The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1893-11-28

! same denoIpihations' are of uneaua
> value, or itcpan change their legal rati
. . so as to ni$I them as hearty equal ii
value as possible or it can maintain
the parity Its coins by receivin.
them and their papeEs representative
IN payment ofalf pubHa dues and dis
charge all itsown obligations In what
, ever kind of money its creditors ma,
demand.
The principle or rule of law that tn,
option as to, the kind of legal tender
with which an obligation shall be dis
charged belongs to the debtor, and no
9 to the creditor, has not just application
in u case whore the government issue,
lbs notes to circulate as currenc,
among the people and, by making them
legal tender, ,compels the people to re-
ceive them. The private citizen may
very property avail himself of the law,
ful right to discharge his private OBJ
iigationsaheld by voluntary creditors
IN any kindgf legal tender money, be-
cause he has only his own personal in.
terest to- protect and owes no public
duty in the premises. But when the
government of the United States has
undertaken to supply the county with
currency,|apd has issued its obligations
in the form of notes to circulate among
the people in the transaction OF their
private business, and has received for
every dollar represented by such notes
q dollars worth of the peoples SER
vices or dollars worth of the peoples
property, its honor, as we'll as sound pub
lie policy, demands that they shall be
redeemed upon presentation in money
current in all the markets of the world.
No government can honorably dispar-
age or depreciate it's own obligations,
and especially obligations which it has
forced its people to accept; nor can
any government honorably discrimi-
nate between the different kinds of
money or currency which it puts in cir
culation. Whatever may be the diff
ferences in the forms and qualities of
tho currency while it remains in cir
culation, when the time for ultimate
redemption comes, all must be treated
alike.
The country has recently heard a
great deal about bimetalism and q
double standard, and it is possible that
these subjects will continue to be dis
cussed to spno extent in the future.
For my part, i have never been able to
understand what is meant w u double
standard, or double measure of value,
and ! have never found :any1e eue who
could tell me. To my mind it seems
as absurd to contend that there should
be two different standards or measures
OF value as it would be to insist upon
having two yard.sticks of different
lengths or two gallons of different di-
mentions. If there were two stand
ards, or measures, not equal in. value,
it is evident that one of them must be
false measure; and If they were of
equal value, it is evident that, no mat
ter what tho law might declare, there
would be in fact but one measure,
although composed of two different
kinds of material. If, for instance, the
silver dollar and the gold dollar were
OF precisely the same value and could
be kept so at all times, there would be,
in fact, but one standard-one unit for
the measurement Of values. Whatever
that standard may bc as established by
| tho laws OF trade and finance, whether
it be so many grains of fine gold or so
many grains of fine silver, it is the
duty of the government to conform to
1t in the payment of obligations and
| in all its dealings with the people.
1t does not follow from anything l
have said that nothing shall circulate
or be recognized as money or currency
except gold or paper issued against
gold, nor that the prices of commodi-
ties ought to be, or will be. fixed upon
the hypothesis that gold is the only
money in tho world; but it does follow
that no part of our currency, whether
it be silver or paper, should be per-
mitted to depreciate below the estab-
lished and recognized standard. Any
financial policy which would encourage
or permit such depreciation, or create
reasonable apprehension of such de-
probation, would unsettle values, para
! lyze businss, arrest the growth and ex-
pansionr of our industries, and ulti-
mately bring about almost universal
bankruptcy and ruin upon the country.
1t must be remembered, however, that
it is function and duty of the legisla-
tive department to establish the policy
OF the government upon this and all
other subjects, and to clothe the ,ex-
ecutive with the necessary authority
and means to carry it out. When the
authority and means are granted, the
! executive department is responsible for
| the manner in which the law is exc
cuted, but beyond this it has no power
to act, and, consequently, no duty to
perform.
| Gentlemen, the question whether
the obligations of the United States
will be paid in coin current in all tho
markets in the world has already been
settled, and it has, in my opinion been
| been settled not by any specific act of
Congress prescribing the exact mode
of payment, but by the spirit and OBJ
vious purpose of the whole body of
existing legislation upon the subject,
and by the deliberate judgment of tho
American people and the declared pur-
pose OF those who have been entrusted
with the execution of the laws. The
disposition and ability of the govern
mcnt to maintain it's own credit at the
highest possible standard, and pre-
servo the integrity of all the forms OF
currency in circulation among the peo-
pie, cannot be reasonably doubted, and
ought not to be subject to serious con-
troversy hereafter.
This does not imply that silver is to
have no place in our monetary system
What is to be the ultimate fate of that
metal is one of the problems which
time and events alone can solve but
for many years, Notwithstanding all
our legislation in its support, the
fluctuations in its value have been sc
, rapid and so great as to demonstrate
the fact that it cannot be safely coined
: without limitations into money of fina
, redemption at the existing ratio or al
any other ratio that might be estab
, lished. 1t is not possible, under exist
ing circumstances, for any one govern
} ment to establish and maintain stable
r relation between the two metals, ant
, for this reason alone, IL there were nj
others, we are bound to place som,
, reasonable limitations upon the coinag,
md ,,,n yf1 1t M <,fi