Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1874-07-31


passed by the Congress of lS64-5, when
the Federal army pay-rolls numbered
over q million men, and the drain on
the greenback mill was terrific. 1t
was the direct result Of the severest
financial strain Of the war period, com
iug as it did. the elimination Of all pre-
vious. Mr.. Jones may be surprised to
find it in the Congressional Globe APP
pendix, ID Session 3sth Congress,
ls6t5, page 1873. 1t is section 6 Of
the revenue law approved by Abraham
Lincoln, and a million men were still
in the field or the Federal side when he
signed it.
As early as the 18th of February,
1868, Senator Jacob Collamer, of
Connecticut, true-blue Republican,
told his colleagues:
In the case of the Bank of Kentucky
the Supreme Court decided that the
long-continued usage in States TO
make banks was constitutional, and
that a State had a right to make
bank of issue. Now, cir, If 4
State has that right, it has
that right certainly indepen-
dent of the consent Of Congress. Does
it hold it at the will of Congress? Ger
tainly not. The United States has no
more power to tax State institution
out of existence, than State has to
tax a United States institution out Of
existence. l should like to see that an
swered. / have sometimes proposed
that question, but / have never reeeiv-
ed any answer.
That was Feb, Is, 1858, in the very
middle Of the war. The true-blue Re
publican has not yet been answered.
VIII a Democrat of the old jackson
stripe undertake the job at THE late
day?
We have been fully cOgnizant of the
yeazie Bank case VS.. Fenno, but our
types are sometimes perverse, W"
tried to say that the enactment had
never been tested in the case of State
Bank, Mr. Jones Will understand this,
when We refer him to s Wallace's Re
ports, page 535, where it is distinctly
stated Of the Veazie case;
"There was nothing In the case show
ing that the bank sustained any rela-
ton 10 the State as financial agent. or
that its authority to issue notes was
conferred or exercised with any spectal
reference to other than private in
terests."
Here the distinction between a pri.
vate corporation and a State bank,
such as the Co.npiroller suggests, is
fully recognized, and the latter is ex-
cluded from the force Of the decision.
1t is bad enough for an old style pem"-
crat to quote such a precedent at all,
but Mr., Jones quotes it where
it has no application whatever
That the distinction here drawn as a
caveat in the Veazie case, - al impor.
tant one, developing entirely new prin-
ciples, will appear on a little con
sheraton. The constitutionality of
the old United States Bank was found
by the Supreme Court in the clause
that Congress has power "to make all
laws which shall be necessary and
proper for carrying those powers into
execution" The argument was that tn,
old Bank was nee essary and proper tC
facilitate the fiscal operations Of the
General Government. In other words
the Government had the right to or.
ganize rs a fiscal agent bank with
circulation. That, to the extent Of then
needs, 1t is equally necessary and
proper" and therefore. by the logic OF
the Supreme Court, constitutional, fol
the States b. use similar fiscal agents
WIS never questioned. because nearly
all the States were actually using them
The necessity now is greater, whil,
the ''propriety" remains the same. a.
the constitution is the same. Thus i
viii be seen that the distinction set NJ
III the Neazie case has been fully recog
MED by the Supreme Court, and 70,
all practical purposes the Veazie de
cision does not affect the question be
fore us.
En- PassaHt, We may remark that IL,
one knows better than Hon. Geo. w
Jones, that Chase's decision in thi,
case Is the fiimsiest verbiage. The ma
tional bank system was the creation Of
, his brain, and he was placed on tn,
Supreme Bench To maintain it. II,
was passing Judgment on his own acts
In the quotation made by Mr.. Jones
Chase assumes for Congress ''undis
puted constitutional powers to proyid,
currency not coin for the Who'll,
country" This, after leaving it al
! open question on the previous page