The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1893-07-12
A BANKERS VIEW.

It IL Said No Good Thing Can Como Out Of
Nazarath, But Here and There q Banker
Sees the Light.
should esteem it a great favor if
you would permit me to say few
words about the great question of the
day, the great money question. Ihave
thought over the matter for long
time before l ventured to beg you to
place my thoughts before the public.
The most pertinent question on the
subject seems to be this: Do we not
confound the token value of the coin
with the intrinsic value thereof?
If you have a standard by which to
fix values it remains unalterable
whether the medium of exchange, or in
other words, the token or coin be COM
posed of any metal or material whatso-
ever, providing the people behind it are
all right and solvent.
OF what avail is it that the gold clause
| is inserted into note or bond if the
maker thereof is insolvent? Witness
the Argentine failure to meet their OBJ
legations negotiated by the Barring
where to-day is the security Of the some
$3.50, 600, 900 worth of bonds which in
the ramifcations of trade doubtless
stood as collateral to many loan in
many a bank.
! When these securities shrunk they
had to be made good by others, hence
the immense Tightening up of money
matters.
If there were not a grain of silver in
the dollar of to-day, yet people were
agreed that it should represent a dol
lars worth, trade would flourish just
| the same. Money is only a measure
and can never be looked upon in any
other light.
If want to buy gold, or gold watch
or silver ditto, l can pay out silver dol
lars for the same, or certificates of sill
yer, or legal tenders and no tradesman
in the United States will refuse to deal
with me and take such coin or paper.
| All that we are indebted to any for
eign nation and to settle in gold for
the same is the balance of trade. Be
cause their debts to us and our debts to
them are an Offset. But if the balance
is against us we have to pay in gold.
If in our favor we get gold. If the
| United States to-day said to European
nations: Gentlemen, our tokens are
worth face value in our country; we
will pay you our tokens. If you re-
quire gold you can buy the same in the
United States at market price and pay
in tokens from which no discount will
be deducted. Ifyou do not require your
money, then deposit it in one of our
financial institutions and draw as you
require. If we are not capable of pay
ing our debts, or willing, the gold clause
will avail you nothing. If in time of
war the United States said all obliga-
tions to the nation we are fighting are
set aside till after the war is over,
who is there to say nay?
would make the token good for pay
ment in the United States of every de-
scription, duty impost or otherwise. It
is certain that we cannot split up gold
dollars into gold cents, because we get
an unhandy coin. In point of fact a
gold dollar is nuisance. Silver is a
change of commodities.
! Do away with your gold and silver
standard altogether. Make the dollar
the measure, whether you make it of
gold, copper, silver or paper. Does it
alter the usefulness of a foot-rule
whether it be made of iron, or box
wood or common ball pine. No, sir; it
still measures twelve inches, and so
with your dollar. Measure wheat,
corn, chickens bread, anything that
can be measured and manufactured by
man. Reginald F. Mead, late of the
Traders National Bank of Spokane, in
American Banker.
Mr.. Mead does but give expression to
the universal dictum of political econ
omists, as epitomized by Mr.. Stanley
Jevons, in his work on Money and the
Mechanism of Exchange" He says:
''There is plenty of evidence to prove
that an inconvertible paper money, if
carefully limited in quantity, can re-
tain it's full value Such was the case
with the Bank of England notes for
several years after the suspension of
specie payments in 1897, and such is the
case with the present notes of the Bank
of France"
The farmer makes hay while the
/ sun shines-but the bankers horse con-
sumes it.