New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1868-12-15
hBoITSBIyG LEGAL TEyDER.

Suppose the Supreme Court should adjudge
the Legal Tender act unconstitutional, what
would DO the effect upon existing contracts,
upon Currency, and upon business generally9
We answer:
I. Much must depend upon the scope and
! terms of thai decision. We presume there is
no likelihood that the Court will affirm broadly
| and absolutely the inability of the Government,
under the pressure of War and with tho pcril
of National overthrow and dissolution staring
| it in the face, to make ia own paper legal
tender. We feel confident that the Court viii
make no decision 20 sweeping as this. And,
| if it merely holds that the power 10 make It's
| own paper n Legal Tender is essentially War
| Power-born OF necessity and peril, and dying
with them-it will say no more than thought
! full, observant men have very generally held.
1t will decide only, that Gin the language OF
| Burke the extreme medicine Of the Constitu-
ton must not be converted into or COMPOUNDED
with its daily bread.
III. The notes of the United States known "a
Crcenbacks derive their value from the facts
that the Government issued them. recognizes
them, receives them for internal taxes, and
promises TO redeem them. That they are q
Legal Tender may add somewhat to their cur
rent value, and may not but IL does not create
that value. Divest them Of that peculiarly,
and it is quite probable that they will buy as
much Beef. Butter, and even Gold, az now.
III. We do not fully concur in the assertion
| OF Our Washington correspondent that, in case
the Supreme Court decides against Legal Ten.
der, forthwith "Gold would be the medium of
CONTRACTS aud business, and Grcenbacks would
90 no ffH at Iafr al iuat 4I.,,
quoted in California and London at the pres
cent time' On tho contrary, we suspect that
Crcenbacks wOuld continue tho circulating
medium, being gladly received for Labor. for
Goods, and in payment Of most debts; For our
own part, We expect to take them land pay them
out in our dealings at their nominal value after
such decision just as we now do, and we expect
others to do the same Some creditors may
refuse them but VIC suspect that most creditors
will be glad to get them. At all events, we
should like to receive forthwith a large amount
in Greenbacks, whether in payment Of old
debts or % the consideration for new subsciip-
tons. ss. .t..... ...,
Nv. But, il such decision DO rendered, we
cannot doubt that 1t will hasten q general Re-
sumption of Specie Payments 1t will dvest
neither Greenbacks nor National Bank notes of
the character of money, but it will impel us
TO base that character On substantial grounds.
Bank notes were seldom or never legal ton
der with us; and yet most of the payments Of
the seventy years preceding 1868 were made
In them. Once in ten thousand times, You
might encounter human hog who would say,
/ will not take your Bank nctes-they are
mot legal tender-I demand the coin y but
these extremely rare instances did not affect
the general rule that payments were all but
uniformly made and received in Bank notes or
checks OF some kind. True, those notes OF
checks were theoretically redoemable in coin
but creditors accepted them, not intending to
draw the coin, but satisfied to honor and hold
them so long as they were equivalent to coin.
Banks were sometimes run, and even broken;
but generally by other Banks, seldom by mere
note-holders.
V. The one great obstacle to Resumption
long ego was the reluctance of our citizens to
measure their property and pay their debts by
Gold standard. The farmer preferred q high
price for his produce. the merchant the same
for his goods; while the debtor wanted to pay
bis debt with tho least possible auansum Of