The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1897-02-07
RESTRICTING THE RIGHT OF
CONTRACT.

The Missouri legislature has under
4 taken to deal with the currency ques-
ton, the lower house having passed
bill, which is as follows:
Be it enacted by the general assem-
bly, of the state of Missouri as follows;
Section l. Section 661S of chapter SO
revised statutes of Missouri, 1882 is
| hereby repealed, and three new Sec
tons, to be known as sections 661Sa
| 6618b and e61Sc, are enacted in lieu
| thereof, as follows:
Sec. 661Sa. The gold and silver coins
of the United States shall be full Legal
| tender at their face value in payment
of all debts, public or private, here
( after contracted in this state, and such
as may be hereafter contracted else
/ where, but the payment of which may
! be attempted TO be enforced by proc
ess of law in the courts of this state,
or in the courts of the United States
| held within the limits of this state,
and for all such debts attempted to be
| enforced by sale under deed of trust,
without regard to the terms of the
| contract.
Sec. 661Sb. No judgment shall here
! after be rendered in any of said courts
| on any of said contracts or promises,
verbal or written, for any specific kind
of money, no matter what the contract
or promise may provide, but shall be
rendered in dollars and cents for the
amount found to be due The lawful
holder of such claim, and when judg-
ment be so rendered it, or any execu-
ton Hereunder, may be fully salts
fed by payment or offer to pay in
said gold or silver coins of the United
States at their face value.
Sec. 661Sc. All deeds of trust or mort
cages made hereafter to secure any
sum whatever, or purporting to secure
any note or bond or other obligation,
shall be rendered satisfied in the or
binary modes provided by law, on pay
ment of tender to the owner or holder
of said debt the amount due thereon,
in the gold or silver coins of the Unit
ed States, at their face value, and any
sale made under any such mortgage or
deed of trust after the aforesaid pay
ment or tender shall be void.
This is legislation in line with the
Democratic platform adopted at Chi
cago last year. That platform de-
clared, on this very question: 1--WE
demand that the standard silver dollar
shall be a full legal tender, equally
with gold, for all debts, public and
private, and we favor such legislation
as will prevent for the future the de-
monetization of any kind of legal-ten-
der money by private contract"
The demand of the platform was for
national legislation. If it is within
the power of congress to take away
the right to contract for the payment
of a debt in certain kinds of money,
it would not necessarily be competent
for a state legislature to do the same
thing The federal constitution pro-
hibits the states from making any
thing but gold and silver a legal ten
der, but it does not prohibit congress
making anything but gold and silver
legal tender. The greenbacks are le-
gal tenders, and were Missouri to pass
this law and one were to tender green
backs in payment of a debt in that
state and they were not accepted,
there is little doubt that the United
States supreme court would declare
the law invalid, for the reason that it
would conflict with the powers of con-
gress in the premises. The general
government having the power to make
and issue money and declare it legal
tender, that power extends to the
whole Union, and not merely to such
places as are under the exclusive ju-
risdiction of the United States.
If a state has the right to enact such
a law as the one contemplated by the
Missouri legislature, it would not in
any wise conflict with that provision
of the constitution which forbids the |
passage of any law impairing the OBJ |
legation of contracts, as it is not in /
tended to affect any existing contract, |
but merely to prevent the execution !
of contracts payable in a specified kind |
of money.
The enactment of such law by con |
gress or a state Legislature as is con-
templated by the Missouri legislature
would be a very great curtailment of |
the right of contract, but how far such
curtailment may go on the grounds of
public policy the courts alone can say. i
If Missouri passes this law and it
comes before the United States su-
preme court on the question of its con-
the courts decision will
rank in Importance along with the
Dartmouth college case and what are
known as the greenback cases.