The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1892-03-24
MORE ELASTIC CURRENCY
NEEDED.

We are under obligations to Andrew
Van Blbber of Cincinnati for valua.
BILE pamphlet on coinage and currency.
Mr.. Van Bibber takes about the same
view of the monetary situation as Con-
gresham Harter, but his reasoning Is
In different line. Mr.. Harter denies
that money measures value, or In other
words, that the amount of money In
circulation measures all the property of
the people. Mr.. Harter denies that
scarce money money means low prices,
and cheap money high prices. Mr..
Van Blbber endorses Mr.. Harter's gold
standard idea, and favors basing cur
rency upon municipal and railroad
bonds, but he claims the trouble with
the country now Is: First, we have
too little currency, and Second: IL Is
not in circulation where most needed.
In other words the currency Is con-
gealed in Wall street. Mr.. Van Bib
ber's pamphlet is we'll worth careful
reading, as he is evidently a
thorough student of finance
In opening the discussion he says:
1--WE have a prophet In Ohio, a Mr..
Samuel Benner, known as the author of
'Benner's Prophecies,' frequently Issued
In book form during the last fifteen years
or more. The chief distinction between
Mr.. Benner and the other prophets lies in
the fact that he has been siugularly accur-
ate in his predictions. At least he has
been so in the past. We won't vouch for
any prophet in the future. Mr.. Benncr's
last prediction Is published in full in the
Cincinnati Price Current of February 4.
He confidently predicts six years Of great
stagnation In business, with the lowest
prices, and intlmates that IL the crops of
1892 are not full ones, the depression will
be unprecedented. He bases this predic-
ton on the demonitization OF silver in this
country and Europe, and upon the entire
insufhciency OF our antiquated National
Bank system.N
1t will be seen by the above that Mr..
Benner believes that free silver coinage
Is what we need. Mr.. Van Bibber does
not think so. On this point Mr.. Van
Bibber does not agree with Mr.. Benner.
Mr.. Van Bibber claims that neither the
issue of more greenbacks or more silver
dollars will relieve the business distress.
Here we quote from the pamphlet:
snow, money issued directly by the
government, as Rreenbacks, does not
meet the case. The government does not
and should not loan, and you can not get
greenbacks from the government without
giving quid pro quo. You must sell
something to the government. This
is simply to increase the banking and bor-
rowing facilities of the people throughout
the nation. And let II be in the hands of
private enterprise, and let that private
enterprise assume and watch all risks.
There 10 only one safe way to meet the
needs OF the country and increase its
banking facilities and its supply of loan
able funds, and that is to allow the estab-
lishment of banks Of ISSUE 1t is an anti
quated notion that all currency should be
directly based upon gold and silver. Then
the business of a country Is at the mercy
Of the supply OF gold and silver, and bank
ing facilities would expand or contract
with their supply, irrespective OF the
business demands Of the country, which
really have no connection with gold and
silver at all, but have connection with
iron, cotton, wheat aud SO on. Only last
year heavy demand for gold by Russia
and Great Britain, the former for war
purposes and the latter mainly caused the
failure of the Barings, made times hard in
this country, and the exports of gold
caused a shrink8ge of many millions of
dollars in the value of our railway securi-
ties, with a corresponding money loss to
the holders thereof. 1t shouldn't have
done so. We had every natural form of
wealth that we had before-all the iron,
corn, ETC., that we had use for"
Here is another paragraph from Mr..
Van Bibber that Is as true as preach
ing:
"Of course, IL the whole world Ia to be
thrown into anarchy, all industry and
means OF living to be destroyed, and o
modern Genghis Kahn is to devastate the
earth, then people will want gold to bury
in the earth till the skies clear. But the
world has got past that point of barbar-
ism.n
AT present all our currency is either
based upon an act of Congress, making
it legal tender, or it is based upon
government bonds, either directly or
indirectly. 1t is true there is silver
locked (useless) in the Treasury vaults
to redeem our silver certificates, But
bonds are issued to buy this silver,
upon which the people are paying
(useless) interest. On the folly of this
exclusive policy Mr.. Van Bibber truly
says:
ut is to be remembered that the price
of government honda Is augmented by
their exclusive selection as security. This
is unjust to the people, because, first, il
raises the rate of interest to every busi-
ness man and farmer; secondly IL unjust
ly taxes the people in another way, be-
cause the government, in redeeming those
bonds, is compelled to pay the unnatural
price caused by this preference. To in
crease the circulation we have simply to
become less hide bound In our selection of
proper securities. Government bonds are
no more solid than any other bonds. A
war, liable to happen in any year, would
send government bonds tumbliug ten,
twenty, or maybe fifty per cent. But our
railways would keep on earning, and mu.
nicipal taxes would continue TO be collect
ed all the same. All the government
wants, and all the people ask is properly
secured notes. Please consider carefully
whether widening the list of acceptable
securities would not meet all conditions
OF the problem"
Read over the above very carefully.
There are solid chunks of wisdom in it.
Then Mr.. Van Bibber observes as
follows:
VI especially warn you not to inisappre-
bend the needs and desires of the West.
Do not suppose that the West, for some
inscrutable prejudice, has an especial adj
miration for the metal silver. What the
West desires Is an increase of currency
and Of banking facilities. That Is all II
wantu. Part of the Western population
have iDdorsed the present silver move
ment simply because, up to the present
time, nothing better has been offered
them.n
STOLEN SEAT ROWLEN,