The great West. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1889-18??, 1890-02-21
Macadam and Silver.

Macadam and Silver.
The following critique is not only
courteous, but filed with evidences
of study, and we ask a thoughtful
perusal:
EDITOR "GREAT WEST"
Ireceived two sample copies of your
valuable paper, and read in plain
type facts, and statistics, for which
I hungered. 1 desire to keep a file OF
the "GREAT WEST" for reference, and
would like to have the back numbers.
There are two articles in number Is
to which / find myself taking excep-
ton, and venture to offer my views
in a friendly way. One is your ar
ticle on the Silver question in an
swer to the "Edgerton Enterprise"
and the other the use OF government
money for matchmaking roads. l
will dismiss this latter subject by say
ing that land spectators would use
it to their profit, by making the i'm
provement an excuse to raise the
price of theland adjoining, and there
by making some poor ones pay to
the Spectator a good portion OF
what they earned from working on
the roads; when they went to buy
their lot or piece OF land. While l
deem this scheme only a theoretical
proposition, yet the squandering of
money on war ships is really worse.
To my mind if money of this kind
was to be spent, it would be better to
start gangs of men to work on some
+ Of the timber land yet owned by the
government, before the lumber kings
gobble it up, and make it into lum-
Der, and then set men to build plain
but comfortable houses to take the
place ofsome of the miserable shacks,
that some poor toiler's families now
occupy. A lien could be taken on
the property payablein installments,
without interest. In regard to silver:
Ny attention was called to this sub
iect over year ago from the fact
that some loan agent in Minnesota
representing foreign investors in
making out the papers for a land
mortgage stipulated that it must be
paid in gold when due.
l think it would be we'll to make in
quiry as to how extensive this GUS
tom may be. Perhaps the bonds is
sued by these English syndicates in
buying up American properties may
contain the little clause-payable in
gold. A number of these payments
in some future year might put gold
at premium, and put some poor
farmer to hardship.
must say that after reading Win
dom's report, and also that OF the
controller of currency giving the
statistics relating to the amount
mined, the amount used in coming,
and Industrial arts, and furthermore
that the out put is increasing, owing
to the developing of Mexican mines.
cannot see that if even $25O,OOO,-
600 were coined it would sustain the
price-when l consider that the bull
lion value has continued to gradual
~ G iecl;:;s III spite OF all the Q, s. has
coined OF late years. These :saets
force me to think that silver has
lost it's utility as a medium for ex-
change on account OF it's unsteady
value.
If you want to see an example Of
the evils arising from the use OF coin
of unsteady, and fallacious value
read under currency and coinage in
Vol 4, Macauly's England.
1t looks to me that this silver ques-
ton has a deal of trouble in it one
way or the other, and will prove a
big bcne of contention.
Iagree with you that the National
Bank note money is a monumental
imposition, and the great ally of the
capitalistic class, in their work OF
pillaging from the toilers of this ma
ton, and should be abolished.
My idea is, get a substitute for the
present National Bank note system
to enable the government to pur.
chase it's own bonds, without being
obliged to pay premium on them
since it follows that if the banks
would have no use for them they
would come to par.
Let a mortgage on reality be &C
cepted by the Treasurer of the U. S
rs a security for the circulation o.
notes to the amount of the mort
gage bond, said mortgage to pay in
fNrest at the rate of 9. 3 and 4 mel
cent, according as the mortgagt
ratio is to the value of the property
thus forming check to useless Dor
rowing and an incentive to reduce
the amount of the loan, said interest
to form an indemnity fund to guarc
against errors and as an insuranc,
fund.
That county officers negotiate
these loans, and collect the interes1