end, over 27 million people came to ride the Ferris Wheel, to see the risque Little Egypt, and to partake of other attractions, including musicals staged by Florenz Ziegfeld, who would go on to create the famous Ziegfeld Follies. Anthony Comstock sought to close the Exposition because of the "Egyptian" cootch dancers. The resulting publicity doubtless increased attendance: everyone wanted to see what all the fuss what about.
Western expansion had been part of American life in the nineteenth century, but the first to widely publicize its importance was historian Frederick Jackson Turner, who delivered a paper, "The Significance of the Frontier in American History," to the American Historical Association, meeting in convention at the Columbian Exposition. Turner suggested that the challenges of the frontier were responsible for developing the American spirit of self-reliance, energy, inventiveness, and realism.
There wasn't much open land left, but among the remainder was a six-million-acre tract bought by the government from the Cherokees. This was opened to homesteaders on September 16, 1893. It was estimated that fewer than 1,100 bison survived in the United States, a far cry from the countless millions of a few decades earlier.
The director of the Mint was Edward O. Leech, who served from October 1889 through May 1893. Robert E. Preston served in the post from November 1893 through February 1898.
Prices of the times: On February 1, 1893, Virgil M. Brand purchased a group of coins from Charles Steigerwalt (Lancaster, Pennsylvania dealer) for $65. It consisted of an 1838 Gobrecht dollar, an 1827 Proof restrike quarter dollar, and an 1858 Proof set.