The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1896-07-22
terms that would be fatal to their sue

terms Indl ROul0 DC 1dldi " lHc4i SuS
cess.
For the great mass of holders o
money and money obligations the mos
available resource, therefore. is TO con
vert either the money into gold, or tn
promises to pay into promises TO pay
gold This was done soon after the frs
issue of legal tenders in 1852, almos
universally in California, and, TO very
considerable extent in this city. II
California contracts for payment II
gold were. in 1862. recognized by an ac
OF the legislature and made enforcea ble
by the courts In other states the
United States courts upheld them, and
the supreme court decided that in suit:
for the collection of debts payable in
| gold the creditor was entitled to judg.
ment in currency for the currency value
{ Of the gold. Mortgages and notes Were
therefore, drawn payable in terms II
| gold, and the coffee, sugar, tea and al
| imported staple articles of merchandise
were bought and sold on gold basis
| Just as II no legal tenders had ever been
| issued
| 1t is to be observed, furthermore, that
in contracting for payment In gold. ii
will not be sufficient 10 say merely
gold or gold COIN The expression
used should be "gold coin of the United
States. OF the present standard OF
weight and fneness." If it is worth
while TO take any precaution at all
against payment in deprecated dollars.
it is worth while TO do il as efficiently
as possible. Payment in gold dollars
containing one-half the present guam
tity of pure gold would be no better
than payment in 50-cent silver dollars.
Yet, should the silverites ever get full
control of the government and succeed
in driving gold coin to 100 per cent pre-
| cent premium, they both could and
would attempt to restore the parity by
cutting the gold dollars in half, making
it contain only 1873 grains of standard
gold instead of the 25.S grains of which
it IS at present composed.
OF course the courts would be ap-
pealed to in the event Of such a degra-
dalton Of the gold dollar. to co1strue
the contract to pay gold" or gold
COIN as requiring the payment Of the
gold coin use at the time OF making the
contract. This is common SENSE, and
it ought to be law. In view, however.
of the decision of the supreme court Of
the United States that contracts made
before the issue of the legal tender notes
standing their depreciation, and that
the same revolutionary party which
threatens to pack the court to secure a
reversal Of the income tax decision
could also pack II to secure other de-
cisions it win be wiser not to take any
risk that can be avoided.
This warning IS all the more neces
sary from the fact that the legal gen.
rr-f,n m
tracts have a habit ot blindly following
precedents and not sufficiently consid-
ering the necessity of changing them to
suit new conditions. SO many many ex-
listing railroad bonds. leases, and mort
cages are made payable IN gold coin"
that these two words are supposed to be
all that is needed to protect the creditor
or the obligee.
The Chicago platform makers say
that they favor such legislation as
will prevent for the future the demone-
tization Of any kind of legal tender
money by private contract" II can
hardly be supposed that they mean by
this that private contracts for the pay
ment Of any particular kind OF money
shall be declared to be crimes and pun
ished as such. What they probably
have in mind is the taking away from
such contracts Of the protection of the
courts of the United States. and 1eav-
ing them to be enforced either by the
courts of individual states or by a sense
of honor. Certainly none of the older
and richer states such as New York or
Massachusetts, would paralyZe the bust
ness Of its citizens lby depriving con-
tracts for payment in gold of the pro-
lection Of law, and still less by punish
ing the making of them as crime.
What California did in 1862. sustaining
gold contracts by express statute. can
be done now, If necessary, by any
other state
Indeed. it IS a question whether, in
the event of the success Of the silverite
party a state like New York might not
and ought not 10 adopt gold coin as the
only lawful form OF money While the
constitution Of the United States de-
clGres no state shall make anything
but gold and silver coin q, tender in pay
ment of debts.'' IL does not prohibit any
state from making gold coin exclusive
ly a legal tender. If. therefore, the No
vember election should result in the sue
cess Of the silverite nominee for pres
ident. and In the election of a silverfte
majority in the house of representa-
tives, Il will be possible for the citi-
zens Of the states which are opposed 10
the silver standard TO adopt such leg
islative measures as viii secure 10 them
in contracts between themselves the
supremacy OF gold. To be sure, a law
of this nature wifi not apply to existing
contracts for lawful money only. but it
VIII govern all contracts made after its
enactment.
Even without such legislation and
without the aid of the courts the mer-
camille and financial community have
the power. and would doubtless exer-
else 1t, 10 adopt gold coin as the exclu-
sive medium of transactions between
themselves. The banks could omen
gold accounts and allow checks PAYABLE
in gold to he drawn against them. II
federal legislation interferes to prevent
the national banks from doing this they
have only 70 surrender their charters
and reorganize under the state law.
COMMERCIAL LAW LEAGUE
Omaha Makes it Pleasant for Members
There In Convention.
Omaha, 'Jluy 21.---The national con-
vention of the commercial Law League
OF American convened at the Creighton