New-York tribune., 1876-07-27
SILVER is LAWFUL MONEY.
A LErTER FROM THuRLOW WEED.

CREDITOR's DEMAND FOR GOLD MUST
TO the EditOr Of The Tribune.
SIR: have been "a locker ON" for several months
during the discussions in Congress and in the press
of the silver question. Ny merely superficial knowl-
edge of finance leads to much diStrust that ap-
proagh the subject with much hesitation Yet so
strong are my nutions that leading urnalists are
misleading Their readers that have determined to
break silence. The persistent effort to reject silver
as an element in resumption seems to me so mani
fcstlv unwisc that desire to call attention 10 facts
which most of those who speak or write upon the
question have forgotten, or choose to ignore.
The Constitution of the United States cOnfers
upon Congress the power to "coin money" and in
subsequent section prohibits the States from coming
money or from making anything but gold and sll-
vcr coin tender In payment of debts" Gold ana
silver coin therefore is declared hy the fundamental
law legal tender III the payment of debts, aud
hence gold and silver became the specie currency OF
our country Every law of Congress authorizing
the Issue Of bonds and notes, the proceeds from the
sale of which were used to preserve the Government
and'Union provided that both the interest and prn-
cipa of those obligations amounting III the acgTc-
gate 10 nearly three thousand millionsl should be
paid lin COZ - and finally on the Sth of March,
1869, when ii was dccEcd important 10 solc,nnly
assure the public creditors of the good faith OF the
Government Congress passed doclaratory law say
ing shat:
The faith Of ,hc United states is solcrny PLEDGED to
the payment coin its equivalent of al the oil-a
of thc United states not b,Gr.ue interest Known
as United stacs notes and 9f all inc f. % %,
legations, except IN eases Ml"fc ll' l'" an Hol ~.
issue of auy such Obligation has expressly provided That
tine same , may S5 be 3 Sd Jl m |p 4a Ge rd @ as
also socntV plgcs Us fGh 10 mGic IToriS,9n at NE
earliest prGciicabie period Jor rodempt1n 0 me t"d
States notes m coin.
The Court Of Appeals Of the State Of Ncw-iork
having decided that a contract made before the pas
sage of the Ieca-Tcndcr act payable expressly " IN
gold and silver coin. lawful money of the United
States" might he paid and satisfied bv tender al
United States notes, the case was taken - the
Supreme Court of the United States at Washington
by whom the decision was reversed. CE'i-JnSilce
Chase. in announcing the opinion OF the Court, III
February 1869, said, "Thc coined dollar was a
piece of gold or silver of certain degree oi pnIlly
and weight. Then0t dollar was promise To pay
coined dollar" By the Constitution Of the United
States by the laws of Congress, authorizing the sec
letary Of the Treasury to borrow three thousand
millions and by he language of the Supreme Court
of the United States, silver and cold' have been
solcmnly declared and affirmed to he legal tender ~
the payment of debts. The distinction Therefore
between the values Of silver and gold which mas ir-
Gently obtained is in disregard of the constitutional
OF the fact that throughout the commercial world
silver has been for centuries and Is now more largely
uscd than gold this new revelation rests upon cX-
trinsic artificial and arbitrary ideas and acts. 1t
might with far better reason be- claimed that gold
should not be legal tender, because, unlike silver
if has never had an international circulation. l,cn
IN England and France, divided only 10y narrow
channel the English sovereign, with the Queens
head on it, and the Napoleon, with the Emprrors
profile circulate principally in their own domnnn',
while the Spanish mied dollar the Mexican dollar,
the French franc. and the English shilling have
worldwide circulation. Nor has silver been the
currency Of modern civilization Only. IL WIS
legal tender when " fine gold Ike % "rubicS' was
only "prccious" for ornament The Jewish slck"l
was of silver. Joseph was sold 10 the Ishmachtcs
by his brethren for twenty pieces of silver and
Judas for the betrayal OF our Savior, received
thirty pieces OF silver As early q. We have any
knowledge of currency silver va, its basis and was
the medium of exchange for all commodities.
II is claimed that the largely increased supply Of
silver from the American mines is affecting its vain"
throughout the world. This result whcn wc were
augmenting our public debt, was anticipated. our
ability to pay both the principal AID interest was
based IN part upon the value of mines then being de-
ycloped i'm the Far West. And now that these hope,
are realized shall we voluntarily deprive ourselves
of a resource which will essentially aid in rc, alb
fishing and restoring the credit and prosperity OF the
country ? Congress- under authority derived from
the Constitution. inauguraed the coinage Il silver
and gold fixing the value of each That authority
remains. Congress has The power to-day, a II had
the day after the Constitution Of the United states
was adopcd. Ia coin silver into money, to fix ia
valnc and TO declare it q legal tender. In tl, Wow
Of the question. TIE discovery and development of
,.I,s,s sfY1 ltts hon
if Europeans dcprccate Tie abundance Of American
silver. should we readily join in temporarily popular
cry against it, If it be just or wise or
patriotic TO unite in the efforts to dprcciltc thc
vanc of silver because mines are too prolific,
would il not bee equally so to unite with foreign
countries 10 cry down The price Of agricultural
products when our bOuntiful hIrycSts enable Us to
export largely 10 Europeg / have insisted in former
communications that return to specie payments,
50 desirable in all respects did not necessarily Ie-
Quiro contraction" or suffering, Resumption Is
not cruel nor relentless. 1t could have been made
not only easy. but beEciccnt. This, however, Ic-
quirel craftsmanship. II was in the power Of the
Administration and Congress, had they set them
selves dill gently and wisely 10 the task icn years
ago, TO have accomplished resumption without lie
ranging, depressing, or disturbing any section, any
class, or any interest. But, most uuhappily, TIE
Stdlcbiilanslp Wiilch vi" emergency uc!hdu'u N"N
! lacking. The Administration and Congress have
only been distinguished as CiIcumocutionsts"
| Their efforts toward resumption 30 far have been
in the direction of how not to do il - and finally,
when the proposed action Of Congress the silver
question eyinccs a disposition TO learn now 10 do it..
resistance comes from leading and influential
journals
Silver has quietly taken the place of fractional
currency. Our eyes and ears are again gladdcncd
by the sight and chink of bright silver dimes, quar-
| ter and half-dollars. Had the advent Of this