The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1878-09-26
Continued from I'd pagc,)

i reply TO IL, uThJI Ih"S WV WtI ~.
ted, the objection would not be fatal, ior
oreenbacks without o legal tender quail
fv are preferable to bank notes. why
hank notes are not legal tenders. No
bodv has never denied that the Govern
noent may issue Treasury notes. No. law
ver. or Judge, or statesman, or private
citizen has never denied that. But they
were never made legal tender until
that quality was given to the green packs
Rnt the mower to issue them has never
been denied. 49,, u.ooD
hacks without legal tender quality, they
would be the sane as BANK notes 80 lar
as tender is concerned. ANA suppose
there is an advantage in the greenlIOack
over the National bank note, even II any
legal tender quality did not exist
AMENDING THE CONSTITUTION
But my answer to this objection is, if
the Constitution does not authorize Con-
gress to make greenbacks legal tender,
the Constitution may be amended, 80 as
TO give Congress that power, if 1t is de-
sirable that that power should exist.
Our Republican friends have great
love for tinkering with the Constitution.
They boast as among the chief feathers
in their cap their amendments to the
Constitution. They are found amending
the Constitution. Every session OF Con-
gress they bring in more Of them, OF one
kind and another, to be submitted to the
people. Well, now, if this objection OF
theirs is true, they must bear with us II
we try TO do little amending OF the Con-
stitution, and give Congress that power
which they say Congress does not now
possess. If the true laws of money and
the true interests of the people require
il, Congress should have the power. l
sav this ia a sufficient answer to this OBJ
iection-that il Congress does not possess
this power, it may be given to it by the
people by an amendment to the Constl'
ution. But is it true that Congress does
not possess the power2 Why, my
friends, let me tell you exactly what the
state of that matter is. 1t is not a ques-
ton of what you think about it, or what
/ think about it, but it is question as to
what the courts have decided And now
let me tell you that sixteen of the high
est State Courts have decided this ques'
ton. and fifteen out of the sixteen de-
cided that the acts of Congress making
the greenback legal tender are consti-
tutional laws-that Congress does pos
sess that power. Then the Supreme
Court of the United States has decided
the same thing after great deliberation
and great consideration, Surely, then,
nv friends, with the decision OF fifteen
of the highest Courts of the States and
the decision of the Supreme Court of the
United states, that greenbacks may con.
stitutionally be made legal tender, l
NAV be excused if do not 60 into the ar.
gument of that merely legal question. !
know that it has been said often and
again that the decision of the Supreme
Court of the United States rests upon the
ground that when those acts were passed
The country was at war, and that it was
an exercise of the war power in Congress
to make these notes legal tenders. |
think could convince any jurist, if | had
a chance at him for about half an hour,
that this is not true Interpretation OF
the decision; that they do not rest it up
on the war power; that it is vindiCated
simply upon principle. The principle
laid down in this decision is that it may
be constitutional to issue these green
backs in the United States, as we'll in
time of peace as in war. And l want
to call attention to the faCt-if any OF
you have any greenbacks, for unfortu'
nately we Democrats don't have many
these hard times laughter that if you
will look at them, three chances to one,
if they have not been issued since the
war, you will find, may be, 1875 on
them, or 1873 or 1874, which was the
date when the thing was issued. think
you will find that over three-fourths of
the greerbaCks we have now have been
issued since the war. But it is said
that they were issued to replace those
that were issued during the war, and
have become mutilated or worn out
But if it is a question OF the Constitu"
tional power, the Government had no
more right to issue greenbacks as legal
tenders in 1876 to replace old green
backs, than it has to issue greenbacks,
as a legal tender for any cause or con-
sideration. 1t is q question Of law. But
enough of that l am content to rest
on these decisions.
PLEDGE OF PUBLIC FAITH.
The next objection to our proposition
is that the public faith was pledged by
Congress that not more than $400 0000,-
900 of greenbacks should be issued
They say, "Why, Judge Thurman wo'd
break the public faith"
Well, my friends, l would first inquire
who is it that undertakes to tie my hands
and my neighbours hands, and all the
people of this country, for all time to
come, by pledging the public faith, as
they call it2
l want to know where Congress got all
the power of pledging the public faith,
which says they shall not issue any more
greenbaCks l don't find any such thing.
But that is not all, my friends, in regard
to this breaking of the public faith. Why
in the history of greenbacks it is curious
to see with what face men can come and
talk about breaking the public faith by
issuing more greenbaCks and making the
volume outstanding more than 100000.
900. Why, the first pledge was that they
should not issue more than $4,000 900.
And now will they say that pledge was
kept2 Why, no; the very men that
made the pledge, within less than two
years afterward broke it, and provided
then that they should issue 100000
600; that was the other pledge I
think there was an intermediate
proposition for $3OO,OOOOOO, and then
80 =. - @1nn nnn Oon' n. !! ~ : II n
Why they broke this pledge substantial
ly by passing the law authorizing the is.
sue of bank notes. They say this pledge
in reference to the four hundred millions
was in order to keep the greenbacks as
near par as possible; that they should
not be deprecated by over issue; but it
did not matter whether the issue was
greenbaCks or National bank notes, in
swelling the volume of paper currency,
the depreciation would be precisely the