People's Pilot, Volume 3, Number 30, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 12 January 1894 — THE COLORADO PLAN. [ARTICLE]

THE COLORADO PLAN.

It Hal at Least Sprang an Interesting Question for Discussion. The movement inaugurated by Got. Waite, of Colorado, and others to obtain the coinage of American silver in Mexico and by state legislation to make the coins legal tender in the silver producing and other western states, has raised Some interesting, constitutional questions. A Washington telegram announces that Acting Secretary Curtis, of the treasury department, has declared that the government of the United States would promptly interfere should an attempt be made to make silver legal tender and provide for its free coinage at the state mint. And Mr. Curtis is further quoted as having said that Gov. Waite must know that the United States alone has the right to coin money and that the coinage by a state would be contrary to the constitution. But Mr. Curtis appears not to know what he is talking about There has never been any proposition, so far as we have observed, for the silver states or any state to establish or maintain a mint for the coinage of silver or other money. Everyone knows that the constitution not only vests congress with the power to coin money, which, by implication, would be held to exclude the states from the exercise of that right, but that section 10, of article 1, expressly inhibits the states in that regard. The language is: “No state * * * shall coin money.” There is no possible ground for controversy. What Gov. Waite and those who are acting with him are aiming at is to have the silver producing statesavail themselves of another clause in section 10. article 1, which they contend reserves to the states, by implication, the power to declare any silver coin legal tender. The exact language is: “No state * * * shall make anything but gold and silver coin a tender in payment of debts.” The plan, then, is to send American silver to Mexico, to be there minted into some form of coin. The states, it is contended by those in the movement, can then without impinging upon the federal constitution make such coins legal tender for all debts within such states respectively. Whether, if this plan should be undertaken by state authority, it might be held to be an indirect attempt to coin money, and therefore violative of the inhibition upon the states above quoted, is another question.

Irrespective, however, of this proposition to send American silver to be coined abroad, there does not appear to be any authority for denying the power of the states to declare any coin of gold or silver legal tender for debts. It is well known as a matter of history that at the time of the adoption of the constitution, and for many years after, foreign coins of gold and silver circulated freely in the' states and were recognized as legal tender. Congress from time to time declared certain foreign coins legal tender, but several of the states, we believe, also passed laws regarding such coins. At all events the language of the constitution does certainly, by implication, permit the states to declare coins of gold and silver legal tender for debts, and does not specify that such "coins shall be only those struck by the mints of the United States.

What may. be the. outcome of this movement we do not pretend to predict There is a dispatch from the City of Mexico stating that the Mexican government had declined to treat with certain persons who claimed to represent the state of Colorado, and who desired to arrange for the coinage of American silver in the Mexican mints. This, of course, is so. President Diaz, who is an enlightened statesman, knows perfectly well that a state in the American union is prohibited from entering into treaties or engagements with foreign nations. But this does not argue that the Mexicans are opposed to the Colorado plan. In fact, a dispatch from Denver states that Gov. Waite has received a letter from President Diaz in which the latter expressed deep interest in the project to make all silver dollars of full weight legal tender in the western states. Altogether this recent silver movement has become quite interesting and may have important results. —San Francisco Chronicle.