St. Paul daily globe., 1893-06-24
FINANCIAL TINKERING

Under ordinary circumstances we
would not notice the vagarious financial
ideas of ALFRED B. WEsTRUP, of Mer-
riam Park, but would pass them by as
we would those Of any other whimsical
or crotchety tinkerer with the finances.
But as he has taken the trouble to edit
and publish two pamphlets which he
names "The Financial Problem" and
''Citizens' Money" and has backed up
his literary efforts by personal inter-
views with bankers, editors and every
body else connected with currency mat
ters. and has been allowed hearing in
the Minneapolis Times of June IL inst. In
a long article, accompanied with an edi-
torial notice, we think it not out of the
way to say word on the subject, and
especially as the financial question is
Just now uppermost in the minds of all
our people.
There is very little to fear from eff
forts such as those of Mr.. WEsTRUP. be-
cause of the transparent absurdity of
the whole scheme; but when national
party seriously advocates the loaning
by the government of money to any one
who happens to want it, upon the Sc
curlty of lands and farm products, and
members of congress and senators are
chosen to engraft such policies on the
country, we may well fear that Mr..
WEsTRUP may find followers and con-
verts to his doctrines.
If we understand him clearly, his
panacea for all our financial troubles
is the abo lition of gold and sill
yer money. which he terms "com-
modify money" and the substitution of
paper money. secured upon anything
anybody happens to have. His argu-
ment In support of this wild scheme is,
that SO long as paper issues are confined
to the government, and based on gold
and silver, they must of necessity be
limited to the amount Of gold and silver
in existence, and such limitation is the
cause of all our difficulties. The gov
ernment being the originator of the
currency, as matters now stand,
the people can't get hold of it
without paying interest, which is
another source of evil and oppres-
sion. He would remedy all this by
allowing every citizen. through the
medium of what he calls mutual
bank" to issue his own money Oh the
security of any kind of property he may
possess. which could be done at a cost of
One-half of per cent for the printing.
He does not add, as the French fnan-
ciers did when the assignats were is
sued by the revolutionary government
the penalty of death to any one who re-
fused to accept them at par, but seems
to innocently imagine that they would
60 without question.
1t is curious commentary on the in
telligence of the nineteenth century
that such ideas should be seriously pre-
sented to the consideration OF the pub
lie, and we may add that it is equally
reflection on the good sense of our
readers that we should deem it neces-
sary to call attention to it. We
recently presented our views on
the lnexorable character of all eco
nomic laws, and proved that they
cannot be tampered with without re-
taliation; and we would now suggest to
Mir. WEsTRUP. and all others who have
quack remedies for financial diseases,
that all the forces of government, even
including the absolute powers of die
tator, cannot give value to currency
that is not founded on the only security
recognized by the commercial world
gold.
We would suggest to MI. WEST
RUP that the best test of his theory
would be to try it himself. He is cit
izen. and supposedly has some property
on which to issue ''citizens' money -
Why not put it In circulation? We will
not commit ourselves to his plan, how
ever, to the extent of promising to take
his "citizens' money" in payment for a
subscription to the GLOBE.