Raftsman's journal. [volume] (Clearfield, Pa.) 1854-1948, 1870-02-16
The Legal Tender Decision.

The Supreme Court, through Chief j u.s.
tice Chase, last week rendered decision
that all debts contracted prior to 1862, were
not subject to the provisions of the Legal
Tender act or, in other words that they
were collectable in gold. As to the proba
BILE confusion and litigation that this decis-
ION will create between debtors and creditors
throughout the country, is, perhaps, pretty
clearly defined by contemporary when he
says:
sit is fair presumption that, OF the IN
complete contracts, which were still binding
and undischarged at the outbreak OF the re
bellion in 1861, at least nine-tenths have
since been settled and liquidated, with legal
tender notes offered and received at their
par value as cash. OF these transactions, a
certain proportion have been thus liquidat-
ed under the coercion of suits carried to
Judgment before the various State and Fed
eral Courts These litigations have been
based upon the refusal of creditors TO accept
payment in deprecated paper currency,
upon contracts which were originally framed
upon the specie basis. Uniformly, the de
cisions of the lower Courts have sustained
the validity of such tenders in paper, and
so, by judicial compulsion. a portion OF the
contracts existing at that date have been Ii
quidated BY far the larger number,
however, of such contracts have been
adjusted amicably between the parties there
to, without litigation, each party apparently
accepting the validity of the tenders in pa
per, as fact against which it would be of
no use to ask any judicial interference.
The Supreme Court of the United States
now decides that contracts made before the
| legal tender act was enacted, have not been
States notes. This decision does not touch
the question of contracts made since the law
was passed 1t is quite broad enough as it
is for the convenience of the people. The
effect of this decision we appreheud to be
this, that, while all liauidations of such pre-
existing contracts as have been amicably a
greed upon, and effected in paper instead of
at gold-values, will now hold good and of
binding efficacy, the other class of engage
ments to which we refer that is, such as
have been adjusted under the pressure of
judicial coercion, will now be liable to re-
view, and such debtors will, in every case,
be compelled to abide by the principle of the
present decision. In other words, the plea
of accord and satisfaction will alone protect
the debtors OF 1862, outside of the statute ct
limitations And it will also be question
whether the latter statute would run, against
a forced settlement under the Judgment of a
court and upon that basis which our high
est legal tribunal has now declared to have
been absolutely invalid
The reader will preceive, therefore, that
the Supreme Court has thus opened up a
fresh and wide field of litigation, or, more
correctly speaking, of the most embarrassing
re adjustments of those old contracts for
which this decision indicates mode of set
tiement against which it will now be useless
to protest.
The minority of the Court-three Judges
against four = have held, we think, to a
sounder doctrine. They declare the appli-
cability of the legal-tender principle to those
pre- re-existing contracts to have been Justly an
incident to the war making power They
hold, in effect that the mischefs resulting
from a contrary doctrine, had it been enforc-
cd during the progress of that domestic war,
would have been so great as practically to
uullify the utility of the measure, and would
50 have Gisarmed the Government of that
weapon which, next to blood which loyal
citizens poured out like water in the defense
OF their country's union, was the most po-
tent arm of Federal warfare. OF course,
too, they hold to the resulting deduction
that principle of necessity made legal then,
during the contest, and which would have
been then SO held by this very Supreme
Court, must be regarded as legally opera
tive now.
But the Chief Justice has found three of
his associates to support him in as wide a
departure from the highest law of national
necessity as he aud they deem polite at
present. His decision, as far as it goes will
give profound satisfaction to every rebel and
to every sympathizer with the rebellion,
throughout the land If it does not go far
enough to meet the political situation, as
Judge Chase and his associates regard it, it
will be far enough to commend him to Dem
ocratic support the less, because, as
the Court will now be constituted, even this
decision will be liable to reversion next win
ter by majority of the bench which. at
least, is certain to check any bolder as
saults upon the absolute, resistiess, illimita-
bic authority of the Union in the direction
of lts own preservation"
THE CARPET Business. see this
paragraph going the round of the news
papers American carpet makers produce
nine tenths of all the carpet consumed in
the United States. And we beg to ask
why we enjoy such monopoly of the bu
slncss Why is it that so many of our own
people find employment in this branch OF
manufactures, who have to be,fed and cloth
ed by our farmers. butchers, hatters, tailors,
81 90 II 81 ~,