The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1896-05-19

NAVCAS9 OhCOSA AOS nOShS AZ III
dia; it will buy as much as it eve
The India rupee, equivalent
at it's face value to about 3 shillings Of
Z lglish money, will buy just as much
as it would ever buy. There has been
depreciation, or, in any other words,
there has been no rise of prices when
measured by the three kinds of money
that I have mentioned in the countries
in which they circulate, The Japanese
money, which is the standard there, is
about the same as the Mexican dollar,
and 1t buys j lsSas much as it used to
buy. When the japanese pays his
workmen he pays them just what he
used to pay them in silver. When the
Mexican pays his workmen he pays
them just what he used to pay in sill
yer. If he wants TO buy material for
his manufacture, he pays the same
price if it is home raised and home
produced. The same may be said Of
India"
Mr. President, this bill provides for
making a legal tender of three coins
which are today 100 cent dollars. They
are 100 cent dollars, and more than
that, as measured In the products of
the country, and as measured in the
muscle bone, sinew, and blood of hu
manity. These dollars can only be
called 50 cent dollars when measured
by the dishonest yardstick OF Shy lock
and the golditos. They are the only
so cent dollars measured by the blight
ing, c0ngeStEUg and paralyzjng 900
ceng gold dollar. Tuey are only so
cent dollars when measured by the
cruel measure which makes cotton 5
cents a pound and doubles every debt
and oil taxes, both State and national.
About q month ago, in fecS, on
April 1, exactly one month ago, I in
troduced a bill to prohibit gold notes
and mortgages In this country that
bill has not yet been reported. II Con
gress will not pass a bill making these
coins O legal tender; if Congress- will
not pas the bill which I introduced on
April 1 to p 'ohibit gold notes and gold
mortgages, which discriminate against
a part of our own money and make
gold dearer and debts harder to pay,
then I call the attention Of the country
to the fact that the States have the
right to do this under the Constitution
Tue States have as much right to pro
hibit gold mortgages as the States have
to regulate interest that shall be paid
on a note or q mortgage. II is also
clear that the States can make gold
and silver coins a legal tender.
I quote from articIe'I. section 10, of
the Constitution of the United States
M State shall = make any
thing but gold and silver coin a legal
tender in payment of debts"
What does that mean2 It means
that the States can make gold and sill
yer coin a legal tender in payment of
debts. If it does not mean that it
means nothing, 1t is clear that the
States have the right to make these
foreign coins a legal tender. If the
Constitution did not mean that, why
was this clause put in it? l do not
think the trainers of our Constitution
meant when they framed this section
that the States would ever make Uni
ted States coin a legal tender, for who
could have ever supposed that the Uni
ted States would coin money to dem
Onetize it2 But since the United States
has done so, l believe the larguage of
his clause Of the Constitution applies
legally, by every fair construction,
with as much force to the trade dollar
as it does to foreign coin; and no man
will question that that clause of the
Constitution gives to the States the
right to make these foreign coins a full
legal tender when they contain more
silver Of the same standard f1eness
than our trade dollar.
If Congress, which has the delegated
power to coin money and regulate the
value thereof. will not make it's own
coin which it has coined a legal tender,
if it will not make these foreign coins
according to this bill a legal tender
which are heavier than our own dollar,
then 1 say the STAT s have that right,
and I hope the States Of this Union
will proceed on this line if Congress
will not give them this relief. In my
opinion it is unconstitutional for Con
gress to refuse to coin silver. The
States delegated t o Congress the great
and important function and duty to
coin both gold and silver. % gress