Semi-weekly independent. (Plymouth, Marshall County, Ind.) 1895-1897, 1896-03-25
MAKE MONEY LEGAL TENDER.

whatever in passing a free silver
u law in its effects upon the value
of other currency in the country, if Sucn
law required the DISSATISFACTION OF re-
demption in other forms of money, such
as gold. In other words. if the present
and wholly unauthorized process of re-
demptiOn in gold were abolished in
practice, and the declared policy of the
Government to maintain the two coins
at parity were construed to the allow
ance of each metal to rest upon its own
feet by making each full legal tender
public and private, all this stress. I'M
aginary or real, upon the treasury to
redeem in gold would at once be re-
moved. and both silver and gold would
remain at so near Il parity that the
difference-fOr foreign purposes would
be no more than what is usual in the
case of buying ordinary foreign eN-
change.
As is well known. and as has recent
ly been forcibly put before Congress
by Senator Bacon, of Georgia, France
maintains the two metals ut Il parity
in the described way, and France has
double the work to perform in this re-
gard. considering its population, as
would be the case here. French bonds
or rentes are sold in London 1T par,
although they are no more redeema Die
in gold than silver: in practice, silver is
commonly rendered in the payment of
the interest upon them, but as it is Il
full legal tender, it is of the same value
in London as the French gold, less a
very small fraction of 1 per cent. The
reason for this, as would occur with US,
the French silver is eXchangeablc by
Englishmcn into French products.
French gold can do no mo. e; therefore,
those who want French products are
satisfied ~ take silver that will buy
just as we'll as gold.
The grave fault with United States
silver is that it is not Il full legal tender,
but allows people in this country TO
discriminate against ii. in the words OF
the law, saying Legal tender except
when otherwise specified in the con
| tract" 1t is a grave crime when this
nation discriminates against itself.
against its own money, by allowing
schemers to discard it in favor of an
other form of money. That is the fault
| with American currency as compared
with that of France. where both metals,
| as well as paper money, not redeema-
| BILE into either, always circulltes at
par.
| No money should ever he allowed to
circulate in the United States tda. is not
| full legal tender for all debts. public
and private 1t is rank insanity TO do
ANYTHING else. Any business person Of
| the most ordinary capacity can see this
| on its face Every dollar that is to do
duty as money should, by law, at once
| be made a full legal tender. And if
bank notes cannot properly be made so,
| then bank notes should ut once be re-
placed by Federal legal tender. This
retention of nearly dozen forms OF
money that discriminate against one
another in the matter of legal tender
| function, while striving to MAKE them
all redeemable in gold, Il metal that
cannot be got for such a purpose, is the
| height of idiocy.
Pass n free silver law that makes all
silver in the country, and the certiii-
Gates into which it is eXchangeable. a
| full legal tender, and not convertible
| into gold, and then United States silver
| will pass at par the world over, just
as is now the case with France. But
don't do the asinine thing of making
silver one form of legal tender. while
making the silver certificates into
| which ii is eXchangeable another form
| of legal tender, rs was done i'll the sill
YER law of Feb. %, 1878.