People's voice. [volume] (Wellington, Sumner County, Kansas) 1890-1917, 1893-09-08
FAVORSPAPE RMONEY
w. n. VAN NORMAN ON THE
FINANCIAL. MIDDLE
Would Issue Paper Certificates to One
Third the Value of the Country's
Collaterals-It Would Be an I'm
provSpent on the Present Laws

terests OF every other line Of business,
and to politicians controlled by those
bankers; and the legitimate results
are beginning to be felt in a most seri-
Gus way. For years things have been
going from bad to worse, not merely
in this country but in most, if not all
Others.
The center Of the monied interests
Of the world is in London; and from
that center, through its various agents
and dependencies, is dictated the
financial policy of revery government
in every civilized country in the world.
1t was from that center that was die
tated the credit strengthening act'
of 1909 by our congress, which made
the bonds of the United States payable
in coin, followed in 1873 by another
act, surreptitiously passed, dropping
the silver dollar from the list of legal
coins and virtually making the bonds
OF the United States payable in gold.
1t was this same interest which de.
manded and secured the retirement of
the greenback after it had been made
a full legal tender, and the substitu-
ton Of the national bank currency,
because it could more readily be ma
nipulated by those bankers in their
own interests And it still directs the
policy of this government through
Wall street influences,
1t is of no consequence whether the
present financial stringency is caused
by the manipulations of this banking
interest, or whether there is really not
money enough in the country to do
the business Of the country. In either
case the system is at fault 1t ought
not to be possible for any person or
class to manipulate the currency in
the interest of any one; and it ought
to be possible for every person having
the necessary collateral to get sufi-
Gent money at any time to carry on
his business. Neither one of these
two things are true. Bankers can,
and do manipulate the currency; and
business men cannot obtain the money
they need. Bankers say that peo-
pie have become frightened, and have
boarded it; which is only to say
that they have lost confidence in the
bankers and their system. As result,
business is crippled, industry is
stopped, labor is thrown out of en-
ployment, merchants are forced into
bankruptcy and general hard times
prevail. Even the banks are put in
serious straights so that scores and
scores of them are obliged to fail
But thanks to these same bankers,
they have given us complete demon
Atration of an easy and sufficient rem
edy. The New York clearing house,
an ASSOCIATION of bankers, has just put
out in single issue So, 500, OOO in clear
ing house certificates to relieve their
own necessities; which are simply r.
tifcates Of credit receiva BILE at any one
OF those banks in payment of any
claim due the banks. With such a
backing they are good anywhere; and
everybody is perfectly willing to take
them at par.
Now, if an association of bankers
can do this, why not an association of
merchants, manufacturers, or other
business men? Many of the banks are
made up of merchants and 9TH
ers associated together to do a
bankin. business; but in those cases
they acquire other interests distinct
from their mercantile interests, Just as
they might do if they went into the
real estate business, and so acquired
| I'M erests rs landlords
There is nothing in this world to
prevent any number, from five to
5000, of perfectly solvent men in any
line of business, or composed of sew
eral lines of business tthe more the
better from organizing themselves
into clearing house association for
credits, and issuing to their members
clearing house certificates Of credit, in
convenient form and denominat ions,
for just so much as those members
shall pledge sufficient collateral to Sc
cure, just as they would have to do If
they were borrowing so much money
from bank Those certificates should
be made receivable by any member Of
the association for all bills or accounts
due such members and for all goods in
the stores Of the members. With such
a backing or guarantee they would
readily pass current in the community,
and perform all the functions OF
money.
There are several important sdvan-
tages which this plan possesses First, it
isjust as easy to organize such an asso-
citation as it is 10 organize a building
and loan association; and the labor
and expense of carrying it on would
be but little more, if any, and quite as
simple. 1t would give a currercy
| which could not be maninulated from