The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1895-05-24

StuIludTu COuHtTieS lToIH IHuhlHS dS 6Icat
an annual addition to their stock Of metal
lie currency.
Official monetary statistics show that in
the gold standard countries Of the world
the stocks Of money are much larger per
capita than In the silver-standard coun-
tries. Taking the large gold-standard
countries, 1t appears that In 1894 the stock
of money In the United States was over
$25 per capita, In the United Kingdom
nearly So and In Germany nearly $l9.
while In Mexico the per capita was A.T,
in Russia and Finland $S. .32, and in China
1926. The gold-standard countries use
large amounts of silver as money, but the
slver-standard countries use no gold as
money, and cannot do so for the reasons
have already endeavored to explain.
But, gentlemen, for the reasons already
stated, the commercial nations of the
world do not now require the same pro-
portion of metallic money in the transac-
ton Of their business that they required
few centuries ago, or even one century
ago. Credit has been vastly extended and
the use of paper In the form Of notes,
checks, and bills has almost entirely dis
placed metallic money In the daily busi-
ness of the people, and as long as these
forms of credit are kept equal in value to
the metallic standard, the effect upon the
prices of commodities IL precisely the
same as II the whole volume of circulation
consisted of standard coin for as long
as equality in their value can be main
tained. the paper representatives, of the dol
lar perform the same Office In the exchange
of commodities that gold dollars them
selves would perform; but If this equality
Is destroyed, the paper Is discredited It's
purchasing power is diminished, and the
people have no longer stable measure
of value.
No Crime te DC a Creditor.
One of the most effective arguments
made by the advocate of free coinage, in
some parts of the country at least, Is
that the people are in debt, and that it Is
the duty of the government to relieve
them by such legislation as will enable
them to procure cheap money for the pur-
pose of discharging their obligations, and
in support of this argument the most
exaggerated statements are made as to
the depressed and suffering condition of
our farmers, wage-earners, and other pro-
ducing classes. This argument comedies
that under the proposed system of free
coinage at the ratio of lG to all the var
ious kinds of currency in use by the
people, including the silver dollar itself,
would be worth less than it Is now, for,
of course. If this is not to be the result
money would be no cheaper than 1t is
now. To assert that the people are in debt
Is simply to say that they have traded
with each other on credit, that one part
of our fellow-citizens, relying upon the
integrity and financial standing of their
neighbors and acquaintances, have lent
them money on time and sold property to
tha,r, txritb Il Il In, i,,,, fata
ment in cash, and that in this way they
have enabled many people to carry on a
useful business and live in comfortable
homes who otherwise could not have done
so. If 1t Is a crime to lend money to a
man who wants to borrow it, or to sell
property on credit to man who wants to
purchase 1t, and has no ready money to
pay for It, let the perpetrators be properly
punished, but let us not involve the whole
country in confusion and disaster and
immediate the innocent and guilty alike
in order to punish the real offenders. If
our people are in debt they owe each
other and, consequently about as many
would be actually injured as would be
apparently benefited by scaling the obli-
cations down to silver standard. The
Indebtedness of the farmers, mechanics,
and other laboring classes of our people,
although large in the aggregate, is quite
small in comparison with the whole in
debtedness of the great railroad and man.
ufacturing corporations. the national and
state banks, saving institutions, trust
companies, insurance companies, building
associations. and other organizations en-
gagged in financial and commercial enter
prises. These various organizations are
indebted to the people to the extent of
ma nv nf dol la nd Ntrhi 10 is-
true that many of the people are indebted
to them, their debtors and creditors are
not the same persons, and, therefore, the
debts cannot be set off against each other
and eXtinguished in that way. / deny
that there is any such thing as a distinct
debtor class in this country, for, while
nearly every one owes some debts, large
or small, nearly every one has also some
debts owing to him; in other words, he is
both debtor and creditor. The laboring
people, as general rule, owe very little
at any one time, while their employera are
always indebted to them, because wages
are not paid in advance; and, besides,
many of them have small deposits in
savings and other banks, in trust compan-
les, in building associations, and large
numbers of them have their lives insured
fot the benefit of their wives and children
and consequently they are creditors of the
banks and insurance companies. The
savings-bank depostors in this country
last year numbered ATTEST, and the wives
and children of the depositors who de-
pended upon these accumulated earnings
for future support doubtless numbered
100000 more. There 1925 depositors
in the national banks last year, and !, PA
or of them had deposits of less than
anI, tot. N,.i,.
and loan and trust companies held de-
posits for 1,4366SS people. Our life insur-
ance companies. to say nothing of COM
panies insurng property against loss by
fire and otherwise, had 7,505,S7O policies
outstanding last year. upon which the
premiums had been paid, or were being
paid, by the people, and the mutual benefit
and assessment companies had 347S,OOO
members The building and loan associa-
t.ons had nearly 100000 members, all of
whom had paid their money In as required
by the rules of the body to which they
belonged. Here, then, are about q 900. eco
of our people, generally poor, or at least
people of moderate means, who have
given credit to these great corporations
and companies, and, in my opinion. IL
would be "A grievous wrong to adopt any
policy which would deprive them of the
legal right to demand and receive Just
as good money as they parted with when
they made the deposits in the banks or
paid the premiums on their insurance pol
icies. The hardearned savings of the
poor ought not to be sacrificed to the
avarice of the wealthy mine-owners or
the ambition of aspiring politicians, and If
the people who have substantial interest
In the welfare Of the country and just
n,tn lou, 80 tl..>l,
citizens will exert their proper influence
In public affairs this great wrong can
never be perpetrated.
Need an Elastic Currency.
Mr. President, but little remains for me
to say before bringing these remarks TO
a conclusion. 1t is not my purpose to
discuss upon this occasion the various
propositions which have been made from
time to time for the Improvement of our
banking system, or for the retirement of
limited States notes Lecause the uuest ion G