The Grange advance. [volume] (Red Wing, Minn.) 1873-1877, 1876-05-10
The Currency i oh Again.

~ II
currency Of country essential to
its prosperity One Of these is that
it shall be exchang eable at par with
that of other Countries; and the
other, that It's volume shall be free
from liability 10 undue contractions
and expansions: To- attain these
conditions IS the desire of the gen
eral community, and to prevent
their being reached is the object Of
bankers, brokers and usurers gener-
ally. Right here is. where the diff
Guilty exists: The pecuniary inter
ests of these two classes are always
opposed, and the bankers, &c.,
though belonging to the far less
numerous class, generally contrive
to win the day through the power
full influence which their possession
of ready money enables them to
WELD. *. A. ...,$ s %r>:...: %~1 -
The reason for the antagonism
of interests between these two class
es may = be briefly stated thus:
When the. currency is at, par with
that Of other countries. the supply
adequate to the wants Of trade, and
the probabilities favorable to the,
belief that it will continue so for a
considerable period Of time, bust.
ness of allkindsSSis ina healthy con
dition; public and private improve
s'nents, are; pushed steadily forward; !
the labor force is regularly employed
at good wages and the values of
property ofsall kinds remain station"
cry except as they are enhanced BY
improvements. As a consequence,
there is very little demand for mon
ey on loans, and interest is, there
fore, low and repayments Of loans
prompt and certain. Collaterals,
whether of stocks, bonds, or mort
cages on real estate, are rarely sac
rifced through default of payment
of borrowed money. Under such
circumstances, the community is pros
porous, the, wealth. is distributed
amongst all classes and nobody is
able to accumulate exceedingly
large fortunes with unhealthy ra-
pidity. H.:..
When, however, the opposite con-
ditions exist. When the currency
is deprecated below the standard
of that of foreign@countries and its
supply is liable to shrinkage to mea-
greness and expansion to superfu-
GUS abundance, and the probabilities
are that it will continue uncertain
in value and unstable in volume.
then all branches Of business must
suffer. Public and private improve
nnents arc neglected, and the labor
force is unemployed and driven to
crime, beggary, or want. Values of
property are constantly liable to
violent fluctuations, loans are difficult
to negotiate, rates of interest Excess
sively high, and repayments always
uncertain and frequently impossible.
Collaterals pledged for borrowed
money are generally sacrificed, and
the tendency is to concentrate the
wealth Of the country in the hands
of the small number of heavy CAPT.
talists who have the wit and heart
lessness to take advantage of the
peoples necessities; and these are
thus enabled to accumulate immense
fortunes in astonishingly short peri
DDS of time.
As these assertions will not be
disputed, it must follow, that that
financial system which will pro.
duce the condition first depicted
is the proper one to adopt, and the
other the one which ought to be
carefully avoided. The 4greenback, "
or government note and intercon-
vertible bond theory, advocated in
these columns must produce the