Knoxville journal. [volume] (Knoxville, Iowa) 1874-1986, 1876-07-20

enumerated the silver coins, as fol-
lows viz: dollars or units-each
to be Of the value of a Spanish mil
led dollar, as the same is now cur
rcntsand 10 coatain 81 4-16 parts
Of a grain Of pure or 416 grains Of
standard silyer)--half dollars, each
to be Of half the value Of the dollar
or unit land to contain 1S5 1916
grains Of standard silyer:) quarter
dollars, each to be of the value OF
one fourth the value of the dollar or
unit; dimes, each 10 be Of the value
Of one-tenth. Of the dollar or unit;
half-dimes, each to be one-twentieth
Of dollar, etc.
In the whole Of the law Of 1872,
which established the federal coin
age, the word -.unit' Is not used in
connection with any other coin of
the United States except the silver
dollar, as above described, nor is
this word used at all in any subse-
quent coinage law Of the United
States until the coinage law Of Feb
ruary, 1873, which specified that a
gold dollar should from that time be
the unit of values. 1t is
therefore impossible to eyade the
conclusion that in any obligation
given under the laws of the United
States to pay dollars" that word
could be construed TO mean nothing
else than the silver dollars above
described until the outrageous change
in the law by the act Of February,
1873.
But the Chicago Times asserts.
Until 1862 Congress never under
took to say what should be legal
tender at all. BY an act passed in
1853 il declared that the oyer-valued
subsidiary coin authorized by that
act should not be legal tender for
more than FIVE dollars in any one
payment 1t did not say that
either gold coin or silver dollars
should be legal tender. 1t left legal
tender legislation TO the states in
accordance with the provision of the
constitution which says that no
State shall make anything but gold
and silver tender in payment of
debts.
In answer to this we turn TO the
United States law of January Is,
1887. This law reduced the weight
of the silver dollar to 412l grains
of standard silver, from which it
was never changed. The fraction.
al coins were made Of the same
weight proportionately.) This law
of Jan. Is, 1887, specified as fol-
lows, viz.
"And that dollars, hals.dollars,
quarter-dollars, dimes, and half
dimes shall be legal tenders Of pay
ment according TO their nominal
value for any sums whatever. And
that for all sums whatever the eagle
shall be legal tender for ten dollars
the half-cagle for five dollars, and
the quartes-eagle for two dollars and
D half.
The above effectually disposes of
the Chicago Times assertion that
Congress never undertook before
1862 to say what should be legal
tender.
BY the law of FEBRUARY q, 1853,
the legal-tender function of the frac-
tional silver coins was restricted to
sums of FIVE dollars, but this was
because their weight was reduced
by the same law below their former
proportionatc weight to the dollar
Or unit. But this did not affect the |
weight nor the lcgal-tender function,
nor yet the unitary function of the
silver dollar. 1t continued 10 be
legal tender for all other United
States coins until 1873.
The Times doubts if the Consti-
tuition establishes the double stand
ard of gold and silver. Well, there
is some doubt about whether the
Constitution established any stand
ard of values Mt all, but there is no
doubt as to the fact that the first
montary laws of Congress passed
under the Constitution, and accord.
ing to its provisions, established the
silver dollar, and nothing else, as
the standard Of values, because un-
til 1878 no other coin was ever
specified as sunit" in which all
other coins and commodities We're
TO be measured. Even the gold
coins which were first made a legal
tender in 1873, the eagles, half
eagles, and quartcr-eagles, were
measured in silver dollars, and their
legal-tendcr value was specified as
equal respectively to ten, five and
twn and ono half silver dollars