The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1895-06-12
WHAT LEGAL TENDER is AND DOES.

One of the qualities and functions of
money which has had its full share Of
misconception and Misrepresentation at
the hands of those who either do not
care to be right or who are willfully
wrong on the money question is it's legal
tender quality. Some of the advocates
of free silver coinage confound the So
called demonetization of silver. which is
really nothing but the suspension of dol
lar coinage, with the abolition of it's
legal-tender quality, whereas. in fact, ev-
cry American silver coin now in exist
ence is legal tender as much as ii ever
was. Others seem to think that making
money legal tender adds to its CONNER
cial value These are closely kin to those
who think that the stamp of the mint
confers value on gold or silver bullion
and that the fiat of the government can
give value to irredeefhable paper cur
rency. One of these crooked thinkers ar
gued in the Journal recently that the
legal-tender quality of money was more
important that it's intrinsic value. When
did commerce ever give money a legal
tender quality?'' asks this correspond
ent. Again he said, Gold never be-
comes money until coined. stamped and
made a legal tender" as If any or all
of these processes added anything to
the value of gold or silver.
The legal-tender quality of money has
very little to do with its real value. The
term legal tender is technical ex-
10 hot ioh Ia 10
prescribes TO be paid or rendered in or
der TO discharge a debt or fulfill money
contract. Legal-tender laws are not in
tended to add to the value of money.
and. in fact. they do not to any appre-
ciable extent. They are simply intended
to define and interpret contracts by de-
claring what shall constitute a legal dis
charge of money obligation. All such
laws. as the term legal tender itself,
are of comparatively modern origin. the
outgrowth of commercial conditions.
Gold and silver were used as money
thousands of years before they were
made legal tender, and, indeed. long
time before they were coined at all. They
are not money because of their legal
Qudiity, DOl thSy were ifiduc It.
gal tender because, beirg supposed to
have a fixed value, they were regarded
as a standard of measurement equally
fair TO creditor and debtor in the dis
charge of money obligations. The es-
sential principle of legal tender is sta
bility and permanency of value. and ii
is the supposed existence of this. indie
pendent of and prior to such legislation.
that alone justifies adding the legal-ten-
der quality. That gold and silver may
both serve all the practical uses OF
money without being coined or made le-,
gal tender has been demonstrated very
often. and there is no reason TO believe
that the legal-tender quality constitutes
an important element even in the coin.
The different classes of money cur
rent In the United States have differen.
degrees OF legal tender. yet few persons
are aware of the fact and Ii cuts no fig
ure in business transactions. Our gold
coin. silver dollars and greenbacks are
all equally legal tender for any amount;
our gold and silver certificates and ma
;ional hank notes are not legal tender at
all: our silver half-dollars and quarters
are legal tender TO the amount of ten