The Iowa plain dealer. [volume] (New Oregon, Howard County, Iowa) 1867-1895, 1885-08-20
An OPEN LETTER.


Of the people Of the United States. For
merly your duty was to your constituents,
the stockholders of bank; now it il TO
your constituents, the people Of the United
States. In each position your duty has
related TO the issue Of money; but in the
former instance profit to your stockholders
required You to Issue money only at tho
highest rates of interest which you could
compel the people to pay. In the latter
instance your attitude Is reversed; the
people being now your constituents, they
require yon to issue money to them at tho
lowest poss BILE cost. Excuse me for say
lng that in the administration Of the peo-
pies Treasury you have overlooked this
view Of the matter. lou have continued
to conduct the finances under your control
In the interest Of the banks ~ opposed TO
the interest Of the people.
Let me summarize the financial situation
- it ID and haa been since you assumed o.
fice, and study the bearing it has upon the
welfare Of the people.
1t is an admitted fact that the business
interests Of the country have been for two
years and are now greatly depressed. At
this time many Of our citizens are unable
10 fni employment others are only par
tally employed. Industrial progress has
practically ceased and existing facilities for
the employment Of labor are in only partial
operation. Remunemtive employment for
both labor and capital is % hard 10 6nd
TINT antagonisms between the two classes
Of workmen and capitalists as to which
shall bear the burden Of inadequate COM
pensation have proceeded to such lengths
that actual warfare has resulted in several
localities. It is admitted also that the ade-
quacy or inadequacy Of the volume Of
money in circulation has much to do with
business interests. Necessarily 30; it is tho
stool Of exchange" The division Of labor
has now proceeded 30 Ear that each of us
works at one Or moro Of tho ininitesimal
details Of that production necessary to 1iv-
lutely necessary. therefore, that the minute
productions Of each be combined into
suficiency for the support Of life. II
money. then, 10 the instrument BY which
such exchange is effected. how important
il is that the supply Of it be kept
suf6cient to do its proper work. II it
become scarce the cost OF its use, interest,
becomes high, this prevents in many pro-
ductions profitable exchange. this in turn
prevents or diminishes production, this
throws workmen out Of employment and
checks consumption. The social bond
production, exchange, consumption-be-
comes broken, and society has to abandon
progress and move backward to that level
Of low living to which the volume Of
money, the instrument Of exchange, ID ad-
equate. / assert, without the slightest fear
Of successful contradiction, that ali Of tho
business depressions which have occurred
In this country, and probably in the world,
have been owing to an inadequate volume
of money. Man, being continually desir-
ous Of bettering lis condition. progresses
rapidly 20 long rs all necessary conditions
are supplied. Money is, outside Of natural
agencies, the most important Of these
conditions, because it controls exchange,
without which progress is impossible. A
society has SO far provided no adequate
means By which the volume Of money shall
increase to supply the increased demand
for it a. production and exchange increase,
progress must necessarily be periodically
checked in its advance by q deficiency
Of one Of its most essential conditions.
A moments consideration here, will con.
vince you, think, that the worlds de.
pendence upon the precious metals FOR
supplying money as the needs Of human
progress require 10 fatal delusion. The
production Of these metals bears no pos
sible relation to the progress Of mankind
and to the consequent increasing volume Of
exchanges Their production is fortuitous;
they are found. not made. and cannot be
in any way properly proportioned 70 any
exigency. When most needed the mines
may bc least productive. Besides. they
have not single ont many uses, and their
uses apart from money continually tend TO
absorb them, to affect their value, and to
create uncertainty A. to the quantity Of
them which can be applied to the necessi-
ties Of exchange. At this moment, we are
credibly informed, more gold is being used
In tho arts than is being supplied by the
mines Of the world, and the stock Of it
available for money is being constantly re-
duced by Withdrawals. And yet YOU, Mr..
Secretary, are apparently working might
and main to make this shrinking fund Of
gold the regulation Of volume in the sup
ply Of money to the people Of the United
States. In SO doing do you not forget for
which constituency you are working?
But / anticipate. should give somo
consideration to the claims of some Of the
political economists that this fund of the
precious metals is regulator Of volume Of
money to each nation Of the world Strange
that they do not see that this diminishing
fund, il il be the basis Of volume Of money
used by the nations. must necessarily
check human progress. Strange that they
distributed among the nations. whatever
ono nation may gain Of it towards supply
Ing the conditions Of its progress other ma
nons must lose, and by such loss be rele-
gated to condition Of repression. disturb
ing the worlds exchanges and reacting
upon oil nations. Strange that they do
not 500 that tho process by which each ma
hon must obtain its supply Of this money
- one Of violence and not OF order, and
can only be accomplished by those peri.
odic convulsions whicn human progress
demands should be avoided. That in fact
! nation can only obtain ito share Of II By
8 competitive struggle with other nations,
which can but result in disaster To ono o.
oil. Strange that they do not SEQ these
things, yes, SO strange that. .as they are not
idiots, some explanation Of their obtusenesl
is demanded Il It that they ars led by the
money power, or the class Of capitalists "a
whom dear money mea,.s profit. though it
isloss to the producing classes2 This prob
ably has its influence. a. most OF these
| writer's Il cannot say thinkersl, are them
selves Of the moneyed class, or. attributina
| all Of social responsibility to that class, are
ambitious for their society and influence.
But some, doubtless, clinging to the errors
OF former writer's on financial topics. HON
estly adhere to this fallacy as the last
stronghold Of phantasy which has here
tofore had currency as truth. Time wal
/ when the same theorists held TINT intrinsic
| value was necessary quality in money,
/ bu. this illusion. by argument and the dem
bnstration Of experience. has been aban.
doned by all but few writer's and talkers
who are not aware Of the fact that the
leaders who do their thinking for them
have retreat. d from the no longer tenable
position. It is now quite broadly admitted
that inconyertible paper money, issued By
d nation having ample responsibility and
authority, made legal tender, and properly
regulated IN volume to the use which i
performs, can be kept uniform and stable
In value. The contention is that there Car
be no regulation Of this volume but thu
precious metals. As ! have shown thai
these metals have themselves no adapt.
ability to any required volume o1
money. and that other uses and contin.
gencies control their value, / will not dwell
/ Eli n.