Democratic Sentinel, Volume 2, Number 5, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 15 March 1878 — MONET OF THE UNITED STATES. [ARTICLE]

MONET OF THE UNITED STATES.

(From the Cincinnati Enquirer.] The public questions of this genera tion are to be question of finance. The duty of the law-makersef this epoch if to establish an American system of finance, based upon sound principles, built for permanency, for equity, and for the people. No question so vitally concerns the welfare of all the homes of the land as the questions relating to money, to the currency of the country, the machinery for all of its business. No question is settled till it is settled right, and this greatest of political questions, which is ndw, fortunately, in the process of agitation; will not doWn ” till a system is permanently established which if adapted to our people; to our condition, to our century. Our Federal Government has always assumed control of the currency. It has rested and should rest nowhere else, e How shall that control be exercised I The constitution wisely . leftrthe Congress almost unfettered in the matter of making money. There »e no constitutional limits placed upon the action of Congress in ordering what shall be money, save’ by implication. The States Were forbidden to “make anything but gold and silvan owm a tender in payment of debts/’ to-to awords of the constitution. The States, by the - constitution, were forbidden to “coin money,” or #, Vomit bills of This clause in the tenth section of the first article of the constitution suggested the possibility 61 the true Amencah system of finance. With all pi tfie recognitions of the rights of toe States that are fixed in toe constitution toe doctrine is plainly indicated, if nqt named in words, in, toat constitution that the Federal Government has, and alone has, the control of the issue of money. The wise decision of the Supreme Court of the United States is that toe Congress is not limited to gold and silver in its making of money. It can make copper or nickel or greenbacks money. There are those who say that there is no express authority given to Congress in the constitution to make gold and silver even a legal tender, or to make a legal-tendef law of any kind. If this is granted, the constitutional right tomake other things than gold or silver legal tender rests on the same grounds wid* the right to make even these metals lawful money. But the highest court has settled this question. The power to make money inheres in toe Federal Government, and toe Congress has powt r to determine what shall be money. Our Government has always assumed control of our currency, and alway&will. This is why that control should be right. There have 1 r&ftly" tlrfe^ 1 distinct phases of pur currency system. The first Congress under the constitution vs--* 4 tablidhed the BanVdf.’thcUnitedStates. Certainly the fact that the control of the currency was placed in the General Government. The Government could give it away. The United States Government was itself ip the banking business. Tins bapk wap rechartered during Madison’s adminis-tration,-and wap the basis,of our currency system till the noble veto of Andrew Jackson. Then came th® era of State banks. They were toe basis- of our system of finance. For twenty-eight years prior to 1860, under that regime, we had a “specie basis.” It was called a “sound financial system.” It was “hard money.” It was the epoch of State banks and solid basis. But the statistics show toat fox twenty-six years prior to 1860 this basis was 18 cents of coin to 100 cents of promise outstanding. The average of all the banks of the country presented this showing, when little corporations scattered over the land were allowed to make money, and When men looked at a “ bank-note detector” before making change when selling a pound of sugar. Ohio ndtes wtere looked on with suspicion in Indiana or Kentucky, and “wildcat” banks were always possible. The next era in finance in toe United States came with the war. The 8 ate banks'were taxed out of existence, and the Government made one-half of the money of the land (made millions more of bonds legal tender) and indorsed the remainder. It made greenbacks and authorized toe issue of national-bank notes as a “war measure,” and to coax the sale-of the Government bands. However vicious the national-banking system--and it is a financial heresy—rib bauhelped so perform one work in our finaneial -history toat is valuable. Its adoption-helped to place toe control of our currency where in belongp-r-to the Federal Government. The war pointed out toe path to top American system Qi finance. The direct necessity forced the system on us. It stood toe test of war, and it has stood to® test of peace far bet; ter than it endured toe war. Eyen toe .National Bank pct was an s advance step in our financial story in that it carried all of toe control of our currency that ip not otherwise carried to toe Government of the United States. The Congress can now handle it as it could not prior to 1860. The third epoch iu our currency system —the present one—is that in which the Government makes half of the momjy ahd indorses the other half. The, next curienßy epoch will be that in which the Government indorses no money, but makes it all.