Wyandot County Republican. [volume] (Upper Sandusky, Ohio) 1869-1903, 1869-02-18

conform our measures to the grad
ual adjustment Of existing contracts,
including paper money,to the stand
ari of gold. H".ataf '"7-
And, sir, let us also recognize the
general principle that it is wiser and
more in accordance with the spirit
Of our Government to leave this
adjustment to the voluntary con-
tracts Of the people rather than un-
dertake it by arbitrary rules of law.
If our people are left free they can
do this without injury to debtor or
creditor, without confiscation of
property, and without any change
in the intrinsic value OF property.
For these reasons the Committee
on Finance regard the first section
Of this bill, which legalizes gold
contracts, as an indispensable pre-
liminary to any plan for apprecia
ting our currency to gold This
section has twice received the sane
ton of the Senate, and it's primary
Importance has generally been ad-
mitted in popular discussion. a
The objections to this section are
stated by the Senator from Indiana,
Mr.. Morton, as follows: r.a--
7"The means he suggests for returning to
specie payments are twofold; The first is to
leg lize specific contracts to be executed in
coin. 1 voted for bill for that purpose last
session without much consideration, and have
unwary would be enticed into such contracts
by the crafty. and those in Strengthened cir
cum stances or under heavy pressure would
be forced into them. No man can safely make
contract, to be executed in coin. while the
currency is deprecated and the financial con-
dition 0fthe country is 1uctuating. Such cen
tracts where not brought about by coercion &
franc, would be in the nature of gold gambling
the one party Trusting that gold would be at
slarge primium when the contract was due,
and the other that it would command little OF
none. 1t could hardly be distinguished from
a>oontract for the delivery of gold at a future
time" D.; I-r.....
This whole objection is based up
on the theory that contracts cannot
pc safely left to the free assent of
the parties thereto that the parties
cannot be trusted to make their own
contracts lest the creditor Cypress
the debtor Sir, the time is not
likely to come in our day when the
crafty will not have the advantage
of the unwary. If we were legisla-
ting to protect the unwary we
should not for day permit the ex-
istence of inconvertible paper
money. Mr.. Webster said that
"Of all the contrivances for cheating the
laboring classes of mankintt none has been
more effectual than that which deludes them
with paper money"
The chief reason is that such pa
per money is so fiuctuating that
none but the intelligent and crafty
can estimate its fluctuations, while
the unwary assume that it is equiv
alent to gold. If we, then, legislate
to protect the unwary we. should
require all contracts to be on the
gold basis, but experience shows
that the true basis Of. contracts is
the assent of the parties. We car
leave the interest of parties to reg
ulate equivalents, and we can pro
tect gold contract against usury
and fraud much more easily than a
contract payable in currency.
The Senator from Indiana pro
poses to add to the burden of exis
ting contracts an annual interest
equivalent to twelve per cent. by
requiring gold payment in two ano
a half years. If the parties were
left to adjust this matter by contrac
they are not likely to adopt more
severe measure to the debtor thar
/ his. Ifit is unsafe to allow partie;
to make a contract in coin, how cal
: they be allowed to make contracts
in currency to be appreciated in coli
in two and a half years If coli
contracts are brought about by co
) ercion and fraud the courts will no
enforce them, and if gold is required
as consideration for payment of
currency contract it is usurious and
will not be enforced. Practically
, any law requiring resumption O
) specie payments is law adding t
! the amount ola currency debt til,
full depreciation of the currency
: unless you either scale the debt O.
, allow the parties to adjust the mat
| ter between themselves. The form
er proposition is indefensible, anG
; the latter is the only way by whicl
the creditor and, debtor may b,
! mutual agreement adjust a currency
] contract by equivalent coin. Al
contracts to pay money are con
; tracts for the delivery of gold, ant
! a contract in currency is only a con
) tract to pay an indefinite amount O
| gold, depending upon the uncertain
; depreciation of the currency at tn
time of the payment. Why ma.
, not the parties fix for themselve
the amount of gold to be paid rathe
2 than leave it TO be fixed by the bull
2 and bears? When contracts arr
authorized in gold all the provisions
1 Of the municipal law which protec
t contracts from fraud, usury, or co
+ ercion apply to them as well as t.
|, contracts in currency. And the rea
3 son why such contracts were eve
. forbidden was because public polio
: demanded for time the suspen
E sion of specie payments, while nov
5 the very fact that we are providing
E for specie payments. is conclusiv
2 in favor of the policy of specie con
| tracts in the future. III
/. Not only ought specie contract
3 to be allowed, but they ought to b
: encouraged. Every such contrac
E smooths the way to a general re
= sumption. If they become genera
: gold now boarded will be let loose
/ This will produce an expansion o
the currency. When during speci
E payments we estimate the aggregat
- :, G or, .ro,,axr MO aHd thu anaounf q