The farmers' union. (Memphis, Mo.) 1891-1895, 1894-02-01

any such base use of their utterances,
which were made not only for The in
struction of the men of their own day,
but for the guidance of all that were
to come after them. venture to
affirm, without having recently had
the opportunity to read much of what
he said upon that subject, that Alex
ander Hamilton, peerless almost
among the founders of the Consti-
tuition, never lntimated in any paper
of his that the government of the
United States could not, at its
pleasure, issue Treasury notes, either
payable upon demand or payable up
on time. There was much said by
my respected colleague (Mr. Pendle-
tony with which | entirely and alto
gether agree; but, sir, when my col
league seemed to intimate in his
argument that he found any warrant
in the elaborate papers of Alexander
Hamilton against this authority or
power of the Congress of the United
States to authorize the issue of
Treasury notes, either payable upon
demand or upon time, he greatly mis-
took the spirit Of all he has written,
and which has been transmitted to US.
My colleague was adriot in the handl-
ing of the papers Of Hamilton, which
will 1--we as long as our language
lives. He was one OF those men upon
whom it pleased God to confer those
extraordinary gifts whicl command
the homage and admiration of men,
whether they agree with him or not.
The passage which my colleague
quoted from his work VAS an argu-
men in which lie showed the pro-
priety of establishing national bank,
authorized to issue currency, and he
gave certain reason therefor. My
colleague is most excellent lawyer.
He knows we'll, and SO did Hamilton
know we'll when he made that argu
:nent, that what the government does
by another it does by itself.
/ stand here to assert that the Con-
stitutiion of the United States has no.
where declared what shall be legal
tender. Istand here to assert further
that nothing has ever been made a
legal tender in the Unitel States at
any time, in discharge of private
obligations or of public obligations
either, of universal applications in
states and territories alike, except
that which was made so by act of
Congress.
He further declared:
There has been much stress In the
argument touching this bill on the
effect that it may bear on local bank
ers and brokers. That is the point
of all others, which hoped would
not be pressed upon this floor. What
are local bankers; what are brokers,
or any man who hawks the credit Of
the Government in the markets OF
the country, to make tue best bar
gains for himself that lie can, but
dust in the balance compared to tue
rights and interests Of the people OF
this country. am not aware of any
right which these jobbers have to in.
terpose here for a single moment the
question of their private gains against
the interests Of the whole people.
Mr.. Bingham taen quoted from 6
speech of Daniel Webster in the
Senate of the United States ON the
2sth day of September, 1887. (Annal:
of Twenty fifth Congress, first session
page 3l7.) Mr.. Webb said:
; Now, sir, by this Constitution Con
} gress is authorized to coin money, t
regulate the value thereof, and o.
foreign coins; and all the states ar,
prohibited from coini, g money ane
from making anything but gold ane
silver coins tender in payment o
debts.
Suppose the Constitution had stop
ped here. 1t would still have estab
lished the ill-important point Of unl
form money system. BY this pro
vision Congress is to furnish coin, o
regulate coin for, all the states
There is to be but one money stand
ard for the country. And the stand
ard of value to be established b,
Congress is to be a currency, ant
not bullion merely; because We fine
it to be coin; that is, it is to be on'
or the other of the precious metals
bearing AL authoratic stamp OF value
and passing therefor by sale. That i
, to be standard of value. A STANDARD
of value, therefore, and a money 70
, circulation, were thus expressly pro
vided for. And if nothing else LAT
been doue, would not have been 1
[ reasonable and necessary inferenc
r from this power that Congress ha'
, authority to regulate, and must regu
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