The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1896-08-10

vided that mo state shall coin money:
emit bills of credit; make anything but
gold and silver tender in payment
OF debts,'
Why was the sole power to coin
money given to congress? Why were
the states prohibited from coming mon
ey or emitting bills OF credit notes
and from making anything but gold
and silver legal tender? The answers
are found In profusion in the expert
ence OF the colonies before and espe-
cially during the confederation. John
Fiske's Critical Period" and McMas-
ter's History Of the People Of the
United States" tell in detail the les
sons of the hard school in which the
wisdom of these provisions was ac-
Quired. The metallic money Of the
country. scant in quantity, was al
most wholly of foreign stamp. Not
only that. but 1t was largely made up
of clipped and abraded coins. Mer-
chants kept scales to ascertain the
value Of the coins by their weight
OF silver there were nine-pences, four.
pence-ha'-pennies, bits, half-bits, pis-
tareens, picayunes and fps, and
Spanish dollars. OF gold there
were moidores, Johannes, doub-
looms, pistoles. guineas, carolins and
chequins. French sous and English
pence and coppers from private and
state minis formed the copper cur
rency. The shilling had a different
value in different states This intoler-
able condition led to the grant of pow
er to congress in order that a uniform
coinage might replace all this embar-
RAISING confusion; still, owing to the
lack Of native minerals, the foreign
coins remained in use for many years,
and congress was obliged to recognize
them, fix their values and make them
legal tender. How congress used the
power to "coin money under the
counsel of Jefferson and Hamilton, our
readers know.
The surrender by the states of their
power to endow money with legal ten
der and to issue notes grew out of the
same disastrous experience. The idea
that the state or the nation can
make" money, and that its decree is
what imparts value, was held as
widely then as it is now, and many
states acted on it. Pennsylvania,
before the revolution, by wise and
conservative use Of the power, had
given the idea a support that aided
the movement. The temptation was
strong. Money was scarce; the people
and the government were In debt; the
war had deranged all industries The
minds of men were in suitable condi-
ton for the reception of the idea that
printing it's bills. Out of the thirteen
states but two, Connecticut and Della
ware, escaped the contagion, and seven
Of them went into the experiment to
which we are again invited on ma
tional scale.
North Carolina issued notes and
bought tobacco, paying twice the spe-
Gle value for it. South Carolina issued
notes and tried to force the circulation.
Georgia made its bills legal tender,
and required affidavits Of exporters of
produce that they had never refused
the paper at its face. So the expert
ment went on with the same result
everywhere Of depreciation ranging
from discount Of 10 or IL per cent to
one Of worthlessness. 1t was this wis
dom, learned In such a school, that led
the trainers to give to congress the
sole power to coin money and to forbid
the states from Issuing paper money.
Had they dreamed that congress would
do what was forbidden the states and
issue paper money, or buy metal and
issue money notes for it, there Is no
doubt that similar prohibition OF
such power would have been incorpo-
rated in the constitution.