New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1896-09-18
Cedar Bluffs. Neb Aug. g. 1896
mum, ,r,r,cx OK THE SUPREME COURT


popocRArtc FEAR THAT IT MIGHT prN '''''
FREE SILVER law UNcoN'i''
To the Editor Of The Tribune. , tho Sill
sir. IN nv Judgment the assault "Po" .. "a
,ro,no court made in the Chicago p'",'o."
,,,o1 roallv and chiefly upon the fear Una, '''".
,,,s, tribunal will declare Unconstitutional ,,
lao, nassed for establishing unllml''" "'
coinage at any dishonest rate c,o,os ,yere
r.,5or mo constitution the United states WEI.
GRANTED mower to "con' and to "porro" No.
what kind Of money honest money u
The question answers ltseH' ,,,a .ro,es -
I.,der the authority to borrow they issued no'es'
49,, ,,,o~obant does and those notes were declared
. =. ,noal tender This was done under the S""'P ,
v,.,cies of civil war. There have always p'."
many sound constitutional lawyers WIN ', ,..h
find any power delegated to Congress ~ man ~
po,es legal tender Resort to the hhP'e" 49,
of tho Constitution led to the conciuslo" INA" :, w..
o l,u.f,l exercise Of sovereignty 10 use az -
rs ~ insure the negotiablity OF those P''
~ D, rha,. ,.oro BASED, not upon sp"clnc
" g., 49, ,,,,or coin in hand for redemption put upo"
-, ,r ard all the estate Of the United stats
t,,,, mot oven that tremendous security p"0" ~
all rho mower Of the Goyernment-fres'''"'
gross and the courts-was able 10 ha'"''''' 49,,
, -, mar with gold They deprecated 10 ieSS
than 90 cents per dollar. Ana thoSe ~
mad. I'm supreme good faith by the peoPr ~
rod a
,,i, ,,rdsr' the Silver Purchase act, the C"i''"
c,.tos hought substantially our whole SILVER pi''
nc, and coined it into our present doHa's'
dollars were made Of silver buliioh po"s'a' "
,soood,r, nrornpr1y from 106 to q per me ounce
Rut th.v wholly belonged 10 the Initeu "'"''' "'
made them legal tender and backed them WIN ''''
nI.dgo Of being kept on a parity with gold. iha'
,,o .,s IN tho nature Of an added quality
,,or,,tocd hv or Government. which fact measur-
oil,. redeemed them from the stigma OF peihS "dSc
coin In fact however, they were denaS'" ~ VIZ
extent of the difference between LIZ tine iea' E"'"'
Of an ounce of silver at parity with goid) anu ,'e
commercial price paid varying from lVo 10 TO- pu,
that guarantee of parity to some degree cafcei'e"
the quality of debascment. And yet the conse
aIences of that scheme. designed solely 70 Oe"ei''
rnine-owners we're such that both great parues
gladly united for it's repeal The sense Oh pel,,s
utterers of slightly debased com WAS 'oo e'''''
II is now proposed by the supporters OF Mr. Bryan
that any owner Of silver may nave II co,'e nv" ~
dollars without any cost. ana that the qIa'''S IA
silver which cannot anywhere I'm the world he sofa
for more than 3 cents shall be STAMPED as uo'''i
of 100 cents and he legal tender for 100 cents $780,,
In that the United States become notning
but the mechanical coiner of the money deriving
profit in any way. and yet without any lntele9'
enacts that every lin this country shall accept
% cents being really 100 cents me false CON
50 made never belongs to the nlted states tney
do not issue 1t. as they did their greenback notes
and present dollars: they get no consideration
not oven Recommendation they actually pay Tor
the privilege Of merely making base coin for others
The sole benen; accrues to the bulllon-owners Tor
which they pay nothing whatever. Il cannot need
any argument to show that such dollars are bogus
and dcbased by nearly one-half.
Where does the Constitution say or imply that
Congress can make dcbased coin? 1t Is inconceiv-
able thar the brave and honorable mental ana
moral giants who framed that charter Of our lib
critics contemplated any such outrage upon common
honesty and such grevous assault upon the IN
tcgrtv Of the people OF the United States And
submit that possible body constituting any Su-
preme Court could ever decide that the United
States Congress had power 10 pass a lawful act to
enforce the debasCment OF the coin of the country
And hence the implied demand in the Chicago
platform for packing the Supreme Court.
JOSEPH CULBERTSON CLAYTON
Summit. y. j.. Sept. 3. 1896