The herald., 1896-10-06
THE LAW OF LEGAL TENDER.
Silver If Legal Tender, Cannot Drive
Gold Into Retirement.


ton for its stability as a measure of
value or as the redeemer of promises
than that of confidence in the promise
of the person or the government issuing
it that it's value should be steadfastly
maintained, the less confidence there is
in such promises, the more rapidly the
money will circulate from hand to hand.
This result is due alone to the fact that
men sometimes, if not always, are dis
honest enough to transfer their worst
property into the hands Of others, even
in payment of debts, and to reserve the
best for their own use. This Is all there
is in the celebrated Gresham law"
about which so much has been said.
Every sovereign government has found
it necessary to counteract this tenden-
cy of the people to defraud each other by
positive statutes to regulate the coin
age and value of money, and to compel
them to accept and use such coined mon
ey at fixed legal value in the payment
of debts. Such compulsory laws are
called legal tender laws, which are equal
ly binding on all the people. These laws
properly assume that debt is created
in every transaction of trade and in all
dealings that include the right OF COM
penSatiOn In money, whether in the ma
ture Of contracts or damages. In every
such transaction the relation of debtor
and creditor is established. The amount
of the debt is regulated by the contract
between the parties, or by the law where
there Is no actual contract, and the mon
ey in whic,,, the debt is to be paid is pre-
scribeG and fixed, as to its value, by
statute law. The creditor is forced by
the law to accept compensation for his
debt in the money thus prescribed. That
is the law of redemption Of debts that Is
called the law of illegal tender" All
money that is included in this classifica-
ton by the supreme power of the govern
ment is equal in value. without respect
to the material of which it is composed.
1t pays all debts, and, in all transactions
where compensation is due, debts are
created between the people. so that the
legal tender laws are the actual laws of
redemption that cover the whole field of
the usefulness of money. In such q
country controlled by such laws, all
legal tender money is of equal value
legally, and there is no cheap or inferior
money to which the Gresham law can ap-
ply. In such state one kind of full le
gal tender money cannot drive another
sort into retirement from circulation.
This answers the objection that the coin
age of silver will drive gold out of cir
culation in our country, If they are both
made full legal tender by statute law
And this answer is proven to be true by
Of our existence as government. Not
one authentic fact can be stated to show
that in our whole history full legal ten
der silver dollars have ever driven full
legal tender gold coins into retirement
LEGAL AND COMMERCIAL PARITY
BETWEEN ALL DESCRIPTIONS
OF MONEY MAINTAINED SOLE
LY BY LEGAL TENDER LAWS
Legal tender paper money, when it's
constitutional character was in doubt,
did drive legal tender coins, both Of gold
and silver, into retirement until that
doubt was removed by the final decision
of our supreme court But as soon as
that question was settled, our green
backs became the equals Of gold and sill
yer in value, and they became as much
in demand for boarding as capital as
gold or silver coins. They are sustained
in this equality with gold and silver
coins alone by the fact that they are full
legal tender money. If our laws relat-
ing to the resumption of specie pay
ments were repealed, SO that neither
gold nor silver could be demanded of the
government for their redemption, the
greenbacks would still remain the equals
of gold and silver legal tender coins Al
certain periods and in certain. states
they would command premium over
gold and silver, because they are ~,rve-
nient and nom taxable. The legal and
commercial parity between all descrip-
tions Of money in the United States Is
maintained solely by our legal tender
laws. 1t cannot be maintained in any
other way. We have proof, of this in
our own experience that no sincere mind
can deny.