The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1893-06-07
P. M. RINGDAL
Suggests a New System for Banks
of Issue.
CRoOKsTON, May 80, '93.

The present money stringency,
coupled with the hostile attitude of
the administration, leads one to in
voluntarily ask the question, "can
no remedy be found whereby at least
partial relief may be obtained, until
the time comes when the majority of
the people will wake up to a realiza
tion of the causes of hard times. and
apply the remedy by wholesome polit-
ical action, abolishing the causes
which produce them? At first sight
it appears almost hopeless to attempt
a remedy without first getting con-
troll of the government and through
it the money-issuing power. Upon
reflection, however, it may not be SO
utterly impossible as it at first sight
appears. The remedy is of course,
more money circulating medium)
legal tender if possible, but if that is
not to be obtained land it clearly is
not at the present mOment) the next
best thing; medium of exchange
that will circulate and perform some
of the functions of legal tender.
Looking over our national peoples
party platform we find plank which
advocates the issuing of money based
upon land values. If this plank were
to be enacted into law, what func-
tiOn would the government perform
in the opera tion of transforming real
estate values into portable values?
Simply that of a surety that the land
values were available in sufficient
quantities to make the pOsSessOr of
the portable values secure against
loss by fraud, beside giving such pOr-
table values legal tender attribute.
Dispensing with the last named quail
ty, would not such money circulate
quite freely by reason of the conf
dence people placed in it's safeness,
Just the same as the national bank
note now circulates?
The whole question hinges upon the
matter of circulation of these values
without legal tender quality! AS
Stunning then, until proven erroneous,
this theory to be correct, that public
confidence in their validity would
keep them in circulation, and basing
the argument upon this theory, how
will we utter this circulating medium
without coming into conflict with the
federal laws governing the issue of
money? There is no law fOrbidding
any citizen giving secured note or
as many of them and in as small
amounts as he may see fit, and all
based upon one mortgage if he so
chooses. But here comes the neceSsi-
ty for some surety that will maintain
people, confidence in the validity and
value of the note in order that it may
find it's way beyond the immediate
neighborhood. where the land upon
which it is based is known to be of
such quality and in such locality as
to be ample security for the redemp-
tion of the note. How can this conf
dence in it's value be made to follow
it abroad?
Let the farmers alliance of Mime
sofa incorporate a trust company
with branch office in each county
whose sole business shall be to hold
in trust the mortgages upon which
these notes are based, examine the
real estate upon which the mortgage
is given and certify upon the back of
such notes that the authorized officer
Of the company has personally ex-
amined the property, and found it to
be worth at least three times as much
as the sum total of all notes issued
against it. The note then would
read something like this:
FACE
WILLMAR, Mimi, April T. '93.
One year after date I promise to
pay to bearer Five Dollars $500 in
lawful money of the United States.
Signed, JOHN SMITH.
BACK
This is to certify that we hold in
trust for the payment of this note,
first mortgage on S. E. of S. E. of
Sec. Is, township -, range -, that
we have personally examined said pro-
perty, and know it to be worth at
least three times the sum total of all
notes issued against it.
Signed, JASON JONES,
Register Farmers Trust Co. of
Mimi, Kandiyohi Co.
1t is not to be expected that such
notes would become popular at once,
for they would certainly meet great
deal of opposition from people whose
business and prerorgative it now is to
furnish the country with large part
of it's circulating medium at so much
"per cent but brightly inaugurated
and carefully administered until the
public gained confidence in their local
branch, it would not be long before
this kind of money would find it's way
into every kind of business, and once
fairly established, all the t.nkering,
scheming, and conspiring among the
money lords and our false representa-
tives would be powerless to material
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