Fayetteville observer. [volume] (Fayetteville, Tenn.) 1850-1966, 1858-09-16

!. 6he Gurrrltfy Questio1
; Speech Of Hon. Geo. W. Jones
On the Bill 10 p rovide for The Belt
Organization Of the Treasury, an
+ for the Collection, Safe keepia
! Transfer and Disbursement Of ii
i Pubhe ReUenate r. - .
I Delivered il the House, Of Representative.
! April /, 1916. g
! Concluded.
Mr.. j. continued: Another reason
why the people of that day wished
to rid the country Of paper. none,
was, that they themselves had ex
perienced the evil Of it; and whilst
| am not myself a repudiator,
would say to gentlemen who talk
about Mississippi reputation and
who denounce her. and every other
State that is not able to pay her
debts, that their lips ought to be
sealed until they have redeemed the
pledges and promises Of the Gov
ernmeni which they now in part rep
resent. t~ssas sjss4e
But, Mr.. Chairman, if there were
no constitutional barrier in the way;
if this Government was authorized
to make a bank; and if there were
no constitutional prohibition to the
States against creating banks and
putting paper money into circulation
i, for one, should still be the On.
compromising opponent and enemy
of every attempt to put into circu-
lation that which, without possessing
any of the characteristics and attrib-
.utes of money purports to be money,
What do you attain when you have
gold and silver for currency? And
why is it that gold aud silver coin are
worththe amount stamped upon thea3
1t is not because they bear upon
them the stamp, or the coatof arms
Of any particular Government;--it
is because they are representatives
of so much human labor. Although
we cannot create the material Itself,
yet it has been wisely placed by the
God of Nature in the bowels of the
earth to answer this very purpose,
aud the price Of it is the same that
was placed upon the bread that was
to sustain life when Adam VAS first
driven from the garden Of Eden.
The price is. human labor; and when
you give a man q dollar, for SO much
hbor, it is but the fair return and
of THAI labor. And
hence it's value. soy s
But many gentlemen contend that
this Government has the power to
make q United States Bank, and, IL
to make one, | suppose to make a
banks, or as many as it
may think proper. There is no
doubt upon one point-thst Is to
say, that this Government has the
power to coin money out Of gold
and silver. ] ask The advocates oil
a bank of the United States wheth-1
er this Government can delegate
that power to corporation? Can
Congress delegate to a corporation
created by itself the power to coin
money Of gold and silver, and to
regulate the value Of coin? : Surely
not. If this Government should
continue to exist, as l trust it may,
through all time, such a thing will
never be heard Of as on application
by an association Of men for power
as corporation to coin money
Aud the reason is obvious. Hthey
have the power 10 coin money, they
must give something that has value
in exchange forthe material out Of
which TO make the money. But
when they, come here and ask this
Government to constitute them into
corporation, to allow them to make
bank, and to issue paper promises,
for the redemption Of which their
own private property is not to be
made liable, they know they areass.i
ing for privileges to be conferred up
on them without: any equivalents
they know that they are asking
powerto make that pass as mouey
which, in fact, is not money, aud
which is TO .akeths place Of money,
which they can make without toll,
labor or expense Of any kind to them.
And thus-whilst the toiling mil-
lions Of the country are in pursuit