The Jasper weekly courier. [volume] (Jasper, Ind.) 1858-1922, 1898-09-30

authority Of congress 10 demonetize either
gold or silver.
The distinguished jurist. Justice Cliff
ford, in his able dissenting opinion In the
celebrated legal tondcr cases" says:
Argument to show that the national
treasury was organized ON the basis that
the gold and silver coins of tho United
states were to be the standard of value, il
unnecessary. as 1t is historical fact
which no man or body OF men can ever
successfully contradict Very
strong doubts are entertained whether an
act of congress Is absolutely necessary to
constitute gold and silver coins OF the
United Statct. fabricated and stamped as
such by the proper executive officers OF
the mint, a legal tender In payment of
debts. Constituted as such coins are by
the constitution, the standard Of value.
the better opinion would seem To be that
they become legal tender for that purpose
II minted Of the required weight and line
ness. as soon as they are coined and put
into circulation by lawful authority. -
Currency Ia "a word much more compre-
hensive than the word money, as IL may
include bank bills and even bills of ex-
change, AS we'll as coins OF gold and silver,
but the word money AS employed In the
grant Of power under consideration
means the coins Of gold and silver fabri-
Gated and stamped as required by law,
which, by virtue OF their intrinsic value
as universally acknowledged and their
official origin, become the medium Of ex-
change and the standard by which all
other values are expressed and dis
charged"
In the same cases Justice Field. whose
services ON the supreme bench of the
United States cover period ex seeding
that Of any other man In the history OF
the court, supplements the opinion Of
Justice Clifford thus:
THE inhibi ton upon the states TO coin
money and yet to make any hing but gold
and silver coin a tender in payment of
debts must be read In connection with the
grant Of the coinage power to congress.
The two provisions taken together indi-
cate beyond question that the coins which
the national government was TO fabricate,
and the foreign coins, the valuation of
which II was to regulate were to consist
principally, IL not entirely" not of the
one only, but both. of gold and silver.
Money being a standard, its coin OF
pieces are necessarily legal tender. The
provisions in the different coinage acts
that the coins To be struck shall be such
legal tender are merely declaratory OF
their effect when offered In payment and
are not essential to give them their char
acter"
Thus it Is seen that the views OF the bi
metallist today are in harmony with the
opinion Of these eminent statesmen and
jurists and when he insists upon the right
Of the people To the use Of both gold and
silver, not as currency. but as money. hi
demands for them only their constit u
tional right So my friends, IL the opin
Ion man entertains on the financia
question may render him dangerou,
member Of society. a we were told In
1856, 1t would not be difficult. taking as q
criterion the utteranccs Of the gentlemen
have quoted. to point out and designate
the real anarchists Of this country.
1t Is not enough for the single standard
advocate to say he Is opposed to bimetall
ism because of the ratio proposed. II
Webster and Blaine. Clifford and Fields
have correctly interpreted the constitu
ton, and the present ratiols an erroneous
one, which we deny, bimetlllism should
be supported at correct ratio, and he
who is not willing to do this, but on the
contrary favors the destruction of one OF
the metals as money, brands himself as
an infractor Of the organic law OF the
nation.
We hear IL frequently observed that the
Democratic party is an unsafe guide on
the money question, and yet l am prac-
tically within the truth when l remind
you that the monetary system prevailing
In this country from Its organization until
1879, and under which this nation fought
its wars, contributed its share to the
swelling tide of civilization aud made its
most giant like stride in material progress
was the out growth of Democra ic states
manship
Republican Party Not Entitled to Lead
ership On Financial Questions.
When was 1t the Republican party be-
came the embodiment OF the financial
wisdom of this countryf 1t was not born
until 1855 and it's platform Of that year
contained no reference To money. In 1850
IL conducted "a national campaign without
saying In Its platform what 1t thought
about the financial question. In 1854 IL
favored promoting the use Of national
currency" but 10y the time 1858 came
around 1t had forgotten what 1t had
thought on the subject four years prior
thereto, and so IL omitted to incorporate
a money plank in its platform. Its men,
CRY was still no better in 1879. nor had it's
stock Of Information been added to, and
the result was IL adopted another. plat
form without a money plank. In 1875,
however ~ years after 1t was born, It
gave its first but very slight prcmonition
Of having financial idea, as was EVIL
dcnced by It's platform declaration in
favor Of "a steady progress to specie pay-
ment."
1t would not bc expected, of course Of q
party to make very rapid progress In tho
development of subject about which it
required 70 years to get an idea, and 80 no
particular surprise was manifested when
this selfconstituted guardian Of national
honor went before the country In 1880 on
platform containing no money plank.
In 1854 IL was In favoc Of an interna-
tional agreement for the rse OF both gold
and silver ns standard money. In 1883 IL
loved silver and denounced the Demo
cratic party for it's unpatriotic attempt to
dcmonetize It, In lsg2 IL still loved silver
and here In Indiana IL was very vocifcrous
In its congrat ulations Of the country that
long stride hai been taken toward tho
free coinage of the white metal.
But. my friends. In 1890, to believe It's
story now, IL began to sec the error OF its
u-av IN fnryOfr, AZ nm al phmant for oflv.~