The daily morning journal and courier., 1896-09-17

determined were they to have 'regu- lar' money that they made regular money one of the fundamental and constitutional principles of the Union. The money of the constitution, there fore, is not silver, as Bryan howls, but regular money, money of fixed and full value. Notice moreover that the word is regulate" and is not fix" Regulate is @ verb of continued action It does not mean to fix values at one time for all times, but to regulate val ues whenever they require regulation; to keep on regulating; to regulate whenever regulation is proper and ne- eessary. Up to the beginning of the silver craze this view was not only held by congress, but acted upon in in- stances which form part of the finan- cial history of the country.
 The use of the word regulate" may also he regarded as recognizing both gold and silver for coinage and as an- ticipating the period when their chang
 ing relative values would necessitate changes in the regulation of the coin age. In fact it may be supposed that the word would not have been used eX- cept for the existence of bimetallism; as the phrase Ito coin money" may sutti- ciently indicate that only sound money is to be coined. The word ''coin" should of itself carry the notion of hon. esty The supposition suggests the further fact that where two metals are used for coinage, the value of the one must be regulated by the value of the other; one must be measured by the other; one must be accepted as standard to which the other must con- form. Otherwise there would be two standards, which is as great physical impossibility as would be the existence of two differing mathematical points, or of two differing mathematical l~straight lines of equal length, Bimet- allism Is not the theory of two indepen- dent standards, but the theory of the
 use of one metal in subordination to the standard established by the use of the other. That gold is the standard metal of the civilized world needs no further showing or explaining Nor does the fact that gold has always practically been, and to-day is, the standard metal of the United States need further exposition or argument.
 The fact is so evident and has been so clearly and repeatedly set forth that to question would be foolish: to deny, | willful. When the law of February F. 1873, declared the gold dollar shall be the unit of value" it declared a fact tacitly admitted since the beginning of
 the history of the Union and only dis puted now by those who yield them | selves to the principles and the pur- 1 poses of the counterfeiter.
 l ok tr,1 nnrrnnt | then there is no escape from the con- clusion that the silver coining of to- | day is in violation of the constitution, | that silver coins must be regulated"
 up to the gold standard and that 1t is | President Cleveland's imperative duty | to close the hints of the United States against silver until the regulation has l been effected. There is no other con- clusion which it is possible for the stu dent of the constitution to reach.
 | In 1894, for infinitely less irregularity I than exists to-day, Jefferson put stop | to the further coining of silver dollars, and did it so effectually that not sin | gle silver dollar was coined from 1895 | till 1S36 Jefferson is the president to whom the democratic party is still l pointing with pride and to whom it de- | lights to compare the present incum- | bent. Here is an opportunity for the 1 incumbent to put life into the compari- son. In discussing the finances of the l United States an important distinction
 is to be observed; that Is the distinc- l ton between coin and legal-tenders. l Coin is money. A legal tender is a | thing of which the intrinsic value is l immaterial and which the state obliges l its citizens to accept and to use in lieu l of money. There is a promise, general
 ly expressed, always implied, that at l some time, or on the occurrence of l some specified event, the state will re- deem the tender in money Legal ten | ders when issued represent forced
 loans which governments levy on their
 citizens Their creation is despotic; their character is tyranicaL They
 have no rightful place in republic which has achieved and thoroughly es- abolished it's financial independence But legal-tenders are in a sense honest. They confess on their face what they
 are No one is deceived by them. They are issued impartially. No one | particular class can be benefited or in-
 jured by them after they are once in ! ClICulaLIOH dllO IlS SupPly hdS pCCil
 limited. The general injury is inflicted
 only by and during their issue. In
 comparison with spurious coin they
 are noble, excellent, honorable.
 The power given by the constitution
 to congress to regulate the value of
 foreign coins cannot be regarded as
 giving congress either the power to is-
 sue legal tender or the power to coin
 spurious money. The power was given
 for a particular purpose and was ne-
 cessitated by the circumstances which
 attended the birth of the republic. One
 of the earliest acts of congress was an
 act declaring certain foreign coins then
 in circulation to be legal-tenders for
 specified amounts. Until the hints of
 the United States were built and
 equipped and had been at work awhile,
 the only money in circulation consisted
 of the coins of England, France, Hol-
 land and Spain. For the purpose of
 business and of paying taxes it was
 absolutely necessary to give these
 coins values in American denomina- tions. Some of these early coinage
 acts are interesting and entertaining. | rr1.z ic+e fn1