Ottumwa weekly courier. (Ottumwa, Wapello County, Iowa) 1872-1899, 1876-08-09
SILVER rs LAWFUL MONEY.

bonds an Coia--Ihe Creditors De
mand for Go7a Unjust,
NEW YosK, July 25.-To Tie Ed
tor Of The -Nem York Tribune. have
been "looker-on" for several months
during the discussions in Congress
and in the press OF the silver question.
My merely superficial knowledge OF
finance leads to SO much distrust that
| approach the subject with much
hesitation. Yet so strong are my in
buttons that leading Journalists are
misleading their leaders that have
determined to break silence. The
persistent effort to reject silver as an
element in resumption seems to me so
manifcstly unwise that l desire to
call attention to facts which most of |
those who speak or write upon the
question have forgotten. or choose TIC
ignore.
The Constitution of the United |
States coniers upon Congress the |
power to ''coin money!" and in a sub
sequent section prohibits the States
from coming money, or from making |
anything but gold and silver coin a |
tender in payment of debts Gold |
and silver coin, therefore. is declared |
by the fundamental law legal-tender
In the payment of debts. and 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 pre-
serve the Government and Union.
provided that both the interest and
principal of those obligations
amounting in the aggregate to near
ly three thousand millions) should
be paid "in COM and finally on the
18th of March. 1869, when it was
deemed important to solcmnly assure
the public creditors of the good faith
of the Government, Congress passed
a declaratory law saying that:
"The faith of the United States is
solemnly pledged to the payment in
coin OF its equivalent of all the obi
cations of the United States not bear
ing interest, known as United States
notes, and Of all the interest-bearing
obligations, except in cases where the
law authorizing the issue of any such
obligation has expressly provided
that the same may be paid in lawful
money, or in other currency than qo7d
and silrer. and the United
States also solennly pledges its faith
to make procision at the earliest prac-
ttcdble period for q redemption Of the
United States notes an coin"
The Court of Appeals of the State
Of New York having decided that a
contract made before the passage of
the Legal-Tender act, payable ex-
prcssly lin gold and silver coin, law
full money of the United States"
might be paid and satisfied by ten
der of United States notes, the case
was taken to the Supreme Court of
the United States at Washington. by
whom the decision was reversed.
Chief-Justice Chase, in announcing
the opinion of the Court, in February,
1869, said, "Tke' coined dollar was 4
piece of gold or silver of certain
degree of purity and weight. The
note dollar was a promise to pay q
coined dollar BY the Constitution
f of the United States, by the laws oil
, Congress authorizing the Secretary OF
the Treasury to borrow $3,000.0OOOOO
and by the language of the Supreme
] Court of the United States, .ssilvel
| and gold have been solemnly de
clared and affirmed to be legal tender
in the payment of debts. The dis
!, tinction, therefore, between the value
|, of silver and gold which has recent,
e obtained is in disregard of the con
stitutional, legislative, and judicia
authorities; and in view of the fac
that throughout the commercial world
n silver has been for centuries, and i
v now, more largely used than gold
this new revelation rests upon extrin
sic, artificial. and arbitrary ideas ant
acts. 1t might with far better reason
e be claimed that gold should not be
E legal-tender, because, unlike silver
it has never had an international cir
, culation. Even in England and Franc,
u divided only by a narrow channel
8 the English sovereign, with tn,
Queens head Oh it, and the Napoleon
g with the Emperor's profile, circulate
q principally in their own doininions
;. while the Spanish milled dollar, tn,
Mexican dollar, the French frame, ant
the English shilling have world
$ wide circulation. Nor has silver beer
q the currency of modern civilization
only. 1t was "legal-tcnder" whel
\ !. ''fine gold" like ''rubics," was onl,
precious for ornament. The Jcwisl
4 shekel was of silver. Joseph was
. sold to the lshmaelites by his brethren
for "twenty pieces of silver" and
> Judas, for the betrayal of our Savior
received "thirty pieces of silver A,
| early as we have any knowledge OF
, currency silver was its basis, and was
. the medium of exchange for all com
Z modities.
, 1t is claimed that the largely in
creased supply of silver from tn,
. American mines is affecting its value
= throughout the world. This result
when we were augmenting our pub
lie debt, was anticipated. Our abili
ty to pay both the principal and in,
: terest was based in part upon the
, value of mines then being developed
in the Far West. And now that these
hopes are realized, shall we volunta
s rily deprive ourselves of resource
c which will essentially aid in re-estab.
I fishing and restoring the cdedit anG
prosperity of the country? Congress
. under authority derived from the
Constitution, inaugurated the coinage
T. of silver and gold, fixing the value OF
e each. That authority remains. Con
, grcss has the power to-day, asst had
3 the day after the Constitution of the
United States was adopted, to coin
S silver into money, to fix its value, anC
: to declare it legal-tender. In this
y view of the question, the discovery
and development of rich silver mines
!, was providential. Why, then, il
U Europeans deprecate the abundance
;, of American silver, should we rcadi
ly join in temporarily popular
+. cry against it? II it be Just
or wise, or patriotic, to unite il
I the efforts to dcpreciate the value Of
T. silver because our mines are too pro.
s life, would it not be equally so t.
, unite with foreign countries to cry
down the price of agricultural pro
$ ducts when our bountiful harvest
+ enable us to export largely to Europe
: l have insisted, in former communi
cations, that return to specie pay
ments, SO desirable in all respects
), did not necessarily require "contrac
:, ton" or suffering. Resumption i
G not ctucl OF fcleullcsS. III cOulu nave
, been made not only easy, but benifi
: cent. This, however, required states
> manship. 1t was in the power Of tn
}. Administration and Congress, hat
It they set themselves diligently ant
F. wisely to the task ten years ago, t.
" have accomplished resumption with
!. out deranging, depressing or disturb
I ing any section, any class, or any in
i terest. But. most unhappily, III
= craftsmanship which the emergcnc,
:, demanded was lacking. The admin
istration and Congress have only bccl
4 distinguished as decentralization
! lists" Their efforts towards resnmp
!, ton SO far have been in the direction
. of show not to do it," and, finally
when the proposed action of Con
: gress evinces disposition to learl
e how to do il, resistance comes from
leading and influential journals
e Silver has quietly taken the plac
af fra ct iOnHl currency nur ayn