New-York tribune., 1867-10-11
GOLD OR illegal TENDER"

To ne Editor OF The IribHnH
SIR: AS you have considered w. Els article
in The Boston Adrertiser of the 9Th of sufficient I'M
portance to copy it entire. will you allow me to point
ont very great error or bunder in his statement,
upon which he bases his most effective argument
against Gen Buffers letter to you9 Gen. Butler
claims in referring to the 5!Os of 1862 that as the
interest was made payable in coin, while nothing Is
said the currency in which the principal should DE
paid" the principal may be paid in illegal tenders
T. denies that the interest is to be paid in con say
ing word is said to principal or interest being
paid in con" and adds, this eectuay disposes ol Gen.
Buffers inferences" W. f. rther adds that the law OF
Feb 25 1862 holds the identical language used in all
loan bills since the organization Of the Government"
1t is unfortunate for W. L. and the journals who nave
so eagerly copied his article that he had not examined
the laws before writing
II he will look in the second provision Of the first section
OF the law he pretends to quote from, he will nd in
speaking OF the legal tender that says that they shall
be received payment of all taxes internal duties OK
cscs debts and demands Of every kind due to the United
States except duties imports and OF all claims and de-
mands against tho United States of erery kind dtsoerr
except interest upon bonds and notes, which shall be
paid in coin" think "W. T." himself will admit that
this quotation dspO5es not only Of his Inference but
his arguments
He makes several other blundcrs, one OF wch only VIII
| ask you to correct.
In referring to the same law. he says:
"Ths applies to the interest upon all the bonds OF the
United state-the bonds OF 1862 which have since been
maid off i'm gold the bonds of 1867 and to be so
paid aud all other existing indebtedness OF the Onlted
States"
What does ho mean and what do you, Mr. Editor, and
The mean by giving such needless paper place
in your columnsi
The bonds OF 1862 paid off He has been misprinted
They have not been paid off, What does he mean by
bonds OF 1868 r. There none that should be n1med ID
the connection of the question under discussion Does he
Ia Of Ialo had
reference to the old oansl Certainly not for by his own
admission the laws creating the Old loans settle how they
should be paid and il not the blunder Is transparent
ANY one who will examine the Loan laws will find that
the Government has the right to pay the 52o bonds IN
coin or legal tenders 1t may choose when the Time
comes to pay them, the Secretary who may then De IN
Office will look 10 he Lir and not TO the opinion OF bank
cr the opinion Of his predecessor Secretary Chases
opinion will hardly bind the Government His decision
as Judge would should the question come before ham IHe
World assumes that the agent Dlnis thg prdnflpa NO'
when lac decides questions not within ms province.
PhHGdeiphid, l0th mo-, 1907. l., "' D.
[Secretary Chase was appealed to for an
official construction of the act under which
citizens and foreigners were then solicited to
lend their money TO our struggling, almost
sinking, Government and Nation. He answered
like a true man and patriot, stating that the
loan was payable, principal and interest IN com.
No man then disputed or demurred to that
statement; for it was the naked, palpable
truth. Men sold property for far less than it
would now bring and invested the proceeds in
the Loan, on the faith of the Secretary'S oiti-
cal assurance, which was reiterated by JAY
Cooke and other authorized agents of the
Government, also by The TRIBUNE and other
journals working hard to get money for the
payment of our soldiers and the salvation OF
the Republic. We can give atlidayitS by the
thousand that the lenders parted with their
money on the faith of that assurance, and
would not have done 50 if they had understood
that the Government was at liberty to pay at
maturity, or at any time, in its own broken
promises, which might not then be worth ten
cents on the dollar In short though 1t may
not be polite to say that every advocate OF the
new repudiatins dodge is scounireL we
can t think anything else.-Ed. TriJ.l