The Battle Over Gold and Greenbacks in Walla Walla
A legal dispute over whether debts must be paid in gold or federal paper money echoes the era's financial uncertainty.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
In your last issue I notice a criticism on the Special Contract Law of Oregon and the recent decision of Judge Shattuck, in the case of Bloom vs. Stephens. In my opinion the decision is right and the criticism wrong. The case showed that Stephens specifically promised and agreed to pay gold and silver coin to Bloom. The case further shows that the notes were due and that Stephens tendered greenbacks to Bloom prior to the passage of the Special Contract Law. In answer to Bloom’s complaint, Stephens pleaded the tender in greenbacks. The question before the Court for its decision was the validity of the tender. The Court decided that the Special Contract law is not inconsistent with the constitution and laws of the United States. It does not impair the obligations of contracts, but is a remedy in the hands of the Court to compel the specific performance thereof. The editors of the Statesman counter: can a contract be made valid by the Oregon specific contract law, which was not binding until after the act was passed? We admit the law took effect from and after its passage, and that it can compel the fulfillment of contracts made after the law took effect, but is the law retrospective in its nature, and can it compel the fulfillment of contracts made prior to its passage?
“The obligation of Stephens’ agreement bound him to pay Bloom in coin; but the offer to pay in legal tender notes was not an offer to perform the obligations of his contract.”
This 1864 dispute over 'gold vs. greenbacks' highlights how currency instability and the enforcement of debt contracts have long been flashpoints in the region's economy. Much like modern arguments over inflation-indexed contracts or housing rent control, the debate centers on whether the state can alter the terms of private agreements to address broader economic crises.
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