The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1895-05-16
PAYMENT OF DEBTS IN SILVER.

a great many American railroad
Bonds guarantee payment in so many
/ dollars, without specifying either sill
yer or gold. The attention of a con-
temporary, which poses as an oracle
on such questions but on which it
frequently displays great lack of in
formation and judgment, being called
to this fact. it attempts to get around
it by this kind of assertion:
1t is true that all bonds of the
United States. and probably all rail
road bonds in the United States, up to
date, are payable in money, but if
they have been issued since 1873, they
are payable in gold just the same,
because gold has been the standard of
value in the United States since 1873,
and all obligations, unless otherwise
specially stated, are payable in gold.
But does that meet the issue? Is it
true that such bonds and obligations
are of necessity payable in gold?
What, then. was the meaning of the
act of 1873 which restored the silver
dollar to its legal tender quality of
1887, for all debts and dues, public
and private, unless otherwise speci-
fed in the contract?
The free coinage of silver was ar
rested by the act of 1873. The gold
dollar was made the monetary unit.
The silver dollar was deposed as a
legal tender except to the extent Of
FIVE dollars. From 1873 to 1878, there
fore, obligations of the kind referred
to were payable only in gold. But
after the act of 1873 the conditions
were different. Free coinage was not
resumed. The wrong done in 1878 was
not fully repaired. But the coinage
of silver dollars to limited amount
was provided for and, as we have
stated, their legal tender quality was
restored as fully as possible, because
the obligations of contracts could not
De impaired. and therefore debts guar
anteed TO be paid in gold could not
lawfully be settled in any other way.
The very reverse of what is stated
by our contemporary is the legal
truth Instead of all obligations I'M
less otherwise specially stated being
payable in gold, all obligations unless
otherwise specially stated may be
payable in silver or other legal tender,
for the law so provides.
In the fight for silver no real adj
vantage will be gained by the pro-
mitigation of error. no matter which
way it seems to strike. We want the
white metal fully restored to its place
as money on equal terms with gold
as to coinage and without any dis
elimination against 1t in any form.
We shall not gain that any sooner by
attempting to detract from the quail
tiles and monetary position Of the
present silver dollar. It is standard
money Of the United States. 1t is le-
gal tender to any amount. 1t is so
for either public or private debts.
Only when there is a contract or OBJ
legation for payment in something
else. can silver dollars be refused in
settlement of an obligation.
Securities that might be redeemed
in money other than gold are usually
paid in gold, because it has been the
policy of the government, whether
under Republican or Democratic ad-
ministration. to preserve the parity of
the two metals on the established
ratio of 16 to 1. Therefore it has been
left to the option of the holders of
government securities whether they
would have redemption for them in
gold or silver, and gold has been pre-
ferred for obvious reasons.
We concur in the belief that with
silver remonetized, the two metals
would so rapidly approach each other
that, in very little while, there
would be no reason in sight for the
cry of a Deprecated dollar and no
fear of any violent disruption of our
financial relations abroad American
securities would be ali right any
where in the world, and silver would
be as good as gold at the established
ratio fo. money and in the market.