Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1897-10-14
LEG All TENDER.
TITS RESPONSIBLE FOR MANY WRONGS
DONE IN LIBERTY'S NAME.

Contracts Are Impaired-If Legal Tender
Laws We're Repealed the Business World
Would Use Only the Best and Most Con.
yenient Moncy-Free Coinage OF Two or
More Money Metals Would BE Safe With
out a Legal Tender Ratio-Evils of Fiat
Money Clearly Presented In Book
just Out.
A simple, clear, sound and strong
presentation Of the money question is
made by Charles II. Swan, Jr., in a
little book entitled Monetary Prob
lens and Reforms. 1t Is the last num-
Der of Putnam Questions of the Day
Series. The author believes that legal
tender laws are great curse and are
responsible for most Of our monetary
evils. He makes good case His
arguments are we'll calculated to up
set not only is to l ideas, but all
belief in favor of fiat or cheap money.
This being the heart Of his discussion,
we quote the following extracts from
the chapters on Fiat Money and Legal
Tender:
'From an economic point OF view
there can be no difference between All
obligation to deliver what happens to
be medium of exchange and All cbliga-
ton to deliver some other article. In
either event the selection has been made
by the agreement Of the parties, and the
obligation is as to Il certain quantity OF
certain thing. 1t is thus that we may
say that in economic contemplation any
obligation to deliver specified goods is
a debt. 1t would seem that the obliga-
ton made by the agreement of the par
tics should be altered only by the agree
ment of the parties. 1t would seem fur
Their that the obligation should not be
altered indirectly by changing the
definition Of terms used i'll the agree
ment. Nor should the fact that the law
looks on debt for money in different
light from the way in which it looks OH
u debt for other goods make any differ
enco as to impairing tho obligation.
at is nevertheless true that no despot-
ic power Of government in disregard OF
property has been oftener or more uni.
versally employed than this power of
tampering with contracts and that,
too, not only by governments professed-
ly despotic, but even by those claiming
to be actuated by the principles of JUS
tice and liberty.
"These, then, are the three ways OF
dobasing tho standard coin of II country
--either to reduce the weight of the
piece and make the reduced piece a legal
tender for tho old piece, or to coin the
Same pieces as before, but decree that
contracts for more than its old name
implied, or to coin pieces of the same
weight as before, but of n reduced fine
ness and to make them legal tender
with tho old. However, it is not at all
unusual to find that when one of these
methods is employed in scheme of de
basement tho others are also associated
with it. Debasemcnt, properly speak
ing, refers simply to applying the old
name to q lesser amount of metal, and
in order to effect an impairing of CON
tract rights must he accompanied by
w
would not receive the smaller coins for
more than their market value rs stamp
cd metal, bat the act of debasemcnt is
30 universally poisoned with this legal
tender law that the term debdScmcnt Is
generally used to cover both operations.
"The method above described for
tamporing with tho money of n country
.-namoly, to debase the coins in weight,
finenoss or nomenclature and apply le-
gal tender laws--is so barefaced and
self evident fraud that it is almost
universally denounced, and it is of late
years seldom used by u civilized govern
mcnt. There Is, however, another meth
od by which tho same netarious end
can he attained under tho plausible pre-
text of regulating the value of money,
rs If money needed any other regulation
than to be let alone to lind its own mar
ket level. This idea of regulating tho
value Of money has its enthusiastic adj
vocates in all countries of the present
day and has pernoated to individuals
in all classes of society 1t is based ON
the idea that the order of the govern
mont, the fat Of law, gives money its
basic value. 1t is therefore called tho
doctrine of iiatism, and money that is
tainted with this idea is called fiat
money
"a legal tender law, however,
which makes less an equivalent for
more takes no account Of any man $
ability ia fulfill his contracts, but with
ono fell swoop strikes Il horizontal re-
duction of debts for all alike and is i'll
effect universal bankrupt act. When
it is said, ms sometimes is, that a legal
tender law is necessary to avoid bank
ruptcy, such law is in reality not an
escape from bankruptcy, but the most
emphatic confession of bankruptcy.
Among the wrongs done III liberty $
name legal tender must hold Il proml'
ncnt place. 1t seems to he almost a
mania to rush to legal tender i'll any
public crisis. At tho very time when
business confidence is most needed the
most deadly blow is struck ut that con-
fideuce
Again, the lawmakers may believe