The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1891-11-19
THE PER cAPIrA DELUsIoN.

The orators of the Farmers Alliance
pretend to believe that there is not money
enough for all legitimate needs, and that
vast increase of the circulating medium
is necessary in order to make money cheap
and plenty and prices high. The pretense
is most absurd. The silver act of 1890 has
added to the circulation S6s, 29t 900 cur
rency, and our good crops are bringing
back from Europe millions of gold. These
orators are never tired of u.tering "per
capita" nonsense, and comparing
our circulation vitN that of France.
The fact Is lat our per capita
circulation l. greater in this coun-
try. than at any other period before. The
amount of money in circulation was
she 1t $435, 100000 1850, and the amount
per capita was $f3.s5. In 1865 there was
$732, 600. 900 in circulation, and the per
capita was s20.s2. In 1885 the circulation
s23.02. On January s, 1891, the circula-
ton was 81, 329, 0OO. 900, or s241 per capita.
The per capita circulation of France is
not known, but if it were known it would
, not be fact of any value for comparison
with our own situation, because in the
United States only per cent Of actual
money is used to 81 per cent. of checks,
drafts and other forms of paper certificates,
while in France the mass of the people
make but little use of checks, drafts, etc.,
in daily business transactions. But this
is not really important, because, as was
keenly remarked by a Kansas critic, it is
not a question at all of per capita, but of
per pockita. which is only another way of
saying what Bob Ingersoll said to the
Greenbackers in 1878: money isn't scarce:
it's collateral that's scarce" Ii you have
anything to buy money with in shape
of products: If you have any labor you
can sell; if you have any good collateral
to put up, you can always get money, no
matter whether the per capita circulation
is large or small. No matter how large
the per capita circulation; no matter how
plenty and how cheap You make money.
you can't get any of it into your pocket
unless you have something to buy it with.
Bob Ingersoll told the Greenbackers
this truth in 1873. and Roger Mills, of
Texas, repeated it recently in Ohio to
his Democratic audiences. If the cur
rency were enormously increased tomor-
row how would the needy farmer get
any of it, except at an increased rate of
interest and in smaller proportion to his
security than now, and what he got would
not go so far as now in an era of high
prices. Higher prices he would get for
his products if the volume of currency
was increased, but the rise of prices would
be general. The iaborer would get higher
wages, the manufacturer and trader
higher prices and the capitalist higher
interest. The farmer would pay more for
his labor. for food, clothing and supplies,
and for interest on borrowed money. In
no way will the farmer gain by an increase
in the volume of the currency. for cur
rency is not distributed per capita by the
government. that issues it, 10 every needy
person in the land; the government pays
out its money in the ordinary course of
business. and no matter how plenty snd
how cheap money is made nobody gets
it per capita, but per pockitd, as our Kan
sas critic puts il, The same absurd per
capita talk is found in the solemn com.
putations concerning the per capita cost
of the last congress to ''every man, woman
and child in the United States"