The Jasper weekly courier. [volume] (Jasper, Ind.) 1858-1922, 1900-03-09
The Cause OF Free Silver.


tions be issued by the government.
state or an individual? III debtor
has gold and changes his gold into
co,n-which he can do-and pays his
obligation. certainly that appears ~
a Just and equitable settlement-cer-
tainly as far as the creditor Is con-
corned. But II he possesses silver ana
the government refuses 10 coin ms
silver into money, even though at the
time of the making of the obligation.
silver was coined the same as gold
was coined, does IL not seem as II
that statute of February, 1873, If moth
ing else. was an ex-post facto law,
law which the constitution distinctly
| states the government shall not pass.
The constitution also says that the
states shall make only gold and sil-
YER coin tender in payments OF
debts. Consequently gold and SILVER
coin-both of them, not one or the
other-must be the coins that are legal
tender for debts in the states, so that
would not the refusal Of the govern
ment to coin silver into money at the
demand of q state or of a citizen make
nugatory an enactment of the constr
tuition which declares that the states
raust have gold and silver coin legal
tenders for payments of debts? Gould
state repudate a debt on the ground
that the government had rendered inn
possible a law which the constitution
distinctly stated the state must COM
nix with? For the state having silver
which the government has refused 10
coin into money, the stale declares that
| il has not gold and silver coin as legal
! tender according to the requirements
; of the constitution. Or debtor re-
!, pudiate his debt for the same reason,
: j. e.. that his state did not comply with
the mandate of the constitution? That
: the government has issued certain
: amount of silver coins, and has de-
$ clared these silver coins legal tender,
Z does not seem to answer the question
4 satisfactorily, for no one Will contend
;, that the silver in the silver coin has the
n same power that the gold in the gold
! coin has: for in case of placement or
i accident the gold coin can be recoined
: at the will of the holder, but the silver
!. cannot. The fact alone that the issue
n of the legal tender silver coin Ii I'm
@ tied may be offered, but does the state
II comply with the mandate of the con
l. stitution, which says it must have gold
N and silver coin as tender. when 1t car
N have gold coined into money and can
10 not have silver coined into money
in Now, if this is legal, and congress hal
10 the power 10 AXE the power TO be none.
10 away from silver. and the issue of SOM
~ silver legal tender coin by government
,a satisfies the mandate of the constitu
90 ton as far as the states are concerned
pd has not congress the right 10 take tn
~ power to be money away from gold
m TO demonetize gold? is its power owe
al one metal any greater than over III
of other-ovcr either than over both I
ve cether? So that should governmer
a. see fit TO demonetize both metals. an
n so stop coinage Imagine us havin
nd PAPER money only, would not the deb
IA or. if his obligation said coin. be r
IN lieved from paying his debt; and wou
,cr not the government be relieved fro
oh paving any of its obligations by u
nv same line of reasoning that is used no
m TO show II must not now pay them
lie silver? Would not the states find
tal impossible 10 comply with that fund
ere meutal law of the constitution? 1t h
at- been repeatedly said that If we resto
tlv the power to be money TO silver that o.
The gold would leave the country. IND
do n paper currency would not, by I
rs same line of reasoning. both meta
.s leave us? To call this reasoning no
Tho sense. and 10 say that such state
md things as having no coinage, is not
on all likely to occur, etc. only begs I
mi question. affirm positively that
ore years ago people thought then II
hut the demonet ization of silver was as
likely 10 happen, as many may thu
mas to-day that this country viii never ST
nj coinage altogether. For surely If
law government has the power to stop co
reb- ing one and be made TO pay its debts
he the other. why can il not stop conn
ain both. and so be relieved from payi
and at all?
,on- / would like TO have some OF {
. in statesmen. who differ from the pr
ro,.- ciples of this coinage question as
|, to down by Hamilton. Jefferson, Jacks
dis Webster. Blaine. and once upon II
tho by a certain William Mckinley, expl
.ass ihis-not mere assertions. but line
the reasoning such as they would use
he fore court.-George Barnes. in
,nev tional Waterman.
was -, $50,