Los Angeles herald., 1890-12-11
GIVE THE PEOPLE PLENTY OF MONEY.

opinion in the United states concerning
Gov. Stanford's proposition to issue cur
rency based on the farmers products.
At first the plan was looked upon as
chimerical, and the HERALD at times
expressed some depreciatory views of
the scheme. But the more carefully it
is examined the less Quixotic does it
appear. The people of the United
States are almost perishing from lack
of ready money. With entirely the most
mercurial and speculative population on
the face of the earth, we have scarcely
a third of the circulating medium of
France. The Frenchman has s52 per
capita to the Americans $40, and yet it
is the French-fiscal system which is the
best in the world. After the conclusion
of the Franco-Prussian war the French
people were obliged to pay one billion
gold dollars. to the Germans. 1t
was agreed that the payment
of this prodigious sum should
cover period of years, and
that German garrison should remain
in France until the full amount was
paid. The high-spirited Gaul, however,
gathered the money up at once and paid
the debt off hand, thus insuring the i'm
mediate German evacuation of France.
Notwithstanding this enormous pay
ment of gold. France today possesses
more gold than Germany and England
put together. France has not been
afraid to uphold. silver as an honest
money. She maintains both of the pre-
cious metals on terms of equality, and
instead of being denuded of gold-the
inevitable effect OF paying due respect to
silver, according to the monometalists-
France is blessed with redundant gold
coinage.
France is not afraid to give her people
a sufficient circulating medium. The
people of the United States should imi
tate this enterprising and progressive
chief of the Latin races. 1t is pleasant
to note that the Farmers Alliance are
taking up the matter of sufficient
coinage, and that it will seek to
obtain it by the free coinage of
silver. But, however it is attained,
the people should have abundant
money. Stanford's plan is an excellent
one in some respects. 1t is perhaps
doubtful whether the rate of interest
proposed by him is high enough. But
that is mere feature of detail. Ii the
proposed interest is too low it could be
raised. The plan OF interesting the
government of the United States in ex-
tensive warehouse schemes for the stor-
age of the farmers produce may not be
acceptable to our more conservative
citizens, but the currency ought to be
doubled, without undue haste.
No man who desires to see the United
States reach it's acme of wealth and
greatness ought to have any hesitation
in demanding a sufficient currency.
The mass of railway and other securities
has increased to such an extent that our
present supply of money is hardly
sufficient to pay the dividends which
they are made to earn under our vicious
fiscal system. New York City is rapidly
becoming an octopus that is in danger
of strangling the masses. Half of the
money of the whole country is now con-
centrated there, and the rest is follow
ing in the wake by an irresistible grav-
itation. This tendency must be checked
if the nation would live, or at least if it
would care to realize it's best conditions
of growth. The Farmers Alliance will
have done a great work if it shall in
crease our stock of money. This organi-
zation is really coadjutor of the Demo
cratic party. Its most priceless service
to the people is the downright disinte-
grafton of the Republican party, whose
leaders have always delighted to play
into the hands of Wall street.
No patriotic American should cease
his efforts till we shall have as much
money per capita as Frenchman.
Then we shall know what it is to expe-
rience an abounding energy and pros
perity throughout all our borders, enter
prise will be stimulated and legitimate
speculation encouraged.