The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1898-02-06

| 1897 ~ ~ much part Of every coin
| bond Of the United States now Outstand-
| ing ~ IL II were fully written out upon
| its face In totidcm verbs. No lawyer
| wil deny IT, No man can dispute it. No
| phblictst cam question II. When we
| then contracted TO pay coin in the UnI-
| ttal States we meant Our coin, and we
mcnnt that coin Of the present standard
| value as 6yed in the law by the act Of
| July ~. 1897.
| We ought not, in my humble judg-
| meui, 10 go behind the written contract
| ~ AL We did That once for tho benefit
| " tID investors We went behind the
contracts that existed before 1860. We
| strengthened the public credit made
| The bonds which had been bought at 60
| rents itpOn the dollar 100-ccnt bonds.
| IT was supposed by the country. it would
| be- imagined by any reasonable man Mt
| any time, that having had their bonds
| transmitted from paper bonds into specie
| bonds, and having derived an advantage
| NJ 10 cents on the dollar thereby. they
| would ~ least h. content with such gen
cr0tiB treatment.
! But IL has only. on tine part Of some
! ~ them. whcttcI their appetite for more.
| If wr do go behind the bonds in search
| Gf equity and in defiance Of law. We
could only fix upon the original coHSid-
| Grafton of tie bonds as the proper fact
10 determine what should bc paid 10 the
| bondhOldcr But he who asks equity
| must do equity
| If fhc b0ndholdcr wishes TO open the
| question Of what nc paid for the bonds
must open it wide enough to let the
| government show in all cases what it
received for the bonds. When this is
done the case revealed is against the
| b0ndholdcr, and the equity which he
| pretcnds to invoke would scatter dcSOla-
| ton and dismty in all the bOndhOlding
| ranks, and would rcfutc all the pTetcn-
| sions Of his champions upon this floor.
| Oliver =. Morton reminded the credi-
| tors that the consideration paid was in
/ value about 90 cents on the dollar: and
/ if the question of consideration be OPEN
| ed, the resolution of Senator Garrett
i Davis. of Kentucky. to which | referred
/ Yesterday. offered in this body March II.
| 1869, will furnish Il proper guide and
| test. That resolution was this:
THAT the just and equitable meas
IRE of the obligation Of the United States
| upon their outstanding bonds which
| were issued and sold as n means of Dor
rowing money is the value at the time, in
| gold and silver coin, of the paper cur
| rency advanced and paid on those
| bonds"
Yesterday one who casually heard the
Senator from Massachusetts (lIr. HUarl
would have supposed that he was the
advocate of that principle. But he has
not been heard to return to it since he
discovered to what chasm it would lead
him.
The resolution Of Mr. Davis was voted
/ ILL ,a1
| GATES refused TO adopt the principle now
| commended to us by the Senator from
Massachusetts They dared not invoke
| it. They say, ''The contract cuts it out -
/ We say the same thing. and are at one
| with them as soon as we analyze their
| POSITION. both as to what law and what
| equity demand.
| might refer in this connection to thel
| fact that when the act to strengthen thel
| public credit was before the House of
Representatives. and as it was originally
introduced in the Senate Of the United
| States. it contained second section.
which / will cite for the information of
my associates:
Section .. And be it further enacted.
| That any contract hereafter made spe-I
officially payable in coin, and the consid-
GRAFTON of which may be loan Of coin
or a sale of property or the rendering
of labor or service of any kind, the price
| of which as carried into the contract
/ may have been adjusted on the basis of
the coined value thereof at the time of
such sale or of the rendering of such
service or labor, shall be legal and valid,
/ and may be enforced according to It's
| terms; and on the trial of n suit brought
for the enforcement of any such CON
/ tr.oc yf pnol Il n.l on ~
be given
so at the time when the act to-
| strengthen the public credit was passed
in formal legal proposition, presented
both TO the Senate and to the House,
there was considered Il proposition now
commended to us by the Senator from
| Massachusetts and his party, and the
| friends of the bondhOlders voted it down.
| In no case, it was the opinion of the
| House and Senate alike, and in my
/ judgment they were correct, should YOU
/ ever leave a bond, security of the Uni
| ted States, out upon The market or issue
it to the public servants or public credi-I
| tors with any question as to what 1t
meant. with any Doubt as to the stand
ard of value to which it referred, with
any kind of trouble in the minds of men
as to what should be paid, and in the,
| nature of Things to attempt TO DO what
| is suggested here for the purpose of
strengthening the weak places in debate
will destroy amy system of finance, break
down the credit of the government which
| it is pretended it would favor, and remit
| us to a kind of loose and indiscrininate
practice with respect to our bonds utter
ly destructive of investors and of their
interests.
The Hon. John Sherman at that period
possessed opinions quite similar to those
of the Hon. Garrett Davis, of Kentucky, I
for the act of 1860, with this clause in
il which have cited, was supported by
him. And Mr.. Sherman, March, II, with
respect to the second section which l
have quoted, said:
Certainly it is not the desire of the !
Senate to authorize creditor to compel
payment in coin where currency was
the consideration, and thus add to the
burden of the debt some 80 Of 40 per
cent"
So by leaving out the consideration Of
the bond ls a question to be referred to