The Forest Republican. [volume] (Tionesta, Pa.) 1869-1952, 1878-03-06
The Presidents Message on the
Silver Bill.

able message to Congress accompanied
the veto. Some of the message is COM
posed Of an explanation of his position
on the bill, and reviewing that part of
his annual message which touched the
matter at issue. We give only his ar
gument:
"The bill provides for the coinage of
the silver dollar of the weight of 412a
grains each of standard silver, to be a
legal tender to their nominal value for
all debts and duties, public and pri-
vate, except where otherwise expressly
stipulated in the contract. 1t is we'll
known that the market value of that
number of grains standard silver du-
ring the past year has been from ninety
to ninety-two cents as compared with
the standard gold dollar. Thus the
silver dollar dollar authorized by this
bill is worth from eight to ten per
cent. less than it purports to be worth
and is made legal tender for debts
contracted when the law did not rec.
ognize such coins as lawful money.
Issued in sufficient amount to circulate
they put an end to the receipt Of the
revenue in gold and thus compel the
payment OF, silver fer both the princi-
pal and interest of the public debt.
81, ,243, ,493, 400 of the bonded debt now
outstanding was issued prior to Feb
ruary, 1875, when the. silver dollar
was unknown in the circulation
Of this country and with only con-
venient form of silver bullion for ex-
portation /; $5S3, ,440,25O of the bonded
debt has been issued since February,
1878, when gold alone was the coin
for which the bonds were sold, and
gold alone was the coin in which both
parties to the contract understood that
the bonds would be paid. Those bonds
flowed in the markets of the world
They were paid for in gold when silver
had greatly deprecated and when no
one would have bought them if it had
been understood they would be paid
in silver. The sum of 225,000,000 of
those bonds has been sold during my
administration for gold coin, and the
United States received the benefit of
those sales by reduction of the rate
of interest of four per cent. During
the progress of those sales doubt was
suggested as to the coin in which the
payment of these bonds would be paid !;
the public announcement was there
upon authorized that it was not TO be
anticipated that any further legislation
of Congress, or any action of any de-
partment of the government would
sanction or tolerate the REDEEM ption
OF the principal of those bonds or the
payment of interest thereon in coin ex.
acted by the Government in exchange
for the same. In view of this fact it
- will be justly regarded as a grave
breach of the public faith to under
take to pay those bonds, principal or
Interest, in silver coin worth less in
the market than the coin received for
them. 1t is said the silver dollar,
made legal tender by this bill, will,
under this operation, be equivalent 10
full to the gold dollar. Many sup
porters of the bill believe this and re-
gard it just an attempt to pay debts
either public or private in coin Of an
inferior value to the money of the
world. The capital defect OF the meas.
ure is that it contains no provision pro-
tecting from its operation e.existing
debts in case the coinage which it ere.
ates shall continue to be Of less value
than that which was the sole legal ten
der when they were contracted. If it
Is now proposed for the purpose of
taking advantage of the depreciation
Of silver in the payments of debt, to
coin and make legal tender a silver
dollar of less commercial value than
dollar, whether of gold or paper,
which is now the lawful money of the
country, sneh measure it will be
hardly questioned, will, in the judg-
ment Of mankind, be an act of bad
faith. AS 10 all debts heretofore con.