The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1894-02-28

! from governor down to errand boy:
And ask them if this can be done
without new reform party-the
Peoples Party? I. d.
A Question Asked and Answered
Money of Credit.
PRESTON, Mimi, Jan. ), '94
HON. IGNATIUs DONNELLY:
DEAR SIR:-In phamplet entitl
ed, "Facts About Silver" and cir.
culated by the national silver com
mittee. I find this statement, page
43.
''But gold, silver and paper are not
the only kinds of money that act on
prices. Bank credits perform, within
certain limits, the chief functions OF
money. They not only take the place
of money but they effect exchanges
and close transactions the same as
actual money, and to the extent they
do this, they effect prices the same
as SO much money would" Continu-
ing in this vein the pamphlet demon
strates, from official reports; that in
the year 1890 the banks, upon an act
ual money basis of $475, 1889, 900, built
up structure of this credit money
to the amount of $2,6O4 100000, or in
cluding savings deposits, 81, ,12S ,0OO,-
600. 1t says that this money per
forms a very large per cent OF all
transactions in the large Cities
Now as / am quite remote from
any large commercial center, | am
unacquainted with the exact nature
of this peculiar currency, and if you,
at some future convenience, would
explain it, either privately or in the
columns of that queen of reform
journals, the REPRESENTATIVE for
which / am a subscriber, [ would feel
greatly favored. l am very truly,
W. E. CUMMINGS.
k
We would say, in reply, that the
the meaning of the language referred
to is, that if man borrows thous-
and dollars from bank. and the
bank hands him out a thousand dol
lars of gold, silver or paper money,
that then the credit given the bOr-
rover for that thousand dollars, is
equivalent to the creation of another
Thousand dollars of currency! This
is stupendOus nonsense. You cannot
add sixpence to the volume of
money by lending it.
We are becoming very suspicious OF
that "American Bi-metallic League .
1t is seeking the support of the Peo-
piles party, the only organization IA
voring free silver, and at the same
time it is telling the democrats
and the republicans that the silver
question is not partisan one, and
that there is no reason, therefore,
why anyone should vote the Populist
ticket. We are in favor of free silver
for the sake of the whole people
especially of the debtor states, and
the laboring people OF the silver
communities; but the silver mine
owners are no better than the gold
mine-owners,-or the bankers OF
Wall street; and if they could save
their fortunes by kicking the whole
Peoples party demands to Jericho
they would do it without moments
hesitation. In fact, in their coward
ly greed, they we're ready to compro
mise on 20 to or % to l, instead OF
the present ratio of 16 to l. The
Peoples party can expect nothing
from the silver mine-owners, or the
Bi-metallic league. The other day
they put forth statement to show q
larger per capita of currency circula
tion than even George G. Ward
claimed; and now, it appears, they
are trying to make out that the debts
of a country are money. Would t6
God it were so. If they were this
would be the richest land on earth.
All this shows the folly of trying
to make one-plank, free-silver party
Why even Bill Washburn claims that
he is a friend of silver! And Johr
Sherman swears that he has beer
trying to help silver all along!
No,-bretheren,-we must wider
the basis of the party; not narrow it
We are fighting the battle of human
ity: not of the mine-owners. Gu
basis principle is that man must rule
the world not money; that the hum
BILE must be lifted up, and the power
full restrained from wrong-doing
This is platform as broad and a
big as the globe, We must never de
Sert it. l. d.
To Get Out of Debt.
l will sacrifice fine 32O acre im
proved farm, in the South Dakot;