Clearfield Republican. [volume] (Clearfield, Pa.) 1851-1937, 1878-03-27
THE LITTLE BONDS,
Or
LONG BONDS FOR sAyINGsINvEsT.
MENrs.

, LONG BONDS FOR SAVINGS
MENTs.
Concluded from last ioeek
MIR. Hoar. Mr.. President, do not
precisely understand what obligation
of honor, consistently with the princi-
Piles of the Senator from Missouri, will
rest upon the Government of the
United States. He argued with great
: ingenuity few days ago that the un.
derstanding of the person to whom the
bonds were issued, had nothing to do
with the obligation. He argued with
equal ingenuity that the quality of
money received for bonds had nothing
to do with the obligation as to its pay
ment Now he proposes that Congress
shall issue bond to be paid in such
money as Congress shall see fit or have
mind to pay in when the bond is
payable, and be says the bondholder
must trust TO the honor of Congress
when the bond becomes due. Accord
ing to his argument now and his argu-
ment the other cay, we should have a
perfect right in law, honor, and con-
science to make sawdust or shin plas-
tiers or anything else the lawful money
OF the government, and thus pay off
these bonds.
Mr.. Cockrell Will the Senator per-
nit me to ask him a question: | will
thank the distinguished Senator from
Massachusetts TO point out one solitary
sentence that | have ever uttered in
this Senate Chamber which even
squints, directly or indirectly, at the
right of Congress to make sawdust or
anything of that kind a legal tender.
Mr. Hoar. / understand
Mr.. Cockrell. Not a word of it.
Mr.. Hoar. But the honorable SEN
ator put into the shape of a plea, or q
demurrer and rejonder and sure
ljoinder, and gave solemn Judgment
upon the argument urged in behalf Of
the bondholder against the people in
the lawsuit which be supposed, that
the United States Government were
bound either in law or honor to pay
the existing bonds in gold, denying
very earnestly that the fact that the
understanding of tho parties to the
contract that they should be paid in
gold had anything to do with the legal
or honorable obllgatloni denying also
that the quality or character Of the
money received from the bonds had
anything to do with II. That ls LETT
out. The Senator says that II is the
contract and the contract alone which
affects the legal or the honorable obi.
CATION Of the government, and now be
proposes to make contract to pay the
bondholder in anything that the Uni.
ted States Government shall think fit,
and If it shall be at the end of fifty
years proposed that having that right
we exercise II oy paying the bonds IN
sawdust, or in an irredeemable paper,
or IN nlckie, or IN anything else, how
can the Senutor escape the logic OF his
own argument that we have a right
to make such pay mentl
Mr.. Cockrell, II this Congress were
omnlpotent and could 90 anything u
chose IN Its whlms and freaks regard
less Of the written constitutional might
90 that The Constitution IS the
charter, ana congress has no powers
outside OF the constitution; 1t Is not
omnlpotent' and II can only do what
the Constitution authorizes 1t to do.
| stated that under the contract and
under the law authorizing the con,
tract, every one OF the obligations OF
the United States could be paid IN sill
yer coin, and l say so today Now
we propose TO issue bond and We
propose that the law authorizing the
issue OF that bond shall specify that 1t
shall be payable in money and then
when the bond Is accepted with that
inserted upon us lace, II VIII be paya'
bic in money, whatever money Con-
gress under the Constitution shall de-
clare to be receivable. To pay 1t in
such money will then be in compli-
ance with the law authorizing the Is
sue Of the bond and with the terms of
the bond, and we shall hear no more
about broken faith, national disbonor,
and humiliation nathinu mnrQ ahnuf