The Caucasian. (Clinton, N.C.) 188?-1913, 1896-05-14
LEGAL TENDER
BY STATES
Maj. W. A. Guthrie Suggests
Some Constitutional Inqui-
ries And Shows the Way
WHAT A STATE CAN DO


4. II constitutional High'-tnd'r the
United state. Complication May Make
,o United
""'" MI" ''''''
states, Including Trade Dollars as
wou -, Foreign Coin. Legal Tender
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The first and second citations
,t,ye. from the Constitution of the
rrited States. nlainlv mean that if
},r,nos to Compress, and to Con-
,.r.ss alone. TO coin money, and to
rrculate the value Of all American
coins as well as to regulate the value
orau foreign coins which circulate
within the United States.
II is rauallv plain from the third
CITATION above. from the Constitu-
tion OF the United States, that the
States are prohibited and restricted
N making legal tender laws, to the
making of nothing else "but gold
and silver coin" n legal tender in
tine pavment of debts. This last ci-
tati0n above, by plain and necessary
imnIication means ONLY one thing,
orJ that ie. that onv State NAV. If
il chooses, by ITS local State legisla-
ton, make gold and silver coin a
legal tender in the payment of debts.
Vow what kind of coin is meant9
is IL United States coin, or is it for
cipu coin. or is il both? Whatever
contention might arise as to foreign
coin circulating in the United States,
and AS TO which the goldbugs have
rcpealcd the former laws, and Con.
,ross has passed no law now in force
reoulat,nG it's value for debt pavipe
rnrnne.e. Chut has "reonlated if,
yalue'' as "NIonev of Account il
Collecting aa ralorem tariff taxes OF
imnorted goods). is there anv mar
who could reasonably doubt tha
United States coin. (both gold ant
silvor). is clearly embraced in tn,
abovo cited Constitutional provis
ionsg And to nv own mind it is ais,
clear that the cold and silver coin O
ro,eion countries is also embraced
i'm the above Constitutional provis
ION. subject however, to the othe
provision that Congress may "regu
late" its value.
Tho silver coin of the Unite
States which is commonly called th
"Standard Dollar is made n legs
tender in tho pavment of debts b
act of CONGRESS. but what is stamne
and known ne the "Trade Dollar
not n legal tender in the paymert G
debts. either bv national or Stat
LEGISLATION. and hence the "Trad
DoIla,r has becouo an article q
r,erchandiso and no LONGER money
or = LEGAL fender coin. IN the pa1
ment of debts. The "Trade Dollar
is United States coin, issued b
authority of the United States GOV
errmcnt with tbe Government
stamn on #. calling il n "Dollar.
and has stamped upon it 1920 grain
900 fne,n and thus answers every re
ouirement of tho United States Cor
st;tution confarrinr on Conaress tn
nnwer tn "cn;n monevr
Nv ow, oninion is. that il is ius
as competent for a State to max
the cold and silver coin of the I'm
red States. and foreign coins too. 8
their reeuIation value given them b
Compress. n LEGAL tender in the pav
manf of Sehts Tithin the State. as
is for the limited States povernmer
10 pass a legal tender law applvin
to all the States. This is one of th
reserved rights of q State in tb
above Constitutional restriction, fe
otherwise the above last cited pr,
vision in the Constitution Of II
United States would have to rea
"No State shall make ANYTHIN
tender in the payment of debts
and thereby strike from the Cons,
tuition the exceptional. and pivot
operative words which qualify Il
whole provision. to-wit: BUT COL
AND SILVER COIN.n
Every ;ntelligent resder kno,
that ali s;Iver coin of Tho Init
States. Cbotb .sTrade Dollars, q.
STANDARD Dollars. are 900 pa,
fine in quality, that is, in every Q
thousand parts of metal to be coin,
900 parts are pure silver, and (
other one hundred parts are all
And this provision applies as well
the ALLOW in gold coin. quote fr
the Mint law:
THAT the standard for both e
and silver coin of the United Sta
shall hereafter be such, that of ,
thousand parts by weight, 900 81
be of pure metal. and 100 of all