Year: 1878

DURING all the period of the war the
Democratic party opposed the issue of
greenbacks as being an unconstitutional
measure. Now they have suddenly
changed their tactics, and "demand'
the substitution of greenbacks for Ma
| tional Bank notes. As a war measure
the greenback was condemned by DEM
ocrats because it materially aided the
friends of the Union to rescue it from
disintegration. Now the National Bank
notes are condemned, and "we," the
Democratic party, demand" that
greenbacks shall be substituted in their
place. This is done to capture votes;
but it is dangerous step. There is no
question about the legality of the Ma
tional Bank and their paper issues.
Public opinion is not so pronounced in
reference to greenbacks or Government
legal-tenders. The late Secretary of
the Treasury (Fessenden) in his annual
report of 1865 presented the following
views


"The constitutional right of Con-
gress to borrOW money is unquestiona-
| BILE, but their authority to issue obliga-
tions for a circulating medium, as
money, and to make these obligations
a legal tender, can only be found in the
unwritten law which sanctions whatev-
er the Representatives of the people,
whose duty it is to maintain the Gov
ernment against its enemies, may con-
slider, in great emergency, necessary
to be done.


1.-The legal-tender acts were WAR
measure, and ought not to
| be continued longer than is necessary
| 10 Go. TO thf,
tiORGt currency.


sit has not in past times been re-
garded as the province of Congress to
furnish the people directly with money
in any form. Their authority is to coin
money and fix the value thereof; and
inasmuch as a mixed currency has
been found to be a commercial necessi-
ty, it would seem also to be their duty
to provide, as has been done by the Ma
tional Bank currency act, that this
paper currency should be secured be-
yond any reasonable contingency"


Chief-Justice Chase, in 1870, dissent
ing from the decision of the majority of
the court on the Government legal-ten-
der question, concluded his opinion in
these words:


If the plain sense of words, if the
contemporaneous exposition of parties,
if common consent in understanding, if
the opinions of courts avail anything in
determining the meaning of tine Con-
stitution, it seems impossible to doubt
that the power to coin money is a
power to establish a uniform standard
of values, and that no other power to
establish such a standard by making
notes legal tender is conferred upon
Congress by the Constitution


AS war measure Secretary Chase
approved the acts authorizing the issue
of greenbacks. Subsequently, as Chief
Justice, with Democratic leanings, he
limited his views to Constitutional au-
thority in the matter in times of peace.


At the December term, 1870, when
Chief-Justice Chase gave his opinion,
the Supreme Court consisted of nine
Judges, all on the bench. Five of those
concurred in affirming the constitution
ality of the acts of Congress making the
United States notes a legal tender in
the payment of debts contracted before
and after the passage of the acts. The
four Democratic Justices dissented from
the judgment of the court.


1t win thus be seen that so far as the
decision of the highest legal authority
goes in favor of the constitutional pow
er of the Federal Government to make
Government currency legal tender,
it hangs upon majority of five to four
of the Supreme Court the minority
all Democrats-holdiDg views directly
opposite to the new policy of Judge
Thurman and his party, who de-
mand' that the Government shall do
away with the National Bank currency
and substitute greenback legal tenders
in its place. Republic.