The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1896-09-27
PLAIN FACTS ABOUT FINANCE.
None of Our Obligations are Made
Payable in Gold Coin.

| Nearly every argument in favor Of
| the gold standard is based on a false
| statement. We win deal with one of
these only in this article, and that is
that the faith of this nation is pledged
for the REDEMPTION of it's bonds and its
legal tender notes in gold There is not
a particle of truth in this Outlines re-
peated assertion. The gold certificates
! issued by the Treasury Department to
those who have deposited gold there
! fore are, of course, payable IN gold,
/ Just as silver certificate issued upon a
silver dollar is payable in that dollar.
Excepting these only, there is not and
never has been a gold obligation issued
by the United States.
/ Every law authorizing the issuance
of United States bonds provided that
their principal should be payable in
the lawful money of the United States
I The lawful money of the United States
at the time of their issue consisted of
the gold and silver coin of the United
States and legal tender notes. The
main body of the bonds were redeem
able at the pleasure of the government
within five years after their issue, but
were not to be due for 20 years-some
for a longer time The law provided
that the interest on the bonds should
be payable in coin. which included sill
yer as plainly as it included gold, and
gold as plainly as it included silver.
There never has been any statute
making any discrimination in favor of
the coins of either metal. The larger
portion of the bonds were issued in
1865, and the three preceding years.
In 1870, therefore, the five years had
expired on them, and the Government
had legal right to pay all the bonds
of that class.
4 The Government never received any
gold or silver coin for any Of the
bonds. IL received greenbacks only,
and when they were greatly depre-
ciated. The great operators in bonds
engineered a bill through Congress in
1869 forbidding the redemption of
i bonds in greenbacks. This was a sur
render of the right to pay in five years,
/ unless the payments were made in
coin at great premium. If not paid
they would continue to draw interest
during the ten years following, before
specie payments were resumed. But
this act of Congress had not word to
say about payments in gold. Coin"
was the word. So in the act Of July
II, 1870, authorizing the conversion of
all outstanding bonds into new bonds
payable ''in coin" of the United States
of the standard value of that date
Shylock's lawyers drew that law, and
he was so afraid of losing some of his
precious claim that he would not trust
the Government on mere obligation
to pay coin, but insisted upon adding
the words ''of the (then) present stand
ard value" He meant gold, but he
dared not then attempt it's insertion.
lie thought it wise to first secure a
promise of coin of either metal and
trust to future devices not only to
make the bonds payable in coin, but
TO make them payable in gold coin.
This he accomplished temporarily by
the characterization of silver in 1878. He
seemed secure at last in the right to
demand gold. But in 1873 his hopes
were dashed to the ground by the law
providing for the limited coinage of
silver dollars, to a full legal tender as
before. Fifteen years afterward the
gold power succeeded in stopping the
purchase Of silver, but not until four
hundred and thirty millions of legal
tender standard silver dollars had been
coined, and silver bullion stored in the
Treasury for the coinage of one hun
dred and sixty millions more. Every
bond, principal and interest, and every
Greenback and Treasury note, except
gold certificates, is redeemable in coin
either silver coin of gold coin at the
option of the Treasury.
We have described every statute that
tells what the public debt is payable
in. But the gold editors and the gold
speakers declare that the bonds and
greenbacks are payable in gold. We
tell you it is utterly false. We be-
lieve that nine-tenths of the bankers
of the United States believe the story.
We do not believe there is one lawyer
in every fifty in any city of the United
States who knows to-day what the law
is on the subject, for the reason that
they have not been at the trouble to
look it up. Let the reader ask the
next dozen men he talks with what
they think on this question and he
will find that every Republican and
every Cleyelandite will tell him that
the bonds and notes are all payable in
gold. The writer of this has often put
this question to lawyers of ability, and
in almost every case he has found them
entirely ignorant of the fact that the
United States never did nor does not
now promise to pay anybody anything
in gold coin. General Harrison is a
pretty good lawyer, but he is ignorant
of the fact that all the obligations
of the United States are payable in sill
yer at the pleasure of the Government.
He supposes they are payable in gold,
because he never looked up the law.
When he said at Carnegie Hall last
week that free coinage is an infamous
proposition" to make us "a people of
repudiators' he exposed his ignorance
on the subject. He did not know any
better. IF he had, then what he said
would have been an infamous SANDER
against the millions of voters by whom
Mr.. Bryan is to be made President.
General Harrison should take the time
to look this matter up. The Govern
ment owes no gold, and the official who
4 a@o ~