Ottumwa weekly courier. (Ottumwa, Wapello County, Iowa) 1872-1899, 1877-07-25
THE SILVER DOLLAR NOT A LE-
GAL TENDER.

NM s"OeN-
The coinage act of 1873 did not dc.
stroy the legal-tendcr character OF
the standard silver dollar, 40 far as il
had been coined and was in existence,
but dropped that coin out of our fu-
ture mintage, and thus indirectly
provided for its extinction as money.
Still, under that act, it would have
been competent for the Secretary OF
the Treasury, in calling bonds for
payment, to employ all the silver dol
lars he had on hand toward the dis
charge ofprincipal and interest. The
act had limited the legal-tender ca
pacity only of the enumerated silver
coins, by providing that "said coins
shall be a legal tender at their noml-
nal value for any amount not exceed
ing five dollars in any one payment"
As the old silver dollar was not one
of "sasd coins," it was not included
in the iegal-tender restriction.
Subsequent legislation. however,
has altered the fifteenth section Of the
act of Feb. IL, 1873, in two important
particulars. That section left the
trade dollar legal tender to the ex-
tent of five dollars in any one pay
ment; but the subsidiary coin act Of
July 13, 1876, provided "that the
trade dollar shall not hereafter be o
legal tender" Further, when the
Revised Statutes of the United States
were adopted by Congress as a code
of laws, the provisions Of the coinage
act of 1873 had been SO restated as to
work the destruction of the legal
tender character of the old silver dol
lar in payments above five dollars.
Here are the various provisions rs
they stand in the revised statutes:
SEC. 3,5l3. The silver coins Of the
United States shall be q trade dollar /;
half dollar, or fifty cent piece; a
quarter-dollar, or twenty-five cent
piece; dime, or ten cent piece; the
weight of the trade dollar shall be
4a0 grains troy; the weight of the
half-dollar shall be twelve grams and
one-half gram equal to 1872 grains) ;
the quarter-dollar and the dime shall
be respectively one-half and one-fifth
of the weight Of the half-dollar.
SEC. 3,5l6. No coins either of gold,
silver, or minor coinage shall here
after he issued from the mint other
than of the denominations, standard,
and weights set forth in this title.
SEC. 1886. The silver coins of the
United States shall be legal tender
at their nominal value for any amount
net exceeding five dollars in any one
payment.
This last section has degraded the
old silver dollar to level with the
subsidiary silver coins, and is equiv
alent to now act, carrying demone-
tization to a greater extreme than
was contemplated by the act of 1873.
1t is certainly strange that such a
change should have been made. Au-
thority to make it was not conferred
by the legislation which provided for
the codification of the laws. The
object was to compile into consis-
tent and useful whole all acts or
parts of acts in force new legislation
was no part OF the plan. Congress
accepted the work done in commit
tee room on assurances of its legiti-
mate character. No suspicion Of al
terations of meaning seems to have
been excited at the time, but various
changes have since been discovered.
From first to last this silver busi-
nees has been one long enigma, be-
sides being great blunder to say the
very least. Fortunately it is not too
late to retrace our steps and to reme-
dy the wrong. Public opinion in fa-
vor Of the reconciliation of silver
is becoming stronger and stronger
from week to week. Even in the
East opposition is weakening. A
short bill passed by the next Con-
gress restoring the old silver dollar
would settle the whole controversy.
1t is certain that such bill will be
introduced at the coming session,
and that it will receive powerful
support. If the general voice Of the
people is needed it will become q
law. - Inter-O Ocean.