The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1893-06-17
SHOULD THE CURRENCY BE IN
CREASED?


We are frequently asked. IF you repeal
the Sherman law, what will you do to
increase the volume Of the currency"
The question assumes that the country
requires more currency than it has, which
may be the case for all that we know,
though we cannot say that It does. What
the country suffers from is the restric-
ton which the national bank act puts
upon the issue Of currency. 1t will al
low no one 10 issue currency unless he
has United States bonds. and It then
makes the Government the indorser Of all
the currency that is issued.
And yet the associated banks in New
York city have just agreed, through their
clearing house. 10 issue certificates, which
themselves as cash, based not on Gov
eminent bonds alone, but on bills re-
ceiyabe and other securities TO be ap-
proved by their committee" not I'm ex-
cess Of "75 per cent. Of the market value
Of the securities or bills receivable de-
posted" These certificates are but an
other form Of State bank notes, and are
issued to supply a want which such notes
would satisfy
Our answer then TO the question stated
at the outset is that we would allow
all banks to issue all the promissory
notes that they wished 10 issue under
such regulations for their security az
each State Legislature might provide,
ana In this way we should secure all the
currency that each neighborhood needed,
and II would be a currency that New
York would leave 10 the neighborhood
that needed it.
II is altogether an impossible thing to
say how much money or currency a coun-
try needs, or even to approximate it.
Money and currency are as much subject
to the law Of supply and demand as
apples or pig iron. A country needs a
certain quantity Of money at one time,
dependent upon the state of It's business,
and another quantity OF money at an
other time, dependent upon the state
Of its business. locality in that coun-
try needs a certain quantity at one time
and a different quantity at another time.
dependent on the same conditions. We
hear the Popullst demagogues talk OF
one country having so much currency
per capita, another having so much more,
and then, TO show the absolute emptiness
Of the little balls that they call their
heads. they say that America has this
much less per capita than either. as if the
prosperity Of the country depended upon
the number of dollars In the country to
the individuals in the country.
1t makes no difference how many dol
lars the currency of America consists of.
no man can get any OF it unless he has
something 10 exchange for IL. SO. of
what good is it 10 the man who has moth
Ing. to tell him that the money Of the
country is enough 10 give him and all
other persons in 1t one hundred dollars
if II We're equally divided among all? Il
is not going TO be divided out and he
mas IOl4liS " tANHdHSc lOE any part OF
It,
Again, the banks Of New York are rich
aud have connections all over the country
that enable them to outbid all other finan-
cial agencies in the country for what
currency exists. Suppose the currency
Of the country were so large that If
divided out amongst the people il would
give 500 TO each person. The New York
banks would still bid. as they do now,
for It, and they would get so much OF IT
In New York city that the amount then
would divide out 81 900 to each person in
New York. while what was left in Amelia
county would not give five dollars TO each
person there. or what good would It
be TO the Amelia county man TO tell him
that our currency was redundant enough
to equal 500 per capita? He would reply,
But l get no more OF 1t than when II
was only s5 per capita, and Amelia
county gets no more OF 1t. II all goes TO
the rich commercial centres, and will
Away go there while 1t is a national
currency.
There is nothing more absurd than dis
cussions based upon the money DER