The workingman's advocate. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1864-1877, 1873-09-13


commerce for twelve years
Mr.. Hoadly. Twill answer the question
fully
Mr.. Ewing. The law Of the United
lStstss makes money, and it alone can
can make il here. Tb.re is no money in
| tn, only true sense that is, there In no
legal tender-in the United States except
1 by virtue of law, snd the paper legal ten
der. tested by th,t law, which is the fat Of
( the people, has every sovereign function of
the gold coin Il the United States, in all
the vast and varied internal commerce of
4 the RepubUa 1t may not square with the
4 gentlemans theory Of what money should
De made Il, but when he uses the word
money | take il for granted he means
the mosey of law, which the statutes of the
United States declare to be legal tender.
| NJ. Hosdly. When use the term mo-
ney, Mr.. Chairman, my mind is carried
bsek to the good old days when was
lesfning my first political lessons, and the
good old faith which l learned; mean
gold and silver coin, that clinks through
the interstices of the purse, a. Col Benton
said, that is what mean by money; aid
deny that any human power now exists,
until the laws of man are changed by the
progress of events in all nations, can make
anything else money.
Mr. Tuttle Will the gentleman allow
me to ask him question
Mr.. Hoadly. Ii it Ia not too long; you
will have to put it to me in sections. Mr..
Chairman, as to how far Mr. Lincoln and
Mr.. Stevens thought they could lift this
nation over the fence by pulling on the
straps of their boots, i do not know; but
Salmon p. Chase is entitled TO vindication.
He knew when he advocated that law, and
he has left his vindication in print, in his
decision in which he sought to reverse that
most iniquitous law. Salmon P. Chase
went into that measure, simply a. q matter
of dire national necessity, at tiLae when
anything was justi6able, rather than sur
render. The answer TO the gentleman's
question is not founded, however, in the
attempt TO yindicate the memory OF any
great man. They have all erred, we have
all erred and gone astray, as the prayer
book has it,
Mr.. Chairman, the day that legal tender
notes began to drive constitutional money
out of exRtence. began the history of the
depreciation of the one and the enhance
ment Of the value of the other; and here
we have bur history of ten or eleven years
everyday Of which tells that paper mo-
ney is not worth as much as gold and silver
and when the gentleman from Fairfield
| (Mr Ewing) has succeeded in inducing any
body tS give him hundred dollars of gold
for hundred dollars of legal tender, l
will baieve either one or two things-eith-
er his philosophy is right, or he has met an
angel or fool.
/ NJ I u.o,,lJ lie H. condolences,
from Hamilton (Mr Hoadly) to answer
this question: What is money here You
say that which chinks in the purse. ID .
British sovereign money in the United
States
Mr.. Hosdly 1t is not legal tender.
Mr.. Ewing. Is it money in the United
States
Mr.. Hoadly. In large and proper sensG
it is money.
Mr.. Ewing We are discussing the qu
tioA Of governmental power to make md
ey. Now, then, in the sense of Lawful
money, is the British sovereign m0ney
here
Mr. Hoadly. 1t cannot be used h 56n-
der Judgments in a court.
Mr. Ewing. That is, it is not money.
Mr. Hoadly In the sense in winch the
gentleman uses the term, it is not.
Mr.. Ewing. Is a nugget of gold of the
value Of FIVE dollars, money before it has
gone through the mint
Mr.. Hoadly. 1t is not money in your
sense Ii is in mine.
Mr.. Ewing. 1t In the fat of law in this
book of United States Statutes which
makes money according to the common
and correct understanding of that word.
Now, if the gentleman has . conception Of
something which he calls money, but which
| il not the money of law or of the people,
but fancied money of some Utopia of his
own, it il idle for us to discuss it further.
Mr. Freiberg. | will propose triangu
lar question. The gentleman Mr.. EWING
says e4OO, 900, 900 were issued by the Uni
ted States Please ask him how much you
could buy in 1864 in Europe for thous-
and dollars of your greenbacksi
Mr.. Ewing. We were not bothering our
heads about Europe. We fought the war
without the aid of Europe, thank God,
and fought it with the indispensable aid of
this paper money, which was through the
war and has ever since bean, the sole me-.
dunn of exchange; and which waar &fecepfr
cd b. the psopie, not hsaamse5f tie plsd4s,
EAt4 tt1fA II CltNIF +U& 80 tx1B tSEul
poser ~ BIZ the paper t6pay all debts, and
chenge for all values throughout the
k&ad States.
AMr. Hoadly. We fought the war-the
gentleman did, glory In the fact, | honor
him for the part he took. We fought the
warm the faith that this sspromise" which
! hold in my hand (holding up q green
bsck) and which is not, but should be kept,
that the United States will pay the bearer
one dollar. Pay, not by giving him a clean
piece of paper for dirty piece; is that the
payment Pay by charging the number
Of greenbacks, and giving me two that are
worth no more than this-two pups for the
old dog Laughter Is that the pay
ment No, sir; it wss to pay me in gold
or silver coin that the promise was made,
and if the Americaas Apeople are true to
their principles and heir promise, | be-
heve the time will come when they will
meet the promise in its adequate and Just
sense. | am talking about the usury law.
VIII come to 1t IN minute, Mr.. Chair
man. My answer to the question of the
gentleman from Fairfield (Mr. Ewine) |
will come to. The gentleman from fair
field (Mr. Ewing is led away by a mere
play Of words; by a mere play Of words.
that is all there is Of it. He has got the
word money into his head. He argues that
money stands fer the stamp on money
The value of dollar is the purchasing
power of dollar. There is no arpument
on earth that can get rid Of that. Il
what you can buy for dollar that deter
mines its value. And whether that he
coined money of the United States or
coined money OF Great Britain, or legal
tender notes, or national bank currency.
or Wild cat, It is the same thing. The val
ue OF the dollar is in what the dollar will
ouy: 1t the representative of yalue
Gold and silver are taken by all nations a.
the basis of the representative Of valua
Paper money represents nothing that IN
Its intrinsic nature, has value. The doll.-
represents the labor of men that dino r