The western sentinel. [volume] (Winston-Salem, N.C.) 1887-1926, 1893-08-31
MON EY.
The Legal View and the Logical Dis
tfnctiaR.
To tic Editor of the sentinel:

| Hncsfen.
To tic Editor of the sentinel:
The |. gical and Irg;,l distinction
| between money Q~@al terder) sud
| other forms of property. whether
used as circulating medium or not,
| has been disregarded in our present
| system of national banks, the bonds
of the government being substituted
| for money as security for the redemp-
| ton of notes or bills: but this new
| policy is simple empiricism, and in
| case of revolution-:t thing to which
all governments are llahltA-the dam
ger and folly OF such depart ures from
fixed principles would become sadly
| apparent to everybody; and the force
and effect of the maxim. via antigua
via tuta est" would b,. exhibited by
way of contrast in ~ reign of Chaos
and Old Night throughout the land;
SO that what appears specifically to
be the best system of banking ever
devised would then appear to be the
very worst.
Upon the principle "delegatus non
delegou," credit, whether public or
private, cannot be made a safe. per
manent basis of other credits. When
such a violation of first principles is
once recognized there is no telling
/ where it will lead to. Like an infec-
! tious disease, it may spread from
house to house till it becomes a
| scourge
And on the same principle, the gov
| eminent being itself, as a corpora
ton, but a trustee, it's function as
such in this connection is: "To coin
money, and regulate the value there
of, and of foreign coin" And if it
| can delegate this power to another.
| then the latter can with equal right
| delegate the same power to others
! still; and so on lad infinitum," till
/ the word "money" becomes so am
| biguous that thousand fatal falla-
cies will creep into the monetary
system.
Hence the Legal Tender acts, which
are an insidious violation of the
Constitution, have been followed by
| the Sherman law, which is even a
| worse violation. The word ''coin"
has technical meaning which has
been disregarGed in both laws; and
hence both laws are unconstitutional.
Now, with the true system of credit
disregarded in our banking law, and
with the constitution and ancient
maxims violated in the Legal Tender
acts and Sherman act, the present
condition of the country is deplOra-
BILE and the portents OminOus. |
quote on this subject the message of
the President:
"Our unfortunate financial plight is
not the result of untoward events
nor of conditions related to our nat
ural resources; nor is it traceable to
any of the Affections which frequent
ly check national growth and pros
perity. With plenteous crops, with
abundant promise of remunerative
production and manufacture, with
unusual invitation to safe investment
and with satisfactory assurance to
business enterprise, suddenly finan-
cial disJrust and fear havesprung up
on every side. Numerous moneyed
abundant assets were not Immediate
ly available to meet the demands OF
frightened depositors. Surviving
corporations and individuals are
content to keep in hand the money
they are usually anxious to loan, land
those engaged in legitimate business
are surprised to find that the securi
: ties they offer for loans, though here
tofore satisfactory, are no longer ac
cepted. Values supposed to be tixed
are fast becoming conjectural, and
loss and failure have invaded every
branch of business"
While we insist that this state o
things is due to the general disregard
of first principles involved in th'
three measures above stated, tn,
President ascribes them to the Sher
, man law alone, while the Evening
News, of Washington, whose financial
articles are written by one o
the ahlest men in the country, takes
still another view, but one quite il
harmony with our own. b.