Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1886-12-08

dollar actually In the treasury and paya-
bic op demand; currency In which our
monetary unit, coined In gold, or It's
equivalent, coined 10 silver, shall not be
suffered TO part company"
The act making compulsory post.
redemption issues and reissues Of United
States notes and the act making cOmpul
sorry treasury purchases OF silver are each
separate menace TO the public tranquil
", are each Injurious 70 the public NOR
ais, the public faith and the public inter
est. But they do not double our difficult
tiee Ga the contrary, the repeal OF both
acts, aud the use Of the treasury metal
surplus la the substitution Of coin certifl-
Gates far greenbacks, will convert our
worst kind Of paper currency into the best
kind-indeGnite pTomissorY notes OF debt
made legal tender will be converted into
representative certificates Of coin, held
subject 10 demand.
As the competency OF the federal gov
ernment to make It's debts a legal-tender
OF payment Tor the debts Of IFS citizens,
one to another, has, In these latter days,
been affirmed, despite 40 absolute con
sensus Of opinion o the contrary among
it's founders and statesmen OF all parties
from 1889 70 1861, IL seems TO me in this
conflict OF legal opinions duty 10 recur
to the unquestioned conclusions OF a
sound finance.
com, not PROMISES, FIT " LKGAL-
TENDER.
When the union Of the states was formed
IN 7Sg and the present constitution or
dalned the last and first avowed objects
OF It's trainers were to secure liberty and
to establish justice. Political philosophy
as yet mas framed no higher ideal. JUS
tlce was their eDdeayor, and the constitu.
ton, like the laws passed by the early
in which many OF its trainers
sat, shows fixed purpose to avert known
perils to justice.
Among the chief instruments and means
of justice is least imperfect, least vsri-
able, coin monetary unit; the standard Of
all exchanges and lawful tender OF pay
the trainers OF the constitution
were fresh from bitter experience Of the
calamities consequent upon stretching
the legal-tender quality from coin to
promises to pay coin. So they built high
a double barrier against that calamity.
They limited the federal government to
certain and delegated powers. They de-
fined some and prohibited other certain
residue OF unprohiblted or undelegated
powers which completed the round SUN
of sovereignty, should be implied into the
federal government, they reserved them
explicitly to the states respectively or to
the people Then to The federal govern
ment they gave many powers, but not
this power 70 make the treasury notes Of
the United States legal tender 10 the
payment Of private debts. Then to the
states they explicitly prohibited all future
exercise OF similar power-there tofore,
NJ most grieyOus cost exercised by them
amid the struggles OF foundation or the
throes OF revolution. Nor in any
one OF the fifteen amendments
which have enlarged the federal
powers, over slavery, representa-
ton, citizenship and the voting franchise
has there been enlargement Of the power
nj first bestowed upon the United states,
and vested In their congress as the power
10 "coin money, regulate the value there.
Of and Of foreign COM And while thus
were refused IN the convention and with.
held In the constitution, any warrant to
amplify, or excuse for abusing, the pow
err so specified and granted, 1t was olso
that thereafter "no state shall
emit bills OF credit; make any thing
but gold and silver coin tender ia pay,
ment Of debts; pass any law
lmpairing the obligation Of contracts
~.h Under tae last clause of the
eighth section OF the constitution, the
power thus granted was by the Second
in the coinage law of 1892, as
and properly eXecutory of
that power, wisely and fully exercised
1t was exercised without abuse, without
pretension to some sovereign power In
herited, but as specific power delegated
TO the federal government and vested in
the congress.
1t was exercised not in relation to any
power to borrow money; for money, be-
sides being one kind OF wealth, is also
that kind which is standard and meas
ure Of the value OF all kinds of wealth;
and to change the standard, in the act
of borrowing, from coin to the promise to
pay coin, would have been not borrowing
merely at also cheating or enrlching the
lender. If such power be indeed sover.
,.!su power, legitimate and hrrltable, II is
OF the least precious patrimony reserve
in tine sovereignty of the people, for il
was prohibited to the states and never
delegated TO the United States.
The congress OF 1892 fixed the none.
tary unit of the United States In coin,
gave IL the name dollar, made II the unit
OF the money Of account In their offices
and courts, named also its multiples and
fractions, and then, opening their mint
free 20 all cJmers, affixed the full legal.
tender quality to all gold and silver there
coined.
Congress might, under It's also granted
power "to borrow money" have re-
ceved the loan of all the coined gold and
silver dollars that their owners would
lend, for borrowing Is not taking, by
force of law or license, against the Will
of the lender. 1t is taking because the
consent OF the borrower to receive con.
ours with the consent OF the lender To
convey. In return for each and all OF
Those coins 1t might have emitted It's
promises TO pay on demand. That would
have been the exercise of It's granted
power TO borrow money, At further need
1t might have agreed To pay from its con.
slant receipt of taxes QOr the longer loan
OF money which its own con-
slantly outgoing expenditure and
the residue of still uuborrowed
money would provlde) money In
principal sums and rs interest, giving
therefore It's time obligations That
would have been the exercise OF its
power to borrow money But the power
to change the unit Of value Ia money so
borrowed or loaned, has no relation,
legitimate or logical, with such OF any
power TO borrow money. IL is not de-
riyable from the borrowing power. IL
Is a power Legitimate aud irrelevant