The semi-weekly miner. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1882-1886, 1886-01-16

suit of careful examination, and l feel quite su
, an impartial court would affirm 1t, II the ca
views as fully stated in q speech. Your idea
; that we propose to repudiate or violates Prom1
when w offer to redeem the 'principar' In leg
tenders.
when he refuses to take the same kind of mone
he paid for the bonds. If the case is to be tcste
by law, l am right; If 1t Is to be tested by u
Cookies advertisement, l am wrong. l hate r
to be deferred from doing what is right by fear
If. under the law, as it stands, the holders
the fv%e-twenties can only be paid in gold, the
we are regulators If we propose to pay othe
only the kind of money he paid, then he is a r.
pudiator and extortioner to demand money mol
valuable thar he gave. Truly yours,
Every word he said was true, and r.
mains true to this day. The pledge is o
the back of every greenback now that
shall be receivable, at it's face value, 10
every debt, public and private, except in
terest on the public debt and custom
dues. The men who demanded more wer
repudiators Of the public faith and credit
as he %truthfully and Indignantly said. MI
Stevens, then the leader of his party, de
nounced their claim still more iercely, AM
threatened TO abandon his party and joil
the Democracy, even with Frank Blair
on the ticket, rather than countenanc
such an outrage on public decency.
The subsequent legislation by Congress
only proves the truth of Macaulay's obser
walton that if large %pecuniary interest
were concerned in denying the truth of tn
attraction oil gravitation that most obviou
| OF physical facts would be strongly ant
ably disputed.
1t seems to me that any set of men witt
would deny the fact that the legal-tende
note, Endorsed as it was and is, which hat
purchased the bonds at it's face value
should be received again by the bond
holder in payment OF the principal OF tn
obligation he held, would not hesitate tt
| deny the truth of the attraction of gravita
ton.
Yet these men not only denied it, but il
1869 procured the passage OF an Act O
Congress, against the note and protest q
am happy to say OF every Democrat in
both Houses, declaring that the principa.
of the bonds should be paid in COMM
gold and silver coin-as both are named,
Legal-tenders were only worth so cents or
the dollar in coin when the bonds were
bought; they were worth &C to 70 cents
when this Act was passed. The Act was
simply legalized robbery. The bondhold.
ers and their attorneys in and out Of Con
gress knew it, and knew that no court
would sustain such a law. The indorse.
ment could neither be erased nor sworn OF
the bar&spf the legaLtender note, and no
body "a paead ignorance OF the law or
the fao1S chat it was to be received at par
in payment Of the principal OF all bonds.
Therefore they caused the act of July
IA, 1870, to be passed, extending the time
OF payment, reducing the interest, and ex-
empting the new bonds in express terms
from all taxation, State, Federal, or mu-
nicipaf; and to prevent all mistake or mis-
apprehension al to the character, quality,
and height OF the money in which payment
OF the new bonds should be made, they
caused to be printed on each bond as part
OF its obligation, that it shall be paid in
coin OF the standard value prescribed by
law on July II, 1870" The present gold
and silver coins are both OF the standard
value prescribed by law of July IA, 1870,
and were then as now both full legal-tend-
ers frr all our obligations. All the bonds
that mature in 1892 and 1907, amounting
to about 81, 900, OOO, 600. stands to-day
unchanged, and payable as required by
the act of 1870. The remnant of those
payable now have been changed, the inter-
est has been lowered, and the time ex-
tended, but the same provisions govern
them, and the same conditions are writ
ten out as part OF the contract in all OF
them. Let me read. Inscription on face
OF bonds OF the 5 per cent. funded loan of
1881.
"This bond is issued in accordance with
the provisions OF an act of Congress en-.
titled An Act to Authorize the Refund
ing OF the National Debt, Approved July
IA, 1878, A~mendended by an act APP
proved January 20, 1871 and is redeem
able at the plasure OF the United States
after the first day of May, A. D. 1881. in
OF the standard value of the United
States on said July IA, 1870, with in
terest in such coin from theday of the date
hereof, at the rate OF 5 per cent. per
payable quarterly on the first day
February. May, August and Novembero OF
each year. The principal and interest are
exempt from the payment of all taxes and
duties OF the United States, as we'll as in
taxation in any form by or under State,
municipal, or local authority"
Extract from face OF United States 4 per
cent bond:
This bond is issued in accordance with
the provicions Of an act of Congress, en-.
titled An Act to Authorize the Refundine
the National Debt approved July ID,
1870, amenoed by an act approved Janu-
20, 1871, and is redeemable at the
OF the United States after the
day OF July, 1907. in coin of the
value of the United States on
said July IA, 1870, with interest in such
coin from the day o fthe date hereof at the
OF 4 per cent. per annum, payable
quarterly on the first day OF October, Jan
uary, April and July in each year. The
principal and interest are exempt from the
OF all taxes or duties of the Uni
ted States, as well az from taxation in any
[orm by or under State, municipal or local
authority.
In the face of these facts it is simply alb
surd for anybody to assert that they are
payable in gold alone, or that that the tax
OF the country are under any obi
express or implied, either to demon
etize or stop the coinage OF the silverdollar.
is of the standard value, required by
the act OF July IA, 1870, or to increase it's
thirty, forty, or any other number
grains, because England, to whom we
have ANONYMOUSLY surrendered the carry
ing trade OF his country and the world,
with her 2OO,O 900. 900 of serfs in India and
and Germany, after extortinp
81 900, 900 900, OF gold from France, have
combined in the interest oil their money
to depreciate silver, or put IN the
market price OF gold 20 per cent.
If the gold mines of California and Ans.
tralia had continued to produce abundant
~, and the Comstock lode and the Lead.
vile mines had not produced silver, so that
the market value OF the two metals as hull
in London had been reversed. the
argument could be made quite as plans.
ible that the silver dollar was the com.
stitutional unit of value in 1870. which
the ~bondholders have a right to demand
There is not an outstanding obIioat;nn
Of the United States, or of n State mn.
nicipality, corporation or individual which
aGnc De legally and honorably discbaraed
~ the payment Of the present standard
silver dollar. What right has Congress to
the debtor of that right by addino
more silver to the coin than he agreed to-
pay or by stopping it's coinage 80 that he
'annot obtain it? It ia as palpab.e a yio.
alton OF the contract to increase the obi.
alton Of the debtor as it ia to impair Or
educe the standard value of the coli, which
he creditor stipulated in his contract
hould be paid to him. When Congress hos
coined money and regulated the vaIns