Salt Lake evening Democrat. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1885-1887, 1886-03-02
PAY THE BONDS IN SILVER.

PAY THE BONDS IN SILVER.
Charles E. Coon, lately Assistant Sec
retary of the Treasury, writes a lengthy
J letter to the New York Herald in suppor
r of the proposition that good faith requires
that the bonded debt of the United
States should be paid in gold, that being
the coin, and the only coin, Mr.. Coon
urges, which Congress, down to June 10,
1877, had any thought of when the mat.
ter of the payment of our outstanding
bonds was under discussion.
To sustain his position, Mr.. Coon incor-
porates in his letter a number of extracts
from the speeches of Senators and Rep
resentatives at the time the act to sustain
the public credit was under consideration
in Congress, and concludes as follows
respectfully submit that in view of the
plain intent of Congress, as shown by the
debates and attendant circumstances, to-
gether with the action of the Executive,
there can be no doubt that we have agreed
to redeem these bonds in gold coin of the
present standard value, and that those who
invested their savings in our bonds, whether
before or after the remonetiZing of silver,
rightly believe that such was the contract
between themselves and the Government.
But purposely or otherwise, Mr.. Coon,
who seems to have evoluted out of the
position of a Government servant into
that of an apparently well-paid agent of
the golb-bug ring of the East, overlooks
very important resolution which was
adopted by both branches of Congress in
January, 1873, and which any one may
find upon the records as follows:
WHEREAS, By the act entitled "An Act to
strengthen the public credit" approved
March Is, 1869, it was provided and declared
that the faith and credit of the United
States was thereby solemnly pledged to the
payment, In coin or its equivalent, of all the |
interest-bearing obligations of the United
States, except in cases where the law author
lzlng the issue of such obligations had ex-
pressly provided that the same might bepaid |
in lawful money or other currency than gold |
and silver; and
WHEREAS, All the bonds of the United |
States authorized to be issued by the act en-
titled "An act to authorize the refunding of
the national debt" approved July IA, iS7O,
by the terms of said act were declared to be
redeemable in coin of the then present
value, bearing interest PAYABLE
seml-annually in such coin; and
WHEREAS, All bonds of the United States
authorized to be issued under the act en-
titled AN act to provide for the resumption
of specie payments approved January IA,
bonds of the United States described in the
said act of Congress, approved July Ia, 1870,
entitled AN act to authorize the refunding
Of the national debit" and
WHEREAS, At the date of the passage of
said Act of Congress last aforesaid. to-wit:
5he fourteenth day of July, 1870, the coin of
The United States of standard value of that
late included silver dollars of the weight of
El21a grains each, declared by the act ap- I
proved January Is, 1887, entitled can Act j
to the Act entitled AN Act |
establishing mint and regulating the coins
If the United States,'" to be legal tender
IT payment, according to their nominal {
'alue, for any sums whatever; therefore,
RESOLVED by the Senate (the House of Rep
concurring therein) That all the
'onds of the United States, issued, or
uthorlzed to be issued, under said Acts of i
congress. hereinbefore recited are payable, Y
rincipal and interest, at the option of the
government of the United States, in silver
ollars, of the coinage of the United States,
obtaining 4l21a grains each of standard sill
er; and that, to restore to its coinage such =,
liver coins as a legal tender in payment of
aid bonds, principal and interest, is not in
lolatlon of the public faith, nor in deroga- p
ION of the rights of the public creditor q
Is it not clear from the foregoing that c
mple notice was given to all whom it o
hight concern that this nation would Il
quidate its Indebtedness in silver if it IL
chose? And furthermore, is it not :. -
ear that by "silver," the dollar of =, -
day. containing 4121a grains OF standard te
lver, was the money with which it was W
tended those bonds should be paid off? fe
has very much that appearance to us. h'
The only bonds now outstanding that su
ere issued prior to the passage of the l.
solution above quoted, were 5000, ,0OO,- al a,
0 of 41as and $75, ,000, 900 OF 4s-all the u
st are subject to payment as the resolu-
N directs, in silver, if the Government 90
all so elect. OF these 411as and As, the, Pl
mer will become due in 1891, and will, al,
thout question, be paid off in gold or If
equivalent. The $75,OOO,O0O of As, tn
erefore, are the only bonds to which tn
;. Coon's argument has any practical an an
plication, and in the language OF the MI
W York Sun, the amount is too small y. VIZ
make it worth while to engage in any Wv,
pute about them. ~,
10, the Government does not stand tal
dyed to pay off the national indebted ths
IS in gold, and, with the exceptions the
ed, it will not so be liquidated The sto
'er dollar, as honest dollar as ever OPT
pped from any mint, is good enough enc
the masses of the people; it will also ,. 1.'
'e to be good enough for the bloated ans --s
dholders. -,