Capital journal. (Salem, Or.) 1893-1895, 1895-10-12

tender In payment Of debts, they right
fully understand that the general gov
eminent through legislative action by
Its congress, was to provide for the
coinage Of that kind Of money which
they agreed should constitute their
only actual or real money, and no duty
could be more plainly implied than
that which these provisions Of the con-
stitution impose upon the general gov
ernment to provide for the coinage OF
the kind Of money, to the sole use OF
which its subjects are limited.
II the power to demonetize one of
these metals is reserved to congress,
the power to demonetize either or both
necessarily follows, and the result Ia
that by the mere failure Of the general
government to provide for the coinage
Of either gold or silver, the whole
country would be deprived of all
money Of redemption, and Of all legal
tender money, and there would be no
possible way for the states or any of
them in their separate capacity, to
relieve themselves from q dilemma
that would remit them to q system of
barter In the exchange Of commodities
that has never prevailed in any country
since the end Of the dark ages.
That the states believed they were
clothing congress with any such power
and depriving themselves Of any possi-
BILE remedy for the untold evils that
could thus be inflicted, II is not rational
to believe.
That the general government put no
such construction upon the constitution
is manifest from the fact that congress,
Immediately after its sd option, did In
fact provide for the coinage Of both
gold and silver at q fixed ratio, and
made the coins provided for legal ten
der In payment OF debts, the one az
much as the other, and this law with
very slight changes in the ratio al
which the two metals were to be coined
remained the law Of the nation for
three-fourths of century. Under II
anyone possessing either gold or silver
bullion could take 1t to the mints Of
the country and have 1t coiued into
dollars, substantially free Of expense to
and these when put into circu.
lation were legal tender In payment of
Of all claims, public or private, were
money that no one could question, and |
that no one could ask TO have redeemed
with any other or better money, 80 you
will understand that prior to the de-
Of silver we had two
kinds, Of real money, gold coins and !
silver coins, and every other form of
money or what circulated as money,
'ould be as legally redeemed with one
Kind Of these coins as with the other.
Very soon after the beginning OF our
civil War 1t was found that the then
'xisting currency Of the country was
wholly inadequate TO meet Its necessl-
les, and congress provided for the
ssue OF paper currency commonly
allied "greenbacks," which the gov
rnment became obliged TO redeem
Vith coin, either gold or silver. and as
he war progressed and the demand for
noney became more and more urgent,
DIN OF both kinds began to disappear,
nd was soon wholly lost sight of as
art Of the circulating medium Of the
ountry.
The disappearance of bills of state
Anks soon followed and treasury notes
'ok the place Of other forms of cur
'ncy In all Of the northern states, but
leae notes, although issued by the
sneral government and containing in
gal effect an express undertaking that
ley should be redeemed by the gov {
nment with coin, either gold or all :
". soon deprecated In value COM y
lred with either Of these metals, so Q
lat dollar In coin at times would j
irchase more than two dollars OF :
ese notes, and for a considerable !
imber Of years coin Of both kinds L
mained at high premium. u
To meet the necessities of the times ..
9 government was also compelled to s
ma In hnnaa H.. ~