The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1892-09-02
Money and Currency


III. Stephenson and G.. F. Stephens, mem
bers ofthe Single Tax Society of Philadel-
phia. Why these gentlemen produced this
pamphlet is not plain. II certainly adds
nothing valuable to the literature on finance
and is full of misconceptions and errors on
money and its functi ions. The idea seems to
be that any kind of money issued by any
body would answer every purpose if taxes
which are necessary to defray the expenses
of government were collected by the single
tax theory or system. The book does not
declare this in so many words, but its argu-
ments and conclusions leave no other in
ference: AS tor instance the two following
extracts from the concluding chapter entitled
the "Solntion of the Money Problem.
ION the plea that people have been swim
died by wildcat banking all banks of issue
other than national banks are prohibited by
the ten per cent tax on circulation"
''Jn short the one source of the money
trouble is the interference OF government
with the affairs of individuals"
The facts are the very reverse of this
statement in respect to money. The great
and only cause of financial trouble is that
government has given monopoly of money
into the hands of certain favored class
called bankers, who are steadily drawing an
unearned increment from the community,
called interest, by the power they possess
in the monopoly of the distribution of
money, exactly as the land lord draws rent
from the wealth producer for his privilege
to use the land. In one case it is called
rent, in the other interest. The single taxer
contends that God created the land as a
common heritage for all His children for
their use. In similar sense the govern
ment creates money for the use of its citi.
zens. This implement of trade does not in
fact belong to any one or number of citizens,
to hold out of US and exact rent from for
the privilege of using it. The man or asso-
citation of men who get possession ola vol
ume of money and sit comfortably in arm
chairs exacting rent from the sons of toll for
the right to use it, are occupying parallel
positions with the landlord who has acquir-
ed the title to valuable land and reclining
in his easy chair ex acts rent from the same
sons of toll for the privilege of using it.
The single taxer says this evil Of taking
rent by the landlord for the privilege of
using the land can be cured by the State
taking that rent and appropriating it to the
expenses Of government for the benefit of all
the people. 1t is evident that one of these
rent evils-rent of land and rent of money
is just as onerous and exacting as the other
on the wealth producers, and therefore no
man or association of men have any more
right founded in justice to hold money out
of use to exact rent for it than they have to
hold land for the same purpose. But money
is private property they say. No. it is not
private property in the true sense of the
term any more than land is. Man cannot
apply money to his personal wants. He
must part with ii to secure by it any creature
comfort or necessity, and no man other than
that abnormal creature, the miser, will hold
money out of use-a very small quantity
excepted-unless he can secure rent from
some other person for the right to use it.
How can government prevent this abuse OF
money without infringing on the rights of
the people? Simply by assuming Its whole
duty in relation to money, which is the dis
trihrfsnp If n,opav wall iio ~
ture and issue, in place of delegating that
valuable prerogative to certain favored
classes, or allowing them to seize it if not
prevented by the government assuming the
duty. Can government exercise the pre-
rogative of distributing the money as the
banks do land this is the function of banks,
the only excuse for their existence), without
interfering with the rights OF the citizens
The answer to this query is simple. If the
United States should open places in every
city and county in the country for the pur-
pose of deposit and discount, as private COR
porations now do, would there a single
individual in the country deposit his money
in private bank? And if these govern
ment banks loaned the deposits as the banks
now do and at the simple cost of book.
keeping, which is not more than one half of
one per cent, would any private banking
corporation or any individual be able 10
hold money out of use and loan it for any
higher rate? They certainly could not
Would this be government interference with
the rights of the people? On the contrary
would it not be government protection of the
industrial army from the rapacity of that
devil6sh, ShylOck. as our single tax friends
would have them protected NTH use of the
land from him?
These truths being so plain that a way
farer cannotsfail to perceive them,ss what
becomes of our friends, Msssrs. S. SIS
theory that government should prevent or
destroy land monopoly but permit every
buccaneer 10 rove the seas of trade and
business under free flag which gave him a
legal right to plumber all he could overtake2
That is the system now in vogue, but the
authors of "Money and Currency" would
have this free brigandage ten times worse,
by denying the right to government to issue
legal tender money and permit any who
pleased to launch their piratical cred dog :"
"Wiid-cat," "shinplaster" craft and lay