Kansas City daily journal., 1897-01-05
WOULD Be CLEARLY ILLEGAL
STATES HAVE NO RIGHT TO COIN OR
ITO PRINT MONEY,
Neither Can They Make the Money of
Other Nations Legal Tender
Federal Laws Bearing
the Subject.

Washington. Jan. i.-(Special.l The oc-
casional reports coming from Kansas and
other sections of the West of contemplated
legislation by the lawmaking bodies of
those states and territories 10 authorize the
issue of state money and to give legal ten
der qualities to the Mexican dollar caused
the Journal correspondent to-day to inter
view prominent treasury officials for the
purpose of ascertaining TO what extent
such legislation can be sustained without
a conflict with the federal authorities. The
latest report of the kind to reach Wash
inSton was the special dispatch in tine Jour-
nal of Saturday from Oklahoma City stat
ing that bill Ito print money" and TO
make Mexican dollars legal tender for
debts, both public and private" would be
introduced in the coming session of the ter
ritorial legislature. Both Comptroller Eek
els and United States Treasurer Morgan,
on being shown the dispatch in question,
declared that such an act would be Illegal.
In the treasurer's office. the question was
quickly settled by reference to the au-
thorities. Section / of the constitution says:
No state shall enter into any treaty.
alliance or confederation; grant letters of
marque and reprisal; coin money. emit bills
of credit. make anything but gold and sill
Yer coin tender in payment of debts; pass
any bill of attainder. eN post facto law or
law impairins the obligation of contracts;
or grant any title of nobility"
In the opinion of the treasury officials,
the printing and issuing of money by Il
corporotion. public or private, without the
consent of congress would come under the
criminal statutes and be punishable as
cir rit,pr nt, n,
are very far-reaching. 1t is crime even
to issue anything that looks like money.
To concede this right to legislature would
be to recognize a species of states rights.
The constitutional provision forbidding
any state to make anything but gold and
silver coin a tender in payment of debts
raises the question what kind of gold and
silver coin. Congress has passed laws on
this subject which are very explicit 1t
has iEterdicted the right to make any for
eiGn coin Il legal tender and has declared
that American gold and silver coins alone
shall have currency. In the act of Feb
| ruary u. 1857. which is chapter 56 'of
the laws relating to the coinage as COM
piled by the treasury department entitled
AN act relating to foreign coin and to
the coinage of cents at the mint of the
CEited States,' the matter is set forth as
fellows, III section 5: And be it further
enacted, that all former acts authorizing
the currency OF foreign GOLD or silver
| ccins and declaring the same legal ten
der in payment for debts, are hereby re-
pealed.'
Under title page 7OS, revised statutes
headed Legal Tender section 1854 codi-
fies all the legislation on the subject in
these words: No foreign gold or silver
coins shall be a legal tender in payment
| of debts
Any act of the Kansas or Oklahoma leg
! islatures to give Mexican dollars legal ten
| der qualities would, in addition. clash with
the constitutional provision forbidding any
| state to pass any law impairing the OBJ
| lieation of contracts" AS u Mexican dol
| lar has a value of only about 81 cents to
| give it a legal tender quality would be. in
| the eyes of treasury experts. Il clear con-
stitUtional infraction, and hence Illegal