The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1869-11-10
COMMERCIAL AND PNANCIkL.
SPECIE PAYMENTS.
The. Expected Legal Tender Decision
2, and how II would Affect Values.
rom m he oNicao,o T+ibttne

.... .. -
FFOm he Chicago Tribune.
There is o widespread rumor that
the Supreme Court OF the United States
win, at Its session In December, deliver
Its opinion In the several cases hereto.
fore argued, involving the constitution.
ality OF the acts OF Congress making
Treasury notes . legal tender, and that
the decisionwill be adverse to the law,
We do not know. what. authorlty there
is for such rumor, nor do we believe
the Court will render any such judg%
ment, But, In the event that there is
such q decision, II may be we'll to con-
slider what will be Its effects upon the
business affairs Of the country. y 2"
The Court has already decided, in the
gold contract cases, that the act OF Con-
gress making Treasury notes legal
tender In no way changed or altered
the previous laws by which gold and
silver coin Twasu made alegal tender.
This decision went no further thafl'to
establish that the national coin was
still legal tender; that contract 10
pay IN that form Of lawful money was
valid, and that the courts woald en-
force its specific performance. II the
Court should now 70 further and de-
eide that Congress has no power to.
make anything else than coin legal
tender, in time Of fpeace, It will become
very important question as to the
effect OF such Q deoislon upon the val
ne Of the national currency, and upon
the existing relations Of debtor and.
creditor. IIA-cI = ~ 81. .'.-r O. 20
II the gresnbaoks are no longer le.
gal tender, what will be their value !?
They will not cease to be adebt due by
the GovernmentRndto 10 be paid. To pay
them they must be redeemed In gold,
.or the. original contract must be carried
out 10 fund them, 10 bonds. In either
case their value will be increased; In
the first case to par, and In the second
case to the value Of bonds. These
bonds are now worth eIkhty.nlne cents
In gold. The effect upon the green
backs, therefore, will be TO put an end
TO them as currency, and to Increase
their value as a commodity In the
hands Of the holders. The effect upon
the National Bank currency will be
substantially the same. They are also
legal tender In payment OF all dues
to the United States except duties on
imports, and for all dues by the United
States except interest on the public
debt and redemption OF greenbackB.
They are not legal tenders between ins
dividuAls. They are redeemable In
greenbacks, and therefore will have the
same value aa the latter. ~ #.
The next important question Is the
effect which such 1. decision will have
upon contracts. So far as contracts
during the last seven years have been
closed, the decision will be inopera-
tive; 1t will not reopen business carried
TO settlement by the consent OF both
parties. Il 10 an established rule that,
when tanderof payment Is made, un.
less the refusal ID particularly based
upon an objection made at the time 10
the kind OF money or other thing In
which the tender Is made. the tender
cannot afterwards be declared inBufll-
oient on that account. All contracts
therefore, In which greenbacks have
been given and received without pro.
test, must remain undlsturbed. It does
not follow, because greenbackB may be
declared TO be no longer legal tender,
that payments may not be lawfully
made In them. the great bulkiof the
monetary contracts Of the country have
been, In express terms, made payable
In the national currency. This. has
been done In order to avoid any i'm.
plloationl OF being payable in
coin. All contracts made paya-.
BILE In. national currency can still be
performed BY payments In that cur.
rency. Taking from them their char
acler ~ legal tender will In no way
Affect their sufhclency to pay O debt
contracted to be paid specifically In
that currency, inst aR n debt conk r4ntad