The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1880-09-16
DEBATE IN THE HOUSE, JULY
I3, 1876.

The proposed amendment of Mr..
Landers, Of Indiana, is as follows:
"And provided FURTHER, That the Sec
retary of the Treasury is directed to au-
thorize the coinage Of a standard silver
dollar of the same weight and fneness
as that in use January /, 1861, and that
said dollar shall be legal tender in
payment of all debts, public OF pri-
vate."
Mr. LANDERS, of Indiana. The
House can clearly see my object in in
Producing this amendment; it is couched
in language 80 plain that no man can
fail to understand it. My object is to
restore the silver dollar to its proper
position, the position it has occupied
ever since 1892, until by the action of
Congress it was demonetized in 1873.
II Il
The creditors of the Government in
variably took their option. They bought
our bonds with Treasury notes when
they were not worth over fifty cents on
the dollar! am not complaining of
that, because it was the law; and when
nloc lives up to the letter of the law
there is NO ground for complaint. But
the debtor class has an option in that
law. They have right to pay thos"
bonds and the interest on them either
in gold or silver com. Now it is clearly
to be seen that the object of this law o.
1873 was to deprive the debtor class of
that right; and it is for that right am
now Contending. contend that the
right which was taken from the debtor
class by the act of 1873 should be again
restored to them. .......''t
Did not that act repudiate the con-
tract? Did it not say that the debtor
should not have the rights that be-
longed to him under the contract And
70 not that IT, 'iation? 1t is of the
SAME class Of leg alton as that of 1869.
The act of 1869 was repudiating act.
1t repudiated the contract and said that
the bonds should be paid in coin, which
under the original contract should have
been paid in lawful money. It said
that hereafter they should be paid in
coin alone. And now because one kind
of coin is depreciating in value this
bond-holding class is not satisfied with
the first reputation, but come in with
a second %epudiating act, and declare
that such silver coin shall not be re-
garded as money.
The object of this amendment is
to prevent this second outrage and
act Of Reputation. Now, if the debtor
class has a right to pay their debts in
silver, will this Congress deny to them
that right If they have not that
right, and Congress should say that
silver is q full legal tender, it is a
question for the courts to determine,
and as a matter of course they are al
ways open to decide such questions.
From the legislation Of the past it would
seem that the debtor class have had no
rights here. Shall this thing continueP
Are your constituents all creditors2
Mine belong to both classes. u...,
But the gentleman from Ohio dwells
on the fact that silver has declined in
value. Now, when a contract has. been
made and parties bound by it to pay
debt either in silver or gold coin at its
lawful rate, ! ask if it is any fault Of the
debtor il either of these commodities
decline in value before the debt falls
due | never heard that question
raised before. Suppose contract to bo
made to pay debt in wheat Or corn