The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1893-07-28
NEW

Braddock; A Story of the French and
Jnhinn Wars.
Messrs. Funk & Wagnalls announce as Vol. 8
of the Columbian Historical Novels. by John R.
Music, .Braddock; A Story of the French and
Indian Wars"
Between The covers of this iivel y historical
novel are given all the principal events in the
history of our country from the year 1900 to
1860, a period which Includes the struggle be-
tween the English and the French for supremacy
in the New World. This struggle was the
school In which the hardy colonisls were edu-
Gated in self-relIance, courage and fortitude,
and In which the belittled provincial soldiers
we're for the first time brought into COMPARE
son with the British regulars, which comparl-
son was favorable to the Americans. 1t was
during this period that George Washington first
came upon the stage of American history. and
OF his boyhood, his first love affair, which, hap
PLY. was a failure, the beginning of his
famous military record, etc. The main
interest OF the period centers about the Brad
deck campo ign, the story of which is admirably
told, and from which the book derives its title.
Notable among the chapters of the volume is
one entitled The DEBTORS Prison" an English
institution of oppression and misery, from the
emancipated inmates of which the colony (now
the STATED of Georgia was originally founded in
1888. The romance of the volume is cleverly
wrought out. and the Stevens family, whose
lineage ia traced in the previous volumes Of the
series of Columbian Historical Novels, from the
time OF Columbus. is well represented. Great
care has been exercised to distinguish fact from
fiction, and the fiction is so arranged as to aid
the re ader in comprehending the facts, and this
he capnot fail to do.
The book is a marvel. combining, az 1t does,
education with romance in such a way that it
must prove both very instructive and perman-
emily impressive. 1t is liberaky illustrated with
excellent engravings, has aNgood historical in
dex, and supplies highly interesting reading for
the young or old Of either sex.
RI g. go. -
Engineering Magazine" for August.
The Engineering Magazine for August con.
tains an important article by Edward Atkinson,
dealing with the unit of value and the mechan-
ism OF banking or exchange. Mr.. Atkinson
holds the view which is common to all sound
financial men, especially to those who, like him
self, have been for a great many years occupied
in important undertakings, that the present
standard or unit of value in the commerce of
the world Is gold; that this unit has not become
established by law, Tot by international agree
ment, not by treaty, but through a process of
natural selection. Gold is the unit of value By
which all international sales and purchases are
settled because gold is the only money metal
that will buy anything everywhere. 1t is more
important to this country than to any other to
adhere to this standard. because the sale Of the
excess of our product for export. establishes
the price of the whole on a gold basis.
On this basis Mr.. Atkinson deals with the
mechanism of exchange. He has made one
very important suggestion, to wit, the extension
of the use of clearing house cert ificates
His solution is the issue of clearing house GER.
~titicates in small sums. He proposes that the
banks associated in the great clearing house
centers shall receive securities at rs per cent.
of their value. as they do now in issuing clear
ing house certificates that serve for transac-
tions among themselves; but that they shall
extend the use of those certificates by Issuing
them in sums of IS and $40 each TO the banks
making the deposit Of the securities; the
clearing house guaranteeing the redemption of
these certificates for a small compensation.
Mr., Atkinson rightly remarks that this might
be an ideal currency absolutely redeemable 10
coin. Behind J, would be the great central re-
serves OF coin; next. the securities deposited by
each specific bank; next. the capital OF that
bank itself: finally ths obligation of the asso-
ciated banks in each clearing house; and he
threwdly remarks. that while government or
national supervision cannot long continue to be
exerted over more than three thousand banks
OF deposit. yet national supervision NIGH {
rightly be continued over the clearing houses
whose managers would be held responsible for
the quality of the securities deposited with
them as collateral for the redemption Of cer-
tldcates.N