THE  PAST

9

revenue  legislation  of  the  Spanish-American  War.
Certain  issues  of  short-term  obligations,  otherwise
designated  but  in  no  manner  different  from  certificates ­
  of  indebtedness,  are  included  in  the  foregoing ­
  without  however  permitting  this  extension
to  justify  the  inclusion  of  other  emissions  made
under  these  alternate  terms,  of  essentially  different
character. 5  The  detailed  circumstances  attending
these  several  issues  are  outlined  in  the  standard
histories  6  of  our  national  financing,  and  it  will  only
be  necessary  in  this  connection  to  refer  to  the  salient
features  which  distinguished  purpose  and  result.
(A)  With  bitter  experience  in  the  use  of  colonial ­
  and  continental  paper  currencies  fresh  in
mind,  the  Federal  Convention  of  1789  debated  long
and  acrimoniously  the  proposal  to  deny  both  States
and  Union  authority  “  to  emit  bills  of  credit.” 7
Eventually  the  States  were  specifically  prohibited,
and  Congress  was  empowered  only  in  the  general
grant  “  to  borrow  money  on  the  credit  of  the  United
States.”  An  express  authorization  was  stricken
from  the  committee  report,  and  the  record  of  the
accompanying  debate  shows  that  reluctance  “  to  tie
the  hands  of  the  Legislature  ”  as  to  full  borrowing
5  Thus  the  “  treasury  notes  of  1890,”  issued  under  the  silver
purchase  clause  of  the  Sherman  Act  of  1890  have  not  been
included.
6  Knox,  “  United  States  Notes  ”  (third  edition  revised,  New
York,  1892);  Bayley,  “History  of  the  National  Loans  of  the
United  States  ”  (Tenth  Census  of  the  United  States,  vol.  vii,
Washington,  1884)  ;  Bullock,  “  Essays  on  the  Monetary  History ­
  of  the  United  States”  (New  York,  1900);  Dewey,  “Financial ­
  History  of  the  United  States”  (New  York,  1903).
7  Knox,  chap.  i-v.