The workingman's advocate. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1864-1877, 1877-05-19
RESUMPTION OR HARD TIMES.


nent must be received by the or, ,itor
from the debtor. In tire United States, |
previous to 1861, either gold or silver coin |
was a legal tender, but the gold and silver !
in the country was never sufficient e. make /
the payments that were required ia daily |
business therefore the supply ~ legal !
tender being insufficient, promises 70 pay
lsgal tenders on demand we're received IN
nayment by general consent IA daily trans
actions, though if q man offered promises
pay legal tender on demand, in payment
e a debt and they were refused. he could
not lawfully claim that he had offered to
pay the debt, but if he went and excbangd
his promises to pdy-legal tenGer-and
took the legal tender, and offered Il III
payment, then he could lawfully Or legally
claim that he had offered To pay the debt,
as he had rendered what by law was desig
mated as that in which debts could be le
gally paid.
In the United States bank note is not
a legal tender. Though hank notes may be
accepted in payment the creditor IS not
obliged to accept them. In England the
note Of the Bank Of England are legal
tender. No man can refuse TO receive them
in payment of debt due him. The notes
| Of tho Bank Of FlanUe aIe legal tender,
out the holder Of a note either of the Bank
Of England or the Bank Of France may
present them at the counter Of the bank
which has issued them and demand gold
or silver in redemption. II gold or silver
is refused by the bank in redemption 81
its notes, which promise to pay gold or sill
yer on demand-such a IT fusAl to redeem
is called suspense" Of 7'scie payments
When England went TO war with the
great Napoleon the Bank Of England Was
paying specie in redemption If lis notes.
but after the war had commenced the De.
mand for their redemption IN specie was
so great that it became necessary to stop
payment Of specie for the notes. therefore
the Bank Of England suspended specie pay
ment, and did not again redeem its 4, ties
in coin until long after Napoleon had been
conquered and sent to st Helena, where
he died prisoner. The Bank Of England
has suspended specie payments several
times, but it stopped or suspended paying
gold and silver in 1877, and did not fully
resume paying them until 1923, period If
26 years.
The Bank of France suspended specie
payment when the recent war between
Germany and France commenced, ana has
not resumed specie payment since
In 1861 all the banks III the United
tates, and the government also. suspend
ed specie payment, aud has not yet Is
sumed.
1t is the experience If the commercial
world that it is Impracticatie "a pay AID
debts on demand in gold and silver coin
there is not enough Of IN the world and |
whenever general demand Is mad, t. pay !
all debts in coined gold or SILVER. their |
supply gives out, and payment i sus-
pended
Durin0 the rebellion tho strl ~ : o..
and silver in the banks and IL the !. yeu |
ment treasury having b ecome exhausted, |
Congress provided by law that these
little government bonds called gr,ent4cks,
should be legal tender that Is Il a man
owed another man a hundred dollars. or /
any amount, and rendered him grteuhacks. |
that the greenbacks could MT b, refused.
and gold and silver demanded instead. but /
the greenbacks should be received IA pay |
Of debt the same as Specie
Now there are two parties IN tins cruu-
try to-day. One party is for keeping the
greenback as legal tender, and the utL.r 4
party is in favor Of burning up al the
greenbacks, and res',m,ng sp,r,. pasDsl.t,
that is resumiDg a system VI promises {, |
pay specie for all debts, as the only means
Of legal payment, and suspending sp,cls
payment whenever demand is made flr |
redemption in specie.
In 1873 Law was passed abolishmg I
the silver dollar, and providing that SILVER
coin should not be a legal tender for over
FIVE dollars. Sc the resumptionists want |
to resume specie payments in gold, that is
make all debts payable in gold and gold |
only. As there is not enough gold and |
silver, both together, in the world, TO fur
niSh the circulating currency, and this is a
well known fact, and will not be disputed, |
the 'Resumptionists, the men who claim
to be in favor of specie pay ments, really |
want to abolish and destroy the greeIbacks, |
in order that the National Banks may fur |
nish a substitute in the form Of bank notes, |
which are promises to Pay specie ON de-
mand, promise that it is unable to per |
form, because the National Banking Law.
as it now stands, only requires the
National Banks to have five cents Of !
legal tender to redeem dollar il |
nn+As. and i il impnssihle to nav dollar
with hive cents-lf demand is made. As |
long as no one wants the five cents for the |
dollar, specie payment, as it is called. may |
be maintained, but when the demand is
made five centS in legal tender, or five
cents in gold, will not be sufficient to pay
a dollar, and the specie payment would be
suspended. This has been the experience
of the world for two centuries. Govern
ments, instead Of furnishing the currency
to the people, a. is their bounjen duty,
have let the job to contractors, called
banks of issue. They issue their notes as
currency, and the people have to pay them
for doing so. The issue between resump-
tionists and snti-rcsumptionists is tins