The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1896-07-21
serene element In the country, and they
are not only serene but confident.
LEGAL TENDER AND DEMOCRACY.


The Chicago platform says: Soon
gress alone has the power TO coin and
issue money, and President Jackson de-
| clared that this power could not be
uals. We therefore demand that the
power to issue notes be taken from the
banks and that all paper money shall
be issued directly by the treasury de
parlment" Well may this be said 10
be new policy for the Democratic
party. This party had almost uninter-
rupted control of the government from
1900 to 1861 and during that time 1t
never issued any legal tender money.
Has congress then no power 10 Issue
| money? The Republican party has
acted upon the theory that congress
may issue legal tender money, but the
Democratic party, never. The con-
gress shall have power TO borrow
money on the credit of the United
States" and ITO coin money and regu-
late the value thereof" but mo state
shall coin money, emit bills OF credit
or make anything but gold and silver
coin tender in payment of debts"
Thus reads the constitution. The con-
stitution says: Coin money" the
word ISSUE is not used. The Demo-
cratic party has uniformly denied the
constitutional authority of congress TO
tissue money" The Democratic party
has been the party Of strict construc-
ton of the constitution and those pow
ers not expressly delegated TO the
United States are expressly reserved 10
the individual states The nat money
experience OF the states prior 10 the
adoption OF the constitution had been
such an awful and calamitous failure
that the fathers" agreed that there
after no site should coin money, emit
bills of credit or make anything but
gold and silver coin tender in pay
ment of debts" While the states re-
luctantly yielded powers to the govern
ment in this case they willingly dele
gated the power to coin money to
the United States and put the above
prohibition upon the individual state
TO do so. But in the eyes of Democrats
coming money is one thing and Issuing
paIler money is another thing. One Is
permitted, the other not being permit
ted is, therefore, denied. That Is the
Democratic position and the minority
report at the Chicago convention spoke
with absolute historical accuracy when
it said:
'aThe Democratic party is the party
of hard money and is opposed to legal
tender paper money as a part OF our
permanent financial system" This Is
a hypocritical dodge ON the part or the
Democrats at Chicago to get Populist
votes and befog the minds of many In
these hard times who turn to paper
money imitation as cure Tor uhe
s.money famine" This statement that
the Democratic party is in favor OF
Issuing money is the deliberate false
hood OF demagogues who expect TO
catch votes by making it
The statement OF President Jackson
shat this power ito issue money could
not be delegated to corporations or H.
dividuals,' is just as false as the other.
The constitutionality OF the national
bank had been time and again ques-
toned, not because it was bank OF
issue, but because no express provision
of the constitution provided for the
bank. Jackson made a war upon the
bank but not because 1t was bank
of issue. He vetoed the bill re-charter-
ing the bank and assigned ten reasons
for his veto, not one of which was that
it was bank OF issue. This state
ment about Jackson's attitude, that
the power Of congress to issue money
could not be delegated TO corporations
or individuals, is a hypOcritical false
hood, made to deceive. 10 pander TO
Populists and to obtain votes by false
pretense-
The national bank was chartered by
the Federalists. 1t was a Feder3list-
Hamilton-scheme. While 1t was re-
chartered by Democrats in 1916 AZ was
none the less a Federalist plan. While
it had many points of weakness and in
eADSuISltN
of monopoly, it was vastly superior to
any banking system proposed or put III
10 effect by Democrats.
1t is ridiculous TO talk about Demo
Gratis being against delegating the pow
er to issue money 10 banks when one
reads the history Of Democracy in con-
nection with state banks Of issue
Democrats were averse to the national
bank because it showed sovereign
power in the United States and they did
not believe in a national but a state
sovereignty. States might authorize
banks OF issue but the national could
not delegate this power. Think OF the
wildcat state bank currency and
compare it with our national bank cur |
rency, A man then had constant need /
of his ''bank detector." The Republl- ,
can party taxed state bank circulation /
out of existence In 1892 the Demo /
cratic party demanded the repeal Of /
this state bank tax. The Democratic /
party is for state banks Of issue, and !
against issuing paper money as a part /
Of financial system.