People's Pilot, Volume 5, Number 48, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 4 June 1896 — HAS NO AUTHORITY. [ARTICLE]

HAS NO AUTHORITY.

PRESIDENT CLEVELAND'S RECENT BOND ISSUES. Neither the Fending Act of IS7O, Nor the Keaumption Act of IS7S Authorise* the Issue of Bonds with Which to Bay Gold Ruined th« Party. There is no law on the statute books authorizing the secretary of the treasury, or any one else to issue bonds to buy gold for any purpose whatever. Wherever there is any law authorizing the issu6 of bonds to buy any kind of money it stipulates “coin.” Every secretary of the treasury from John Sherman down has made a “law unto himself” that coin means gold. The section of law authorizing the issue of bonds for resumption purposes reads as follows: And on and after the Ist day of January, A. D. 1879, the secretary of the treasury shall redeem in coin, the United States legal tender notes then outstanding on their presentation for redemption at the office of the assistant treasurer of the United States in the city of New York in sums of not less than >SO, and to enable the secretary of the-, treasury to prepare and provide for the redemption in this act authorized or required he is authorized to use any surplus revenues from time to time in the treasury not otherwise appropriated, and to issue, sell, and dispose of at not less than par in coin either of the descriptions of bonds of the United States described in the act of congress, approved July 14, 1870, entitled. “An act to authorize the refunding of the national debt,” with like qualities, privileges and exemptions, to the extent necessary to carry this act into full effect.

This law says that "on and after the Ist day of January, A. D. 1879, the secretary of the treasury shall redeem in coin, ’the United States legal tender notes then outstanding on their presentation for redemption. The law does nqt say to redeem in gold, but in coin. Nor did that law contemplate the redemption of other notes Issued afterwards. But the secretaries of the treasury decided to turn over to the holders of the notes (the bankers) the option of demanding gold payment. Besides, Mr. Carlisle has undertaken to redeem notes not named or contemplated in that law. That both the law of 1875, and that of 1870, authorizing the issue of bonds contemplated payment in either gold or silver at the option of the government, we quofye the following resolutions introduced in the United States senate in 1878, while John Sherman was kicking up such a racket about gold payments. The resolutions are as follows: Whereas, by the act entitled “An act to strengthen the public credit,” approved March 18, 1869, it was provided and declared that the faith of the United States was thereby solemnly pledged to the payment, in coin or its equivalent, of all the interest-bearing obligations of the United States, except in cases where the law authorizing the issue of such obligations had .expressly provided that the same might be paid in lawful money or other currency than gold and silver; and 1 Whereas, all the bonds of the United. States authorized to be issued by the act entitled “An act to authorize the refunding of the national debt,” approved July 14, 1890, by the terms of said act were declared to be redeemable in coin of the then present standard value, bearing interest payable semiannually in such coin; and Whereas all bonds of the United States authorized to be issued under the act entitled “An act to provide for the resumption of specie payments,” approved July 14) 1875, are required to be of the description of bonds of the United States described in the said act of congress, approved July 14, 1870, entitled “An act authorized refunding of the national debt; and Whereas, at the date of the passage of said act of Congress last aforesaid, to-wit, the 14th day of July, 1870, the co|n of the United States of standard value of that date included silver dollars of the weight of 412*6 grains each, declared by the act approved January 18, 1837, entitled “An act supplementary to the act entitled ‘An act establishing a mint and regulating the coins of the United States,’ ” to be :i legal tender of payment according to their nominal value for any sums whatever; therefore,

Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives concurring therein), That all the bonds issued by the United States, issued or authorized to be issued under the said acts of Congress hereinbefore recited, are payable, principal and Interest, at the option of the government of the United States, in silver dollars of the coinage of the United States, containing <2% grains each of standard silver; and that to restore to its coinage such silver coins as a legal tender in payment of said bonds, principal and interest, is not in violation of the public fAith nor in derogation of the rights of the public creditor.—Congressional Record, volume 7, part 1, Fortyfifth congress, second session, page 564. The above resolution was introduced 'by Stanley Mathews, one of the best, lawyers in the United States, and was intended to settle the question of gold payment of “coin” obligations of the United States. It ought to be evident that the >262,000,000 of bonds issued to retain a gold reserve in the Treasury, when there was an abundance of silver to pay all obligations was a violation of the law and the bonds are fraudulently issued. It is generally conceded, we think, by our best lawyers that no law exists authorizing the issue of the bonds, but they console themselvee with, and take refuge behind, the statement that the necessity of the case-de-

manded it. We believe the day will come when this *hole matter will be investigated, and the bonds declared to be illegal and repudiated as such.