The farmers' union. (Memphis, Mo.) 1891-1895, 1891-03-05
THE DEMON CREDIT.
The Duty OF the Government Is to Provide
the People with Money to do BUSINESS
With.

With.
Small wonder that the farmers of the
United States are demanding larger
circulating currency when We come to
reflect for moment upon the enormous
amount Of business transacted annually
on credit. A glance at the report of
the comptroller of the currency shows
that 9i.oi per cent of the business
transacted through the banks of the
United States from July to Sept. II
was by means of checks, drafts and
other csilb>titutrs for morey. and that
only 500 per cent. was in cash.
The same report, on page 90. shows
the transactions of the New York clear
inghnllse association. Remember it
does not include the clearing house AS
SuciationS of Chicago, ST. Louis. Kansas
City. Cincinnati, san Fraucsro or any
other OF the large cities. For the
year ending Oct. |, 1S9G, ii shows
aggregate clcaringS S;1 $50, isti.5.2 of
transactions: aggregate balances 81. s1i.
Oiu. Il. Now for the kinds of money
and The amount OF each Kind III use:
nitrd States gold certificates. Il, 30
3lG, 900; tnitrd States treasury notes,
Sii.9l 1000: treasury certificates for legal
tender notes. Si.99J. 900: lcGal-tcndcr and
minor coin. g, ,4l5.li:,, showing ~ per
cent. OF gold certificates used and only
onc aud Il fraction per cent. of legal
tender notes or money.
Stop for a moment and think of these
billions Of Indebtedness. Then think of
al the individual Indebtedness in the
nitcd States. the numberlcSs notes and
MORTGAGES and obligations of the people
All these will aggregate hundreds of
{ Il all ,I S,,t,
tutes for money. Confidence is the
groundwork Of our business fransac-
tions to-day in fact. we are depend
ent upon faith, hope and charity"
If confidence is DESTROYED, these sub
sttutes cannot be used for money, and
consequently the country is instantly
plunged in Il financial crisis.
From the above report W" can see
what substitutes are used -cIcr 80 per
cent. For every 30 cents of confidence
We have 10 ceuts of cash with which 10
back il. This should not be. 1t is the
duty Of the government To provide
money enough to enable the people to
pay their honest debts. Money is Gre
alton Of the law, is based upon the law,
and must sand while the law stands
which created it. 1t is created by law
10 facilitate exchange, and enable debt
orS to pay their debts. 1t matters not
what the material is, whether paper,
leather. gold or silver. So long as
it bears the stamp Of gov
ernmeut authority. The fact is
that we uccd more money
III the channels of trade, and cess conf
denre. We have too many promises u
pay. and not enough cash settlements.
In his report Secretary Window says:
THE demand for money in this country
is 50 irregular that an amount of circu-
lati0n which will be ample during ten
months OF the year will frequently prove
so deficient daring the other two months
as 10 cause Stringency and commercial
disaster. Such stringrncv may occur
without any speculative manirulations
of money. though. unfortunately. it is
cftcn Intensified by such manipulations.
The crops Of the country have reached
proportions 80 immense that their move
nlcnt to market i'll August and Scptcm
hrr annually causes Il dangerous abSorp-
ton of money. The lack of u sufficient
supply to meet the INCREASED demand
during those months may entail heavy
losses upon the agricultural as well as
upon other business interests. Though
financial stringenry may occur al any
time and from many rauSrS, yet nearly
all the commercial crises III our history
have occurred during the months named,
and unless some provision be made to
meet such contingencies in the futusc,
like disasters may be confidently eX
pectod.
From this it can be seen that the
farmer is ever II heavy loser in close
times. The price of farm products is
forced down because of an insnt1icicncy
Of money to move the crop and at the
same time pay Il fair price for it. An
o: her great item should be remembered.
During the months Of September anG
October farmers must meet their obIiga-
tions. Notes are invariably drawn, to
fall due Oct. /. This compelS
the farmer to sell whether he wishes to
or not. BY selling at this season of low
prices the farmer loses all the profit of
his farm. the money lenders reap it.
Small wonder that farming does not pay
when the profit is flowing into the pock
cts Of the monopolistS.
The credit system gives the money
lenders the power to absorb all the profit
of industry An insufficient amount of
money to carry on the business Of the
country on Il cash basis gives those who
power, which increases rs the volume of
money decreases. FoT instance, one-haif
of the amount of money required to
carry on th" business will give that
amonnt double the purchasing power it
would have if there were enough money
to carry on the business. The smaller
the volume the greater its power.
For every dollars worth of property
or wealth in the country there should be
dollar in circulation, and should in
crease as property increased. ''In!la
ton" is the cry on every side. Bah.
that cry is worn thin from being used so
much There never has been a time in
tho history of the world when there was
too much money. The amount has al
ways been too small. All the poverty
and suifcrings that attend it. and all the
misery and woe, has been caused by an
insufficient amount of money to meet
the needs of mankind The world has
always produced enough to feed the
race. but because of an insufficient
amount of money to facilitate exchange
millions have starved in the midst of
plenty.
Now any measure that will offer re-
lief should be welcomed by the people
regardless of the source from
which it comes. The free coinage of
silver will give some relief. though it
will be far from the relief which many
would wish to see. Along with free
coinage of silver the national bank cir
culation should be retired, and in its
stead greenbacks should be issued in
sufficient volume to place the business of
the country on Il cash basis. The cries
of the people for more money will sooner
or later compel the government to issue
greenbacl1s regardless Of the opposition
of the moncy-lcnderS and their friends.
The reason is plain. The entire pro-
duction Of gold and silver in the world is
not over &250,000.000 annually. One
third of this sum is used in the arts,
| leaving sum too small to meet even the
hrowing needs of the United States! To
what shall We look for Il remedy? In the
grccnback see the hope Of the world,
| the advancement of civilization, the
! forward and inward march of Christian