The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1878-09-19

| ted States" we're constitutional, and II
cited by way ofillustration that Congress
had the power ITO provide currency for
the whole country" and for this purpose
had the power to tax State banks out OF
existence, or to make United StaIes
notes legal tender. 1t also cited, by
way of illustration, that Congress had the
power to raise and maintain armies and
for this purpose had the power to borrow
money, and, as an aid in borrowing
money, might make the notes legal ten
der. 1t also held that the degree of the
necessity for any congressional enact
ment or the relative degree Of it's appro'
priateness, if it had any appropriateness,
is for consideration in Congress, not
courts.
The case is reported in the 18th vol
ume of Wallace's Supreme Court re-
ports.
On page 500 the court says:
"The controlling questions in these
cases are the following: Are the acts of
Congress known az the Legal Tender
Acts constitutional when applied to con
tracts made before their passageP And,
secondly, are they valid as applicable to
debts contracted since their enactment? ?
These questions have been elab lrateIy
argued, and they have received from the
court that consideration which their
great importance demands"
Proceeding to brush away the distinc-
ton implied by the two questions, the
court says on page 53O
"There is no Well founded distinction
to be made between the constitutional
validity of an act of Congress declaring
Treasury notes legal tender for the
payment of debts contracted after its
passage and that of an act making them
a legal teuder for the discharge of all
debts, as well as those incurred before as
those made after its enactment"
The argument then made is latudina
rian in the extreme, taking the highest
ground in behalf of the numbers and ex-
tent of the powers vested in the federal
government. ,
The court says, on page 592: "Thus
the power to levy and collect taxes, 10
coin money and regulate its value, to
raise and support armies or to provide
for and maintain a navy are instruments
for the paramount object, which was to
establish Government sovereign with
in its sphere, with Capability of self pre-
servation; thereby forminga Union more
perfect than that which existed under
the old ConfederaCy"
After citing authorities and argument
the court further says, on page 533 A.
"That would appear, then, to be most
unreasonable construction of the Consti'
tuition which denies to the government,
created by it, the right to employ freely
every means, not prohibited, necessary
for its preservation and the fulfllment Of
its acknowledged duties. Such a right,
we hold was given, by the last clause Of
the eighth section of its first article.
"The means or instrumentalities re
TERED to in that clause and authorized
are no. enumerated or defined. In the
nature of things enumeration and speCl
fcation were impossible. But they were
left to the discretion of Congress, subject
only to the restrictions that they be not
prohibited, and be necessary and proper
for carrying into execution the enumer
ated powers given to Congress, and all
other powers vested in the government
of the United States or any department
office thereof"
After elaborately fortifying this posi-.
ton, the court says, on page b39; with
these rules of constitutional construction
before us, settled at an early period ofthe
history of the government, hitherto uni
versally accepted, and not even now
doubted, we have a safe guide to right
decision Of the questions before us. Be
fore we can hold the legal tender acts un.
constitutional we must be convinced
they were not appropriate means or
means conducive to the execution of any
or all of the powers of Congress or of the
government; not appropriate in any de
gree (for we are not judges Of the degree
of appropriateness or We must hold they
we're prohibited. This brings us TO the
inquiry whether they were, when enact
ed, appropriate instrumentalities for car
rying into effect or executing any of the
known powers of Congress or Of any de-
partment of the government
The court then discusses the appropri.
ateness of legal tender as a means "Of
maintaining the army and navy, for Sc
curing large supplies of money needed,
and needed for the preservation of the
government created by the constitution"
and, holding they were essential, says,
page 542: "The degree Of the necessity
for any congressional enactment, or the
relative degree of its appropriateness, is
for consideration in Congress, not here.
That would be to assume legislative pow
er, and to disregard the accepted rules
for constituting the constitution" And,
on page SAB, "The case of Veazie Bank
and Fenno Is Wallace, 533) presents
suggestive illustration, There tax of
ten per cent. on State bank notes in cir
Culation was held constitutional, not be.
cause it was means for raising revenue
but as an instru ment to put out of exist
ence such circulation in competition
with notes issued by the government
Then this court speaking through the
Chief Justice, aVowed that it is the con-
stitutiOAal right of Congress to provide a
currency for the whole country; that this
might be done by coin, or United States
notes, or notes of national banks; and
that it cannot be questioned that Con-
gress may constitutionally secure the
benefit of such currency to the people
by appropriate legislation, 1t was said
there can be no question of the power Of
this government to emit bills of credit;
to make them receivable in payment of
debts to itself to itthem for use by those
who see fit to use them in all the trans
actions of commerce; to make them a
currency uniform in value and descrip.
tion, and convenient and useful for cir
culation. Here the substantive power to
tax was allowed to be employed for inn
proving the currency. 1t is not easy to
see why, if State bank notes can be taxed
out Of existence for the purpose of indi-
rectly making United States notes more
convenient and useful for commercial
purposes the same end may not be Sc
cured directly by making them a legal
tender. Concluding, then, that the pro.
vision which mao Treasury notes a le-
gal tender for the payment of all debts
other than those expressly expected was