The great West. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1889-18??, 1891-07-10
THE INITIATION BUGABoo.
No Danger OF m Increased Currency
Under Present Laws.

No Danger OF m Increased Currency
Under Present Laws.
From an article in the Chicago
Press is the following: Allowing
the claim that there is now $22
per capita Of currency in the coun-
try somewhere. and estimating that
population will increase no faster in
the future than in the past it is found
that the operation of the present silver
law will give the people at the
end OF ten years q capita increase of
1864. which is an average annual
''in-fa-a-tion" of Sc cents for each
man. woman and child in the land;
less than a nickle a month!
land yet what a terrific hubbub
was kicked up about it by the money
power-the same set of so called
'fnanciers'' who initiate the currency
ten times over (some authorities say
to the extent of IS per cent)by issuing
checks, drafts, certificates of deposit,
and the like. And the howl is taken
up by the class who initiate railroad
values by issuing fictitious or wat
cred" stock; by the board of trade
gamblers who initiate food values near
~ every working day of the year; by
the managers of trusts and combines
who initiate prices at their own sweet
will; and by the writer's for the mono
polistlc press who are paid to turn the
people away from the truth.
It has been claimed that the present
silver law gives us as much currency
in the long run as would free coin
age law, pure and simple. Very we'll,
ii free silver coinage will do no better
than give us Sc cents year of curren-
cy increase, there is something else
that can be made to serve a good pur-
pose.
But there are general exceptions
which modify the foregoing: The sec
rotary OF the treasury can. it seems to
me, refuse to pay the market price for
silver bullion and decrease his month
ly purchases on the plea that prices
are speculative. as the right to reject
any or all bids is reserved" by him in
proposals for purchase. Again, the
bullion purchased is not represented by
its full coin value as expressed in GER
tificates; only the amount of silver GER
tificates which are used in the pur-
chase OF bullion ever reach the people;
and SO long as silver bullion is bought
at less than par the people will receive
less than S.. 818, 1919 of increased cir
culation each month. And, again, the
bullion certificates used in the secreta-
sy's purchases can be printed largely
in denominations of 500 and 81, 900,
and thus rendered of little value as a
circulation medium for the masses of
the people.
So it will appear that the Sc cents
per capita annual increase of circula-
ton is too high an estimate for several
reasons: First, because the secretary
OF the treasury may not buy as much
as 4, SOC, 600 ounces of silver each
month; second. because he throws in
to circulation only the market price
paid for the bullion. and not its full
coin value; third, he may virtually
lock up a large portion of the certif-
Gates used in such purchase by making
them of denominations too large for
use among the common people. It is
question with me whether there is
not another dodge or two that may be
resorted to by stretching the law a
little lin financial emergency" such
as Wall street is able to bring about
from time to time. Thus it appears
that our silver law gives us less than
a nickel month of currency increase