The Wilmingtonian., 1885-02-14
SENATOR BAYARD'S ARGU-
MENT.
The Philadelphia Daily Evening TeIe-
graphs Opinion of all our Senators.

The Philadelphia Daily Evening TeIe-
graphs Opinion of all our Senators.
SENATOR BAYARD argued against the re-
demption of the trade dollars, and his argu-
ment was long way from being a good
one. Mr.. Bayard is re. orted to have said
that it was absolutely IN the face of reason
and of history, and in denial of actual expe-
rience, to allegG that the trade dollar had
ever been in circulation in the United States
as money. even while it had the legal-tender
power to the extent of five dollars. This
rather sweeping statement Mr.. Bayard bases
on the assertion that before 1876 the intrin-
sic value of the trade dollar prevented it
from, rnsri,,e- e,-.sl;,,a-., s,alIor nu 90
caunt OF its being worth too much while
after 1876 there was no such coin on our
list, by which the Delawarean means that
the legal-tender qualities of the trade dollar
were removed by Congressional action. In
NPPSiV Va hi' Poo'Viop, horeoNei, Une Dela-
ware Senator went on to say that Congress
had no power to create values by fiat. But
as it so happens that this is exactly what
Congress tried to do, and as out of its trying
to do it all the trouble over the trade dollar
is due, it is a miserable sort of non seguitur
for Mr. Bayard to protest that there is no
obligation, moral, equitable or legal, upon
the United States to redeem the trade dol
lars Now, what are the vital facts about
this business? =? The trade dollars were
authorized by act of Congress when silver
was "dear',-that is to say, when n coin of
the weight and fineness of the trade dollar
was woith more than the gold dollar, which
was the only legal standard of monetary
value 1t was given legal tender status
and this it had for two or three wears
although, as Mr. Bayard says, it was coined
for export-or, in other words as a good
enough dollar for the Heathen Chinee, This
legal tender quality of the dollar was subse
quently removed, and following this proceed
ing Congress decided that if the Heather
Chinee could benefit himself by traneactinp
business with an underweighted coin. the
good Christian American citizen could do
likewise. Consequently Congress by fiat
ordered the coinage OF dollar ofless weight
than the trade dollar and made it a full
legal tender for all debts public and private.
One of the interesting results of this pro-
ceeding was to turn the current of trad,
dollars out of the China channel. This pro-
ceeding was logical; for if the daddy dollar
was good dollar, then it followed as
matter of course that the trade dollar was a
better one, for it had more precious metal in |
it-althOugh it was still intrinsically OF less
worth than the gold dollar. That Congress
did not directly legislate the trade dollar into
American circulation is hothing to the pur-
pose. Congressional action put it into circu- |
latiOn just as etfectualy as if it had done so |
directly, and, Mr. Bayard, to the contrary |
has some very weighty
moral and equitable, if not legal, response
bilities in connection with the matter. It is
very true that Congress cannot create values
by fiat, but it can by fiat disturb them a great
ieal, and this is exactly what Congress did
With IFS silver legislation, beginning with
he matter of legisIatng into existence, and
or several years comforting legal-tender
Qualities upon, lightweight dollar intend.
dior the beguilement of the Hvathen {
jhinee. ,