The weekly intelligencer. [volume] (Lexington, Mo.) 1891-1901, 1891-06-27
THE SILVER QUESTION.
Duties and Rights Of the United States
in Respect to its Coin Obliga tions.

All the debts of the United State,
when any special medium of the pay
ment of either interest or principal
expressed, are made payable ilhr
III paper money or ''n cOin,' hu
never i'll gold The 30 bond
issued under the act of Fcbruar
20, 1862, We're made payablc-th
principal in dollars, withou! specify in
he kind, and which might mean dol
lars IN paper or coin, and the interIS
III com; and, in order to secure tn
com for paying the interest, the ac
specially appropriatcs the customs
duties, and provides that they shall b
collected ''in COIN only, which include
SILVER rs well AS gold coin. The lat
est and still continuing law IN rcSprc
to those duties, which is found in sec
tinn i413 of the Revised Statutes o
1874, declares that they may he pal,
in gold and silver com"
The act of March ), 1868, under
which the 1910 bonds were issued
makes both the principal and Interest
of those bonds payable ..in COIN
The well-knowm declaratory resolu.
ton of March lS, 1869, to sStrengther
the public credit" makes no promise
of gold, hut expressly recognizes ''gold
or silver" rs constituting the s'coin
promised in prior acts. The special
pledge of the law of March IL, 1869, i,
that all national obligations shall be
paid in ''cnin or its equivalent, eX-
crpt those in respect to which il may
have been expressly provided that the
same may be paid in lawful money, OF
other currency than gold or silver. :"
The act of july II, 1870, under
which the national debt is now being
refunded, provides for payments, not
III gold, but s.in COIN" and the only
new provision which it contains is that
payments shall be made ..in coin of the
present standard value.
Bonds issued under the act of July
n, 1870, have printed on them the fol
lowing words:
This bond is issued in accordance with
the provisions OF an act OF congress enti-
tied IAN act to authorize the refuuding uf
amended hv an ant arnHnroved Ia2narv o,'
1871, and is redeemabie at the pleasure OF
the United States after, &c., in coin of the
soid I',, Va is70 .,ith @ ;nt.rt 1tos q, s,..h ~,
coin.
On the lith of july, 1870. the silver
,',I .;,,.a, .,,,,, ', ~. .,I ...,; ;,''t',',
rs ,ha ,,cIl J"i,,n WV III W. ,n nnm,,i"
al :, Jn', n' ~ ,rr.,;,,,' IS
,,,nJ,r, ,,,,iJ nn,i, a.. It. ,,,i
rnld JnlI.,r, WAR;. i,v..,oJ vii, ,L,
..a f,a"t;o WV ,n ~ '.i | ,nn. ~
.nm.,,,. ,nm.I ,ondar g.. aII I,I,.
,I,II;a , .', ., ~, '
t ' u P' ,a,.;' ;,t, "T" W. ',,'I w. W.,
hu;I;an had ,ha r;rb, tn I.,no.;, II "a,
the mint nnJ h,vn !, coined for hi. ,c.
cnunt in the order If lis nreseut,tinp
,ntn fuIi Isr,I-tnnd.r mon.y ,nd ho'
;,,,. -, ,;,I :, -, -; g a.,
T ..nr.s.nt stamd.ra ~.I"n = ~, iu,nndnd
h, IN. ,o, nf In,, II lszo and i,
which ho,ds ;ss,.j u,d.r ,h,t NO, ,u,,
IN. locally maid
The rirht to demonetlze cold resi-,
on the sam, foundation ,s the rivht +,
d.mon.tize silver. and the rich, to de.
monetize both is as well assured rs tb,
ripbt to d.monet;ze either II is no,
disnut.d thai the United STATES NAV
change at will either the weight or the
purity of the metal in its coins. II
might make its coins 40 instead OF
o 10 fine. ar might make the pold and
silver dollar. or unit of value, contain
more ar less rold and silver re-
spectively than was contained in the
gold or silver dollar of the standard
value of July IA. 1870. But neither
the demonstration of one or both of
the metals, nor change of weight or
purity of metal i'm either cold or silver
dollars. could either deprive the coun-
fry of any of its RIGHTS or relieve il of
any of its OBLIGATIONS i'm respect to
bonds il sued under the act of July H.,
1870. Nor could such legislation build
M any new RIGHTS or break down any
old ones of the holders of bonds issued
under that act. The very terms.
.,coins of the nresent standard value, -
used in that act To describe the medium
in which bonds issued under # were
payahle. implied not only the power of
the government to change the "stand-
ard value of its coins as existing July
ii. 1870, but the probability that such
chances mirbt he made. What the
act does is to protect the holders OF
bonds issued under if from beinU affect
boli iha Tnitad States NOT to nay dol.
lars of sucb WEIGHT. nurity. and m,te-
rial .s may constitute coin of the
standard yaiue when the interest or the
nrincin,I nf tb. hands falls DIN. Inn to
nov .t its ontion in dollars nf eitbe,
mnid mr. silver nf tbe weight and nuri.
~ of ..co;n of tha standard y,Iua of tbc
Ip;tad states on said .IuIv IA ls70 >,
IL IN. UniteJ states sbouid mall. if.
money tn consist nf n,nar mr. nf nlot.
,nnm oo;n. snoh as wcre fnrn,nrI,
minted in Russi, if must sill provid,
onld mr. s,Iver coins for IN. bolders -,
honJs ;ssuoJ ,nd,r III. ,c, of JuIv If
,s-n and of tL. ...t,nd,rj v.Iu.;. .x.
is,in,. an, ,b,t d., IL IN. Iu;,.J St,t.,
sbnn1d hara.f,ar diminish L, nn.-b,lt
,ha w.;rh, rs nura m.t,I in tbn ~nlI
and siIvn, dollar r.sn.o,;v.l, tb, ri,rh,
IS a., ,,aIi,,,, ,f ,I,o,.,, I,,L, ,.H,,l,
ma, ho mra;nd;naa ,h.r,hy. r.i,hn,
nnr,d n. r;,:h,. nf IN. rny.rnmant h,
nr.;nJ;c.d nnd.r onnoSita conditions
i,n3.r .I ,.;rc,n.,,nc.. the bold.rs ot
,h,., hnna., h.y.. tb. ,.l..,, r;yht ,n de.
mand coin of the ..standard value" o
July "A. 1870: and equally clear is tn,
rirht of tbe United States to pay i;
coin of gold or silver, at its option, o
that ..St,u,l,rd vain. - These rimht,
arr. the correlatiyes of each other aut