The Iowa plain dealer. [volume] (New Oregon, Howard County, Iowa) 1867-1895, 1878-09-06

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The snsssrfus'ehs~ IA shs iAmA III this
rase Ne feass hsia that ths Legal Tsaass
arta wsfs constitutional ~ applied hush
~ past ani irsmf~ eahsrNrss.
The ranst &ays
Before w~ e~n halh THE Legal. 1sn.ies
arsa Unconstitutional ~e must be rpa.
sinessl they WIRE nd appropriate meAns,
on sneaiA c0n.lneive ia the raecutian III
ans ns NIL " she powers N Congress, ~
vi the unsernmcnt, not appropriate IN
any degree gfor W. srv uut Judges II that
degree u appropsiAsionl. ~ ~ mast
hold they wrrc prohibited. "--.l1 Wal.
lace, United HtAtas supreme Court lss.
ports. pAse cun.
The sl~gnr ii the necca~itx fus any
Congressional enactment. or the relative
degree u In appropriateness II Tor con.
si,leration In ConRress; NOT herr. When
the law In NOT prohibited, and 10 really
calculated 10 effect any of The ohjecta In.
trusted 10 the Government, to undertake
herr 10 inquire into the degree " its ne.
cessity would be to paAs the line Which
circumscrihcs the Judicial department
AMI 10 tread on Legislative ground. -
Rid, 5l2.
10 yon scc TINT the question In not
decided upon the contingency of war,
bnt The whole matter of tho ncccsaity ri
any constitutional enactment IL leit 10
Congress. The whole of this decisiun
leaves the right to issnc lcgAl.tcn,ler
money upon the sAmc authority In the
constitution that there In for the Gov
crnmcnt 10 make contracts, To require m
oath from officers, 10 build prcai.lcn-
tial mansion, Capitol or any of the
department buildings: 10 punish rob.
berries Of the mails and postoflices. to
prohibit the circulation oi obscene liter.
aturr, 10 provide for taking the atatia-
tics I'll II, YritOricH anil VI the United
States, respecting agc, SEE, health, etc.
To improve rivers and harbors, 10 eatAb-
lish buoys and light .llnusea, 10 catablish
q United States Bank. All of these
things have been and are being done
without any express power stated IN the
constitution. The CONT says:
1.-The constitution Was intended 10
frame government ~ distinguished
from league or compact Govern.
mcnt supreme In some particulars over
States and people. Il was desi6ned 70
provide tho same currency, having
uniform legal value IN all the States
II was for this reason the power to coin
money and regulate ito value was con.
fsrrcd upon the Federal Government.
while the same power I'm we'll =. the
power to emit BILLS III credit was with.
held from the States. The States ehn
no longer declare what shall he money
or regulate its value. Whatever power
there In over tho currency IL yested IN
Congress. II the power 10 declare what
IN money il not In Congress-, II IN nnni-
Inflated. ibid, 5i5.
And, generally, when ono oi sncl
powers wAs expressly denied TO the
States only, IL was for the purpose Of
rendering tho Federal power more com.
plete and exclusive; how sensible then
itn trainers must hnye hcen that emer-
gcncics might arise when the precious
metals might prove inn.lcqumte to the
necessilics of the Government and tho
demands Of the people when II In re-
mcmhercd TINT paper money was nlmost
exclusively In use In tho Htates ~ the
medium of exchange, and when the great
evil sought 10 bc remetlic,l was the want
of uniformity In tho current value OF
money, il might be argued. W say, that
the gift of power 10 coin money aud reg
ulatn the value thereof wAs understood
as conveying general power over thecnr.
rency, and which hna belongeA 10 the
States. and which they surrendered. "
Ibid, 646.
"By the obligation of contract ~
pay money IL 10 pay that which Law shall
recognize ns money when the payment
IN 10 bc made.
.Iftherc IL any thing settled hy decision
IL ID this, and We do not understand Il 10
be controvertexl. No one ever doubted
that debit OF sl 900, contracted before
1894, could be- raid by loo eagles coined
after that year, though they contained no
mere gold than ninety -four eagles coined
when the coutrnct Was made, and this 10
not because of the intrinsic value Of the
coin. hut because II ita legal value.
The eagles coined after 1894 were not
money until they were authorized by
law, nnd, hnl they bccn coined before,
without Law fixing their legal value,
they could no more have paid debt
than uncoincd bullion, or cotton. or
wheat. Every Contract for the payment
of money IL necessarily subject 70 the
constitutional power of the Government
over the currency. whatever thAt power
may he, and the obligation of tho par.
ties In, therefore, assumed with refer
cncc 10 TINT power. - Ibid, HlHlD.
III, therefore, they tho legal tenAcrx)
were. what wc have andcAvorcd 10 show.
appropriate crds, they were not trans.
grcs.ive of the authority vcsted In Con.
grcsx. Ibid, 552.
1T IL hardly correct 10 speak of 4
standard of value. Tho constitution
does not speak III IL. contcmplAtea I
standard Tor that which has gravity oE
extension; hut value u IN ideal thing.
The coinage acts tix In unit m dollar
hut tho gold or silver thing ~ call dol.
lar II, In no sense. a standard of \ dol.
lar, II ii n representative u Il, There
might never have bccn ! piece of money
of tue denomination II dollar.
1T will be sccn that ~ hold the acta
Of Congress constitutional N applied t1
contracts made before or after their pas
sage. II - holding ~ override -
much ol what was decided IN Hepburn
vs. Orinwold - ruled thu AclA unwAr
rnnted by the constitution - far ~ thcy
apply 10 contracts madc before this en-
aclment. "--lbid, 6D.
10 the question of the CONSTITUTIONAL
4