Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1875-09-10
The Dcmand for more Currency.

One Of the most popular tallacles OF the
day is that the stagnation in business Is
owing to a lack Of sufficient carfency.
Every man who finds u difficult to borrow
money for speculative purposes without
security; every retail dealer who observes
tendency among his customers % buy
sparinply and cheaply; every real estate
holder who cannot sell property to-day at
an advance over the price he gave for II
before the panic--each and every one Of
these Immediately jumps at the conclusion
that there isn't money enough In circula-
ton, and traces all his woes to that cause.
In spite Of repeated demonstration 1t is
the most difficult thing, apparently, for
people to comprehend that initiation leads
TO commercial panIcs, md panics to the
stringency' Is felt for years after
Yet this has been demonstrated within the
last three years in three different coun-
tries-4Engiand, Germany and the United
States. In the United States the panic OF
1873 came from the initiation of paper
currency with corresponding imitation in
prices and speculation. In Germany there
was an Initiation of specie, resulting from
the enormous war, fine paid by France,
and IL brought financial disturbance with
IT,. Ia England there has been an iniia-
ton Of capital which betrayed the people
into improbable investments, and panic
was recently averted mainly by the solid
ity and limitation of the currency an
initiation of real money may produce
financial disturbance and commercial dis
aster, how much more the imitation OF
worthless imitation money!
Ore of the cleurest and most intelligi-
BILE answers to the assertion that there IL
not sufficient currency in this country to
transact its business Is the fact that the
actual circulation per capita is much
larger than in Great Britain, where the
actual capital, wealth and production are
perhaps three times as great. Mr.. George
Walker, of Massachusetts, made an esti-
mate of the comparative circulation in
France, Great Britain and America in
1868, which is the latest trustworthy data
we have on the subject There has been
considerable initiation in France since
that time growing out Of the war with
Germany, but not in Great Britain. The
circulation of the United States in bank
notes, legal l.tendcrs and fractional cur
rcncy is, according to the last Treasury
statement, as follows;
Legal.tcnder notesA .$374 se4,e ,ess
Fractional noe- ..................... 41,l45'5.ti
National Bank notes es....,...'.......... aS9oTs59
Total al....................... $764, ,90S, ,317
This is a.paper circulation on a popula-
ton of 10000, 900 Of $1012 per capita.
The total note circulation Of Great Britain,
according to Mr.. Walkers estimate, Is
S106, t70 620, or 1854 per capita, and that
of France in 1868 was $251, 7S2, $50, OF
5000 per capita. Thus it will be
seen that the paper circulation of the
United States is three times larger than
the standard paper circulation of Great
Britain or France. If we add in the cir.
culating coin of Great Britain, which is
estimated al $400, 100000, it gives total
circulation of $3.50 per capita in thai
country. Adding the coin in the United
States, which is about $150,000,000, II
gives total circulation In this country Of
! $24.05 per capita, or about one-third more
than the circulation per capita in Great
| Britain, Notwithstanding the latter has
more than double the capital and business
and should, according to the popular su
! perstition, have more than double the cir
| culation for the transaction OF It's busi
ness.
The difference between the circulating
medium of France and the United States il
not so great, but the reason ofthisis readily
explained. France has a total coin anC
paper circulation, after deducting thu
| Vi oDGNlC III bdlh Naulbo1 vi PlO.C7
per capita, and including the specie per
manently locked up and kept in banks a
security of $25.05, or about the same a!
ours. But one reason why France ha!
and requires so large a proportion of ciI
culating money is on account Of the ma
tionai tendency of the French people +
hoard money. The French people hav
not yet attained the high business civiliza
ton of savings banks Every dollar dt
posted in bank virtually increases til
circulating medium of the country. Thu
we showed by a recent table, which we n
produce below, that, though the total cir
culating medium of this country is les
than $500, ,000, 600. there are really abou
So, ,4G2, ,S34, III in practical circulatio
through the medium of bank loans. w
have estimated these as follows
No. ot money
lenders. amount or IOdl
2,SJY 2s5 depostors in savings banks 81 ,OOOOOO0.
1O0OOO OstOckhOldersin in savings banks 10OOOO,O
100000 depositors In State and pri- t
50 600 Stockholders in State ana
private banks ............. 50OO0,0
$40 900 depositors in National Banks 669 05S, o.
Banks................... 4as 765, /:
4,Oa7 2S5 dcpositOrs and stockholders
owning. g.........,.........$ g., 1852 1874, 1
The necessity OF France for a larger pr
portionate circulation than that of Gre
Britain is mainly owing to the fact that I'll
mechanics, farmers and laborers of til
country do not deposit their savings, bl
hoard their gold Napoleons and silvC
francs. They put their money away
old stockings, or tuck it in between ma
tresses, or bury it in the ground, till
comes out in some accumulation for il
vestment. The French, in this respcc
cling to the. primitive practices of Ind
and China, where gold and silver actuall
disappear in enormous quantities. In til
, manner millions of dollars are PRACTICAL
, Withdrawn from active circulation
France. Yet notwithstanding this Gu
tom, and the fact that the business an
capital of France are largely in excess
! perhaps nearly double-those of the Uni
ed States, where the circulating mediul
is more than doubled by its constant us
; the amount Of currency per capita
France is about the same as in the Unite
. States.
The fact isthat the persons Ewho tai
/. about deficiency of currency utterly j
f more the progress of business through u
4 extraordinary facilities furnished by Il
/ banking system. Deposits, checks al
CltdIllE-liONStS III Niit NlNlY aiih hAhi'
: bills of exchange and even the use of Il
I telegraph for ntercommunication betwe,
! different cities and different countries, a
/ agencies which have largely supplant
i the use of money as circulating mediu
and have reduced lis bulk in proporti,
4 to population and business. In Englan
i where trade has advanced TO the hight
e condition of success and stability, 4
}. amount of what we call the circulatil
/. medium is the smallest in proportion, bo
y 10 thepopulation and the amount of bu
!. ness transacted. The demand for me
n currepcy in this country as relief
Ie business is ridiculous in view Of The 4
10 that not only are the resources of bank (
8. changes far from being exhausted,
81 even the circulating medium in bankIno
se lies unused in the bank-vaults. The
ID mand is abnormal simply because (
Ne money is fictitious; and the greater
H. quantity of the latter the more morl
is will the demand become. Chicago II
IN une.