Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1891-11-24
/" SO-CENT DOLLAR
ANorheRlErrsR FROM JUoos r. w,
HUGHES ON THE CURRENCY.
"Drissen she Greatest. wlsest, sieansss
or Nations . Legal Tender et
Home-The Indian Rapee.
Nonro1r. Noremher 70. isel.


EonTo1x, November ~. 1891.
20 As Hfaofof &c Dsspd,css
We continually hear Of the "eiehty-cent
dollar" There is no such thing IN exist
snee. The American silver dollar will buy
the microbe gold dollar anywhere in the
United States 1t will buy IL because u IS
. dollar. Just as much 80 asits little mulatto
counterpart. The two are dollars by the
fame right and title that IL 70 say, by the
foi Of the Constitution and laws OF the
United States.
LEukL rxxDER AT HoMx,
That Constitution established q Gov
eminent of the United States" and called
it government IL Is not only gov
ernment, but II Is tho only government In
this country that has the character OF ma.
tionaiity and possesses the prerogatiye OF
determining the unit Of values here. The
States OF which 1t Is composed are ineom-
petent 70 declare what Is money or to regu-
late It's value. Whatever power there -
over the currency is vested in Congress.
If the power TO declare what is ~ oney IS
not in Congress. II is annihllated. The
Court in Legal Tender Cases, IL Wall, 30.
The power to determine what shall DO
lawful money and q legal tender IS. in ITS
nature and of necessity, governmental
power. IL rs IN all countries exercised by
the Government. In the United states,
so far as ID relates to the precious metals,
il is vested in Congress By the power
20 coin money" Chase, Chief jus
tice, for the Supreme Court in Hepburn
rs. Greswold, s Wall, 6i5 Mr.. Webster,
though eoptending That paper notes could
not be made legal tender, in which respect
he has been overruled by the Supreme
Court, yet held IL TO be indisputable that
"the legal tender IN this country "a gold
md silver--eitber the coinage OF our own
Inints or foreign coins at rates regulated
by Congress. Congress" he continues,
has exercised this power fully ID both IT'S
branches. II has coined money, and still
coins IL: il has regulated the value OF
foreign coin, and still regulates 1t. The
legal tender, therefore the constitutional
standard of value, - established and cannot
be overtbrown. To overflow 1t would
shake the whole system" OF our Govern
msnt. Websters Works, AL.
From the fact that the Government OF
the United States Is government OF
sovereign power IN respect TO money that
the States are prohibited from making
Augbt but gold and SILVER legal tender as
coined OF appraised in value by authority
of the United States Government; that
Congress is empowered by the Constltu-
ton 10 coin money and regulate the value
thereof and Of foreign CONS; that Con-
gress has established from the beginning
az It's being the American silver dollar as
the unit of value and of accounts IN the
United Ststes--it follows that this dollar
is worth par, is par, without any reference
20 the question whether the silver In 1T
would buy. il in the form of metal, eighty,
or hundred, or O hundred and twenty,
or nalf bushel OF copper cents.
II there were no supreme power IN the
land, endowed with the prerogatiye OF de-
claring what shall be the unit OF value,
there could be no certainty IN contracts
and these would be governed by the hokle
sanction of voluntary consensus Whlch IL.
self would lack the essential element OF
coerciye validity. This unit may have
mere imaginary existence and value; 10
mar be of paper IL may be OF metal; In
deed, IL may not exist at oil. How many
bankers in Lombard or Wall street have
ever seen apound sterling coin-the ietlscih
which they worship with neart and soul,
mind and strength, might and main
There never were any such COINS until
1915. II we except few struck in the reign
OF Henry the VIII; yet this pound ster-
ling has been the unit Of British currency
for generations past. Length is material
and can be measured weight is lnateIlhi
and can be ascertained by scales; and TX
allowed TO drop will mash your toes. But
value is an ideal thing. The coinage acts
OF Congress FIX its unit in our country as a
dollar. III the weight and composition Of
thIs unit be but fixed by congressional
prerogativo there might be no piece
actually coined of the denomination OF
the dollar See remarks OF the court tothls
effect in Legal Tender Cases, II Wall, 653.
What, then, makes thepiece ofsllyer com
under consideration dOllarl IL 10 the
fat OF the Government, exercised by au-
thority of the national Constitution, IN
the performance of O necessary functional
duty, devolved solely, absolutely, and
automatically upon itself as the supreme
government of the United States.
INTRINSIC VALUE NoS-EssENTGAL.
There IS q swarm OF money dealers in
London who say that our American dollar
is not an honest one, and there are larger
swarm of Americans here who echo their
words but the American Congress, from
the great one which convened IN 1889 fresh
from the battle-helds of she war for
American independence, ana al IT'S sue
cessors down 10 the present time, have
said that this silver coin, bearing the in-
delljble STAMP OF the American eagle upon
its face, Is and shall be the dollar Of the
United States.
What influence the possession of intrin-
sic value may have had on Congress IN fix
ing upon the form, weight, anu compost
ton OF this unit dollar Is immaterlal.
Congress was exercising @ prerogative
became the legal basis OF every contract,
irrespectiyely of the value Of the metal
out OF which IL was formed, II melted into
shapeless mass. 100
Al a later period, that Is to say in 1862,
so completely and utterly did Congress
disregard the feature OF intrinsic xalue
that II issued hundred and fifty millions
of dollars of Treasury notes and affixed
the legal tender function TO them all.
This was done in the depth and gloom OF
sectional war. After the war was over
there was great screaming and cawing and
Tapping of wings among the financial
rocks Of Boston and New YORK over the
LEGAL tender attribute possessed by these
notes: and representative bankers brought
suits TO put quietus upon the pretension
that they possessed; 1t but the supreme
Court Of the United States, after as full
argument and as mature elaboration as
ever was given TO d subject by that au:
thoritatiys body, ratified the action or
Congress and decided that legal tender
money, ordained as such by Congress,
need not have any intrinsic value what
ever.
Against the clamor Of the class who were
raising Cain over these legal-tender notes
the Court quoted the resolution adopted
by the Continental Congress OF l777 during
its desperate struggle with Tories and
cockneys Ia red coats, declaring that Con-
army ought 10 pass current IN all payments
and be deemed equal in value to the same
nominal sums in Spanish dollars. and that
any one refusing 80 TO receive them
fought 10 be deemed an enemy OF the
liberties of the United States" and calling
upon the State legislatures TO pass laws to
that effect.
IL is as true now as IL was in 1777, that
when Congress has exercised its bounden
and necessary duty to the country of de-
claring what shall be the unit of currency
IN the United States II Is moral l0sd naJeStds
t. decry that unit; and If words could,
like overt acts, be prosecuted as treason IN
this country, those who use them clamor-
ously and maliciously would deserve to be
dealt with criminally and IN periods or
public danger shot upon the spot"
oUR DOLLAR WORTH PAR ISTRIHsIoALLY.
But aside from these latter oonsidera-
tions, Is the silver dollar of Congress
wanting in intrinsic value
II the value of the metal in this coin DO
measured by its cost, the average cost OF
the dollars IN existence 80 far from being
only 80 cents each. is not less than $50
cents. The statistics of silver-miRing
show that. taking all mining ventures into
account, there have been more than 50
IL \.