Iowa voter. [volume] (Knoxville, Iowa) 1867-1874, 1870-02-24
IL Legal.Tsndsr Decisisn.

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The United States Supreme Court has
decided that IN act making Nsess Proaises
to pay 20 many dollars legal paymsnt q
debts pfeviously contracted, = not con-
sstenf With the spirit OF the Constitution,
and that it i prohibited By tie Constitu-
tion. Debts, therefore, contracted pre-
vious TO February 96th, 1862. are 70 be
raid In coin, whether coin waD stipulated
or not; for Congress had no power to
make groenbacls legal tender Tor debts
created before the pA6lage q the law BY
which the legal tender quality Of green
400 ~ eo1ahlished. The question
whether or not debts contracted since
February 50, 1009, arc also h b paid In
coin, y NOT settled By the present decisi0n
Of the court OF those which originated
previous 70 the passage Of the Legal
Tender ct, and which are still unpaid, the
creditors may require payment In coin.
In cases whore foe such debts groenback1
have been accepted In payment, creditors
cannot require IN sddiaonal eynsnt- -:
greenbacks q the time of the payment
and the real price Of gold. Reception Of
payment liberates debtors entirely.-AS
nwsj RspsNiee~.
The Supreme Court Of the United States
has decided that legal-tender notes are not
q legal tender in the payment Of debts
contracted prior to the 26th of February,
1862. That u the dscision, and that b al
there 10 Of 1t, and that decd0n y now the
law Of the land.
Il Is but natural to inquire how hf this
decision Il likely to embarrass the public
and affect the business Of the country.
We do not regard it - Of very great inn
portance in any light. II places no man.
corporation, or municipality in any worse
condition than he would have been had
the Legal. Tender oct never been passed.
It changes neither the letter nor spirit of
any contract. 1t win apply 70 State,
municipal, railroad, savings bank, and
other stocks, bonds, liabilities, and debts
contracted prior to 1859 and not since dis
charged. These have been greatly re-
duced during the last eight years, and re-
duced, too, by the payment Of deprecated
currency for coin obligations Except
Massachusetts,, no State in the country
adhered to specie payments throughout
the war. Illinois has discharged half her
debt since 1862, but paid half that sum
(sterling bonds) in coin. The debt Of oil
the New England States, except Massa-
chusetts, in 1881, was less than $3.50, 600,
which has since been paid but these
States now owe war debts amounting to
perhaps $1,000, 900. In 1851 Now York
owed 81, 100000 In coin, OF which
$14,000,O00 has been paid IN paper.
New Jersey owed no old debt.
Pennsylvania has reduced her ante.war
debt TO $1o.00e, 900. Ohio owes 90, 1000
600, Indiana about 100000, Michigan
81 500 O00, Maryland, Kentucky, Kansas,
Minnesota, and Iowa owe nothing, and
Wisconsin next to nothing. Missouri
owes perhaps $12,OOO,O00 of ante.war
debt. Including the ante-war debt Of the
seeding States t. whole debt Of ell the
States to which this decision can apply
will not exceed 500, 600. For this
debt Ill tteee States received coin, and
the decision simply requires them to pay
coin in return ON ell that they have not
already discharged with paper: These
States have, during the last eight years,
cations, and the interest on ell of them,
In paper. That payment stands good In
all cases where protest was not made, and
the decision merely prevents the avoiding
of original contracta They al stand pre-
|
road debts contracted prior to 1862 do
not exceed 900, COZ, 900, and these, in
many instances, are subject to reductions
by the issue, since 1852, of new bonds, in
renewal, or in exchange for outstanding
obligations. But even In this case, put
ting it 1t the worst, the consideration Of
all the debts was gold.
The savings banks, in 1859, owed per.
haps 500, O0O, 900; this they received in
coin, and perhaps nine-tenths of 1t they
have paid back to their depositors In de.
preciated paper. There can be but little
commercial paper eight years old, and,
consequently, little to DO effected BY this
decision
The remaining cases are those Of private
mortgages made before 1862. Those hay.
ing more than eight years to run win fall
due, and are to be paid In coin but the
mortgagors have had NO reason to COM
plain. For eight years they have paid
interest in paper instead Of gold, and, at
most, could have had no expectation that
specie payments would be much longer
deferred. They can we'll afford to pay
the principal In coin now, and, consider
ing the value Of the currency In which
they have paid the interest, the advantage
Will still Be on their side. Upon the
whole, the decision affects such : compAra-
lively small proportion Of the indebted.
meas of the country that it, effects win
hardly Be felt. They are, In fact hardly
perceptibleiin the quotations Of the Stock
Exchange to-day. - Chicago Tribune,
Fs6. IL.
Western Patents.
The following Western patents were H.
sued nom the United states Pstent Once
for the week ending February 8, 1870. -
reported BY Farwell, Ellsworth = Co.,
Patent Solicitors and Counselors tn Patent
Causes, ia Lake Street. Chicago. III:
IILIMO1a
Bed Odll-J. b. C1ennnA KAnnn1.
Railway CT Deake-D. y. Udes, H0o1olt1.
Con Starch Guiding kni1b-0oodeen = Babcock,
Rockford.
Scenfi1c Piayins Cards Caleb Goodwin, Chicago.
Hay 0ethersf-W. = Phelps, Elmwoo6-
Horuo Rowor-Jamoo II. Hand, Chicago.
0uoponoi0p Bridgo- jarvis Royal, White Rock.