The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1875-09-30

fered with, ALWAYS settles the amount OF
its currency. Business creates, every.
where and at all times, Just such and just
30 much currency as 1t needs. Banks
and secretaries of lreasuries imagine they
determine the amount of currency. As
we'll might Old Probability claim that hd
determined the weather. He and they
only record what mightier forces do,
HatH, shoes, wagons, rails, cloths, cotton,
wheat-one year We want more, the next
year less--who decides2 Thedealers In
the article and the users ofit. Does any
body advise going back to other days,
and having some, Board OF Wiseacres de-
eide how much wheat shall be planted.
and how much cotton, how many loaves
or wagons nader No such dreamer OBJ
trudes himself on the pnblic. But thou
sands clamor for allowing bank directors
and them alone, to settle the amount Of
the currency. And they are allowed
mored control than any other agency,
The New York City banks alone In
creased the currency $S.0OG,0OO ($2, ,597, 4
000) in one month, September, 1874, and
decreased 1t tn$5 100000 in one week of
March, 1885. This aristocracy in the
money manufacture islah odious monopI
oily, alien to our institutions and harmful
to our prosperity. What should we say
if five hundred men, andsuch friends as
they chase, were allowed to plant wheat
and mine iron while every one else was
forbiddenp .5. .a,,t nal,ag .a ,,.toq
Yet this is but another name for our
present bank system. Let us cease, then,
to have any plan either to enlarge or con-
tract the currency. Let the Government
stand ready to issue all the currency any
business man wishes and can give good
security for, at low interest and convert.
BILE into long bonds. If necessary, in Or
der to conciliating existing prejudice, let
the capital of these bonds, having long
terms to run, be payable in gold. Make
greenbacks legal tender for all purposes
customs and all Government dues inclu.
ded. There is every reason why this
should be done. History is repeating it.
self England neverknew more prosper.
porous years than from 1905 to 1920, dur
ing which she neither had gold mol
wished to have it, nor promised to pay
| gold to any one whatever, ALI that while
she extended and contracted her curren,
cy without any regard whatever to gold
Her enormous trade and expenditures
were all paper and only paper, resting or
credit and nothing else. We had similar
prosperity during the war and after, on
the same terms. In 1920 England, list
ening to theorists and dreamers, tried tC
put this new wine into old bottles, anC
dragged her business back to methods {
century old-to specie. Bankruptcy, the
very history of which makes the BLOOD
| cold to-day, blighted the Empire. Il
took half generation to recover from
this mistake. No man can to-day begir
to show that such suffering was neces
sary; that it achieved any good, or tha
it affected any changes which could no
have been as well made without it. W.
entered the same valley ofthe shadow o
death, when in 1866, McCulloch begar
contraction. We are hurfying fast t
England's 1920. Property sunk to hal
its former value; the streets crowded
with unemployed men fastrottihg int
criminals; grass growing on the wharves
machinery rusting, wealth alarIed, poy
erty starving. Woe to the political par
| ty which the nation shall finally, pro
nounce responsible for this fatal mis-
take No previous merits will avail TO
| its pardon. It's leaders will be buriet
| in curses, as men whom neither histor,
nor their own experience could MAKE
wise. 7. , ,,.
We lament, as we'll we may, the wide
81 read corruption of business men anS
officeholders. But where corruption il
high places steals dollar, contraction
this well meaning ignorance of bullion
this generation 3 Is eSPs eyor bSntrapt it's bank
ruptcy will not be work of knaSes, bu
of honest men following JACKIE -lanterl
and dragging us to ruin. aa.ag
| Yours. WENDELL PHILLIPS.