The herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1893-1900, 1895-02-11
Shy on Historical Data

morning contemporary recently print
ed the following, anent the last proposed
issue of bonds:
The new loan OF 800, 600, 900 is to be issued
under the act of 1870, authorizing the issue
OF per cent 3O-year coin bonds. instead of
under the act OF 1875, which provides for 10
year 5per cents AT the time the law of 1870
was passed there was no silver agitation, aud
the word "coin" indsputably meant gold
coin. There can be no reasonable question,
therefore, ms to the payment of the principal
and interest OF the new issue in gold. 1T is
held by some that the President has power to
insert the word gold" in the bonds, but this
is doubtful. AT all events. it will not be nee
essary The coin bonds will be readily taken.
Gold win be paid into the treasury for them.
and they will be reGeemed in nothing less va
liable than gold.
The part of the above to which attention
is especially directed is the words: AT
the time the law of 1870 was passed there
was no silver agitation, and the word
coin indisputably meant gold.
That is to say, i'll 1870, when the refund
ing act was passed, the word coin as
used in that act meant gold coin. Now
for the facts.
On the Dist of April, 1877, John Sher-
man, who was then Secretary of the Treas
ury, addressed letter to Attorney Gen
eral Devons asking. an opinion as to
whether, under the act OF 1870, he, the
Secretary, could stipulate in the body of
the bonds about to be issued for redemp-
ton purposes that they should be redeem
able in coin of the then present standard
value-that is, the standard value at the
of their issue instead OF the date of the law
authorizing their issue. That was after
demonstration of silver had reduced the
value of silver, and Sherman desired, if
possible, to make the bonds about to be
issued payable in gold. In reply Attor-
ney-General Devons stated that the bonds
must be made payable in coin of the value
at the date OF the law, and that the bonds
then proposed would be payable in silver,
Notwithstanding the demonstration act
of 1873 had taken the unlimited legal ten
der Quality from silver and made it
legal tender for sums of s. and under.
On the 9th of December, 1877, the
United States Senate passed the following
resolution which was introduced by Sena
tor Stanley Matthews, who afterwards be-
came Justice of the Supreme Court:
Resolved, That all the bonds of the United
States, issued or authorized to be issued under
the said act the act OF so of Congres here
inbefore recited, are payable, principal ana
interest at the option of the Government of
the United States, in silver dollars. of he coin
grains OF standard silver. and that to restore
to its coinage such silver coins as a legal ten
der in payment of said bonds, principal md
interest is not in violation of the public faith
nor in derogation of the rights OF the public
creditor.
This resolution was adopted by the
Senate by a large majority and imme-
diately afterwards by the House. In the
light of this opinion of the Attorney Gen
eral by which Sherman was governed in
the issue of the bonds for redemption
purposes, and this action of Congress up
on the Matthews resolution, how can it
be claimed that in 1870 the word ''coin"
meant gold?
Up to 1873 the word "coin" meant gold
or silver coin at the ratio fixed by the
act of 1884. Up to that date the silver
dollar was the unit of value and not the
gold dollar. Both metals were freely adj
mitted to the mints, both were freely
coined, and both were an unlimited legal
tender. This word ''coin" as used in the
statutes of the United States is the only
vestige of bimetallism remainin in the
laws relating to money and the gold.
bugs would like to get it out of the way.
This proposition of Cleveland to Con-
gress, that if it will give him authority
to make the proposed issue Of bonds pay
able specifically in gold he can negotiate
them at lower rate of interest, is simply
device to get rid of that little word
"coin" and thus to fully establish gold
monometallism in the laws of the United
States. Instead of doing that the answer
of Congress to Cleveland ought to be the
re-adopton of the Stanley Matthews reso-
luton of eighteen years ago.
Los Angeles, Feb 9th. BANKER.