Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1878-10-24

was then. If 80, why the need Of 50
much currency? But they do not tell
you that the prices Of all merchandise
we're several times as high then as they
are to-6av, ana hence required that much
more to handle them or effect the ex-
changes. The truth is, and they know
it, or ought to know it before they pre-
sumo to instruct others, that there is
more circulating medium to-day in pro-
portion to the amount required for the
wants of busin0ss--that is, to effect ex-
changes, than there was in 1866. The
purchasing power of the paper to-day
that remains in circulation is greater by
$176, 600, 900 than it was in 1873, and
this is equivalent to adding $175, ZOO, 900
to the circulation. The law as it now
stands, is that for every $50 of treasury
notes retired 800 of national bank notes
are issued in their place. Can you dis
cover contraction in this? Volume of
the currency is not the true measure of
the wants of business. When there is a
surplus of medium and prices enhanced
in consequence, as is always the case,
business is worse off than before. For
when
DEPRECIATION
of the medium begins, the appreciation
of prices begins also, and prices appre-
ciate faster than the medium depreciates.
And the reason for this is clear. An in
surance or guarantee is added to the
prices, against the further depreciation
Of the medium. To every 20 per cent.
OF depreciation of the Medium there is
20 per cent. of appreciation of prices.
Hence business is 5 per cent. worse off
than before--Or a less volume by per
cent. to effect the exchanges with than
before. And so it goes on, as the me-
dunn depreciates prices in still greater
ratio appreciate, strictly causing the
paradox that the more you have the less
you have, till the medium loses all pur-
chasing power, and the collapse comes in
the form of universal ruin. / have very
little patience with men who SO misrep-
resent figures and facts, or who are SO
ignorant that they cannot comprehend
them. The truth is, what every intelli-
gent man knows, that we have an abund-
ance and superabundance of so-called
money in the country to-day--more than
can possibly be used in the business
transactions of the country; that it is
piled up in vaults and in money centres
till there is plethora, and it cannot be
loaned out. Hence banks have been
winding up because there was no use for
their funds.
INTEREST ON MONEY
ha Co. L
at any previous time in our history. 1t
has gone begging at almost any rate,
provided satisfactory security was Of
tered. And one fact alone viii give
fiat contradiction to all that our green
back orators utter on the subject of
scarce money and hence high rates of
interest, and that is the simple state
ment that our own people, in utter des-
peration of getting their funds invested
at any remunerative rates, are investing
daily equal to 100000 in our new
bonds, drawing only 4 per cent interest,
and these investments are not made by
large capitalists, but by people of small
means in bonds of small denominations.
But the senseless cry is raised that this
money is not among the people; that the
people have not got it? What people?
Certainly some people have, and Ameri-
can people, too, or the money would not
be here. What people, then? Let them
answer, and the only answer they can
give is, that class of people who proba-
bly, are needy, but who have no ade-
quate security to offer. Whose fault is
this? Certainly not the fault of the
money-lender, but the misfortune of the
money-borrower. If man has no Sc
curity to offer, will it make any differ
ence with him in efiecting a loan
whether there be more or less of money
in circulation? Which of you having
money will loan it on the mere asking?
Will you not ask some kind of security
that it, with the interest, will be paid
back to you on the day specified,
whether you have little money or
whether you have much? Then how
can an additional amount of cir
culating medium help these people
here already being more than can
be loaned on satisfactory security offered
Unless you make law compelling one
man to loan his money to another on
such security as he can or will offer there
can nothing be accomplished liz this d.
rection. 1t will not be in on day that
such law will be enacted. All talk
upon this matter of lack of money is
senseless twaddle. 1t was never so
abundant and never so cheap, and it is
within the reach of all who have securi-
ties to offer; and without those securi-
ties it could not be obtained were the
doubled or trebled from what
it now is.
We are triumphantly pointed to
WHAT THE GREENBACK HAS DONE.
Well, love the greenback for itself, and
for what it has done, and also mourn
greatly for what it has done. 1t is
the best currency We ever had; no one
desires TO change it. 1t is said it carried
us safely through the war, and hence
ought to carry us on in peace But this
does not state the question. Admit that
there was no other way of meeting our
expenses during the war but by the
issue of paper promising to pay money
on future day-a loan, call it forced |
loan, if you will--then it is clear that
greenbacks carried us safely through the
war. But it was not the quantity of
the greenbacks that fought the battles
and carried US safely through. Were
this the case, graybacks ought to have
carried the confederates throuuh with