The Wheeling daily register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1864-1878, 1876-03-08

not be secured directly, by making them
a legal tender" In the Veazie Bank
case, the Chief Justice claimed for Con
gress the right to provide currency, but
avoided any opinion touching the right
to make the currency legal tender; but
it was left for the subsequent case, and
that which had been held to
be lawful for the Government to
Issue, it was in the last case held could
be constitutiorally declared legal ten
! der. 1t will be observed, by an exam
ination of the legal tender case, that the
decision of it was not put on any such
grounds, as that the currency act was a
war measure, as some of It's apologists
claim, but on pages SAB and 544, Justice
Strong claims that it was not an appro-
| pirate means of carrying into execution
the legitimate powers OF government.
Those who have gone so far cannot now
question the authority to regulate the
value Of the use of that which they have
declared to be money, currency and legal
thunders.
Separate State action fixing rate of
interest will accomplish no good purpose.
because banks created by authority ofthe
Federal Government can charge what
ever they can get, without danger of for
fixture, by State law.
Never in this country has capital had
such ascendency as it now holds in its
grasp. That which represents what was
consumed is, in part, in the form of
non-taxable, funded debt, called bonds,
and part of these are being used, in
banking associations which received
thereon gold interest, and indulge the
license to issue and charge what they
can get for its use, and this is only
redeemable IN another Indebtedness OF
the government. To this, the policy is
now plainly marked out that the
four hundred millions of legal tenders
are to be retired If we cannot have
exclusively legal tenders, l trust this
purpose will not be consCmated. 1t
would be much better to pay part of
the interest the government pays the
banks to elevate the legal tenders, to
specie value. Our currency should be
worked up to specie value. A currency
equal to specie is essential to the true
prosperity of the people. The legal
tenders should be made interconvertlble
into fixed sums ana multiples paying
small interest when converted so as to tend
TO their elevation to gold value, with au-
thority to reconvert into legal tenders.
We would then have currency which
would, in time, reach a specie value,
with the Government rs security, Hect6te
as to its volume, to suit the varying
demands Of the business of the country:
and as auxiliary to this, the Govern
ment should receive part, if not all, OF
its import duties in legal tenders, for
conceive it would be better that the
government should purchase gold to pay
interest than to continue a deprecated
currency. To get paper currency
of specie value, | consider 1t frst IN
Glspensijle that we should have fixed
plan and purpose us to what is
to be the currency and when this Is done,
time, with judicious aid, economy and
rigid retrenchment will work it up. |
very much fear, il specie payments are
to be forced, by the present Congress
sional plan, it will accelerate the supre-
macy of money, enhance its value, aug
NEXT interest, and the present torpescent
condition ofthe country, followed with
injury to its great interests-such dis.
aster can only be ayerted, if this law
should be adhered TO, by most favorable
change in our business affairs, as to which,
at present, we have no cheering indlca
tions. Most Truly,
John BRANNoN.