Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1893-08-05

States would be insolyent. II the
money lenders Of the world should
force upon America her gold payable
and gold interest bearing securities there
IS not gold enough In all the world out
side Of what these money lenders them
selves own TO take up the securities.
Yet iinanciers assert that to preserve our
credit, we must enter into obligations to
make payments which cannot be met.
Authorities declare that gS per cent Of
all the business done In this country Is
transacted on credit. II we remove
silver, we destroy nearly = Of our value
measure, and In order therefore, to
transact the same business il would be
necessary to increase the credit transac'
tons still So per cent more, or, for every
dollar IN cash transaction, we would do
si75 business IN credit. og.on promise
to pay in a money that We have not,
and Of which In all the world there is
not enough
There will be found no one to dispute
the statement that confidence decreases
and failures increase In business In
exact ratio with the extent OF credit.
We call II by that seductive appellation
Speculation" II Is oyer.speculaiion,
or boom, or initiation, we are told. that
provokes panics. Panics are followed
by protrac,ed periods Of liquidation,
which result In Industrial distress, often
in financial ruin. The greater the circu.
lating medium, the less credit there Is,
and the less credit the less liability to
failure. Those WHO hold to John Ran
dolph's ilosophcrs stone-"pay as
you 70 are never ruined themselves,
and what Is more TO the point, never
compass the ruin Of others because un.
able to pay when called upon. No
better evidence OF the lack Of wisdom
not to say inhumanity-in proposing an
increase IN the credit system by destroy.
ing half OF our circulating medium need
be shown than now finds daily illustra.
ton. Men OF large wealth are forced to
the wall because they cannot liquldatc
their obligations In what we call money.
There arc but three things that a
people In our condition can do-iirst in
crease the stock Of money, or, second,
increase the amount Of credit, or, third,
decrease the volume Of business. To
Increase credit is to augment the oppor.
tunities tot more frequent panics and
attendant ruin, and TO give money gam
blers additional opportunity for amassing
still greater wealth than legitimate trade
transactions afford. To decrease the
volume Of business Is to bring about
like results by other methods And
what would be the effect Of increasing
the volume Of money! II would both
increase business and decrease credit.
Does not the proposition thus considered
present very simple solution and an
attractive aspect II must be borne in
mind that the supply Of gold or silver
cannot be increased at will
Let me rccur to the condition oil
France. In the sense that Great
Britain, Germany and the United States
are commercial nations. France may
not fairly be included. France ha,
5000 Of money for every man, woman
and child In her population. OF thi.
amount 7.o9 is paper. or government,
promise TO pay. The United States has
s2S.Is per capita, and Of this amount
one-iOufth or g. - is government ere III
IS per cent OF our circulating medium