American citizen. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 1864-1890, 1878-03-09
THE SILVER BILL LAW.
Press Comments on the Passage of the I{jII
Over the Presidents Veto.
IChicago Tribune-Repub.
LET Us ALI. I,EIOICE


Over the Presidents Veto.
Chicago Tribune-Repub.J
LET US ALL REJOICE.
Congress acted on the Shakespearean sem
tlment in regard to the anti-siver veto, that
- If 1t were done when tits done, then 'twere
we'll 'twere done quickly" Every body
feels better that the long agony is over. For
the first time in the political history of this
| country, the West and South struck hands
| and acted together, irrespecti.e e of party
| lines or antagonism. The West was as solid
as the SOt1th; and a little more so. The East
was not fully united, fof the great Keystone
state went with the West, making tie
monetiZatiOn movement irresistible even
against veto. Taking all things into con-
sideratiOn, it is famous victory, and the
Flctors are entitled to sing Laudamus :"
CASE OF "BREACH OF FAITH"
Lst. Louis RGpuirlicsn- DemT
It will be remembered that when the
/ per cent. bonds We're first offered for sale
! last summer, a New York broker asked Sec
! retary Sherman how they would be paid,
and the Secretary replied they would be
/ paid in gold: they were to be sold for gold,
| and, said the Secretary, sit is not to be an
/ tlclpated that any further legislation of Com
| Sress, or any action of any department of
! the Government will sanction or tolerate the
redemption of the principal of these bonds,
or the payment OF interest thereon, in coin
# less value than the coin authorized Jy
law at the time of the issue of the bonds,
being the coin eXacted by the Government
| IN exchange for the same" Mr.. Hayes
cites this letter in his veto message, and in
| forms US that it was authorized by
| the Cabinet: and he adds that in view
of the promise made IN It, at will
be justly regarded as grave breach of PUB
lie faith to undertake to pay these bonds in
silver coin." But who authorized the Cab
met to promise that they should not be paid
IN silver? 1t is not the Cabinet, but Con-
gress, that makes laws to d" coin money and
regulate the value thereof" Mr.. Sherman's
letter to the New York broker contained an
assumption of authority without warrant,
ana the fact that Congress has done the very
thing he promised it ought not to do, and
would not do, shows that he did not know
what he was talking about. We have had
TOO much financial law making by Jav |
Cooke, John Sherman and other unauthor-
lied persons who assume to impose Obliga-
tlons on the people without their consent:
and henceforth when bOndhoIder wants to |
know how his bonds will be paid, he will |
look not to promises and advertisements of |
the Secretary Of the Treasury, but to the law |
itself.
AN INSULT TO. CONGRESS.
lPittsburg Commercial Gazctte-Repub.
As matter of Presidential prudence, we |
regard the veto as practically unfortunate. |
President Hayes has been remarkable for |
the certainly with which he has managed |
to put himself in opposition TO the common |
sense of the country since he has been in
off1ce- 1t is impossible to be in Washington |
and not know there is a strong undercurrent |
OF irritated feeling among Congressman to-
ward the President 1t is felt that there is |
no sympathy between them. 1t was because /
of this that Secretary Sherman was so anx- |
iouS that he should at least not Veto if he |
didnot sign the bill. Prudence, even withref-
erence to legislation relative to silver, would
have led to withholding a veto, 1t was clearly
understood that, ,ift the President should haunt
veto in the face of Congress after so strong
a vote had been given as to prove its utter
uselessness, there would be danger of bill
far more extreme in its provisions being
passed. But, to send a veto to Congress
after it had fully discussed the subject, de-
claring the bill dishonest, and iniimating
that no change in the law should be made
without the consent of the gOldites, was to
insult Congress. 1t was certainly an eX-
tremely impudent thing to do. The Presi-
dent could have maintained his consistency
by signing the bill and sending a message to
Congress stating his individual views, but
recognizing the uselessness of a veto, or he
might have allowed it to become law by
expiration of time. OF all possible methods,
he chose the most offensive.
VICTORY FOR THE PEOPLE.
cincinnati Enquirer-Dem.l
Yesterday was an eventful day in our ma
tI0nal politics. Its sun went down upon the
glory and Independence of the Congress of
the United States, and set upon the shame
OF the Administration. Two branches of
Congress, with unfaltering devotion to the
Interests of their employees, resisted the
of the money power, and trod
the serVile opinions of the Administration |
promptness. The veto message is weak
and illogical as it is outrageous. 1t damns
itself The President hangs all his OBJ
JectlOnS to this bill upon the point of "im- Y
pairing the obligations of cOntracts;" and
this law restores the obligation of contracts.
1t is not the coinage of a new dollar, but the
coinage OF an old one that the law authorizes,
and the President should remember that the
surest way in which to "Injuriouslv affect
the public credit'' is to weaken the respect
at home for its managers-that public faith
begins at home. The Government should
hrst keep faith with its citizens. But
the President advises lying to ones
wife,. swindling ones daughter, cheat
ing his son, and robbing his en-
I han is promised. When he says it was un-
derstood differently, he only heaps infamy
on the heads of those who have caused the
bonds to be so understood, as the bonds
themselves say they shall not be. When he
says that the I" standard of value should not
be changed without the consent of both
parties to the contract" he unwittingly
takes precisely the position of the Congress
that denounced such a change in this law,
on his veto, and in spite of him
rectlhed it. But the most infamous veto in
our history is conquered by the Congress
with Is votes more than the necessary IWo-
thirds in the House, and with three to spare
in the Republican Senate. This is the vic
tory of the people, whose confidence the
President has forfeited. The man in the
w hIte House clothed with the veto power is
clothed with awful authority. His word
equals one-siXth of the Congress. IT bal
ances more than six States, nearly 5000 900
of people, and 900, 900 voters. The people
escaped from its tremendous command yes
terday. But this hour teaches, nay COM
mands, the American voters not again to
trust that power to any man who is not the
unalterable friend of the people upon these
great questions of finance.
THE PRESIDENTS CONVICTION OF DUTY.
TMenphis AvaIanche-Ind.l
The Presidents veto of the Senate Silver
bill is not surprise to the country or to
Congress. The regret we earnestly feel in
the opposition of the President 10 the resto-
ration of the dollar of our grandfathers is
mitigated by the reflection that his financial
views are not in harmony with those of New
England and New York, in which States
public opinion, as far as it is permitted to
have expression, is for the single gold
standard, while the President would have
both silver and gold, provided silver be made
equal in its purchasing power to gold. The
President in his veto adheres to his opinions
as expressed in his annual message to Con-
gress. He is very much like the man who
asSerted that the horse was lG feet high,