The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1895-09-13
moss-back. Senator Push. made at IT
n speech in which he is thus reported:

4 the gold basis, and VIII ASK LOT tne ie-
peal OF the law compelling the redemp-
ton OF grccnbacks in gold, and tnat ne
VIII try TO get rid OF 500 coo.0o OF green
backs and currency notes. In order 10
further contract tho currency. Neither
House. Mr. Pugh predicted. viii aid him.
There IT is. just as we said 1t would
be. All the Popul!sts and free coiners
will oppose the cancellation OF these
notes because they say, the currency
will be thereby contracted. when their
continued existence, by getting up scares
and panics whenever they reduce the
gold reserve. does more harm than TWEEN
~ times their quantity could ever undo
and when proper banking system would
ALWAYS supply all the currency that
the country would take whether 500, Co.,
900 or s5.0coOoO.Oo0.
The source Of all our financial Ills is
the erroneous idea IN the minds OF the
Populists and free coiners that business
| Is done with money. and that there
must therefore be great quantities OF
money or currency to enable business
TO conduct itself with the volume
! necessary to success. This is just as
great an error as it would be If they
got IT into their heads that water could
| be induced to flow up hill. We offer
| these gentlemen the following object
lesson:
| We wcro at gentleman's house some
| time back and he was having some ex-
tonsIve plumbing repairs made on H.
He told us that he did not have the
money 10 pay for these repairs SO he
had borrowed five hundred dollars at
bank. agreeing with the Pres.der; mat
his house should stand as security for
the debt which was. in effect, trans
| fer to the bank Of that much interest
in his house. The bank gave him no
| money 1t simply entered credit TO
his account Of 500 on his books.
When the work was finished he gave
the plumber a check on this account
The plumber deposited this check IN the
same bank to his account. and the credit
was transferred from the borrower or
the money to the plumber. The PLUMP
!
nlumbing articles he had put into the
gentleman's house. and ne sent ms new
/ York creditor a check on the credit
| transferred by the bank to his account.
The New Yorker deposited that check
in his New York bank for collection.
But the day it reached Richmond c.u-
! zen OF Richmond deposited in that Rich-
mond bank a draft upon the same Ne"
| York bank for some money winch ne
! had there. but wanted 20 his credit in
Richmond. The Richmond bank there
mon wrote the New York bank 10 keep
the money of the citizen CT Richmond
that it had and the Richmond bank
took the plumbers credit and trans
ferred 1t TO the credit of the hichmond
citizen who wanted his money brought
from New York.
Now. here have been ali these trans
actions effected and not dollar Of
/ money used We were curious TO know
what our friend did about paying what
| he borrowed at bank, and we found
| these to be the facts: On the day his
note came due at bank. his employer
paid him some of his salary that was
/ due. He did not pay ii with money,
but by a check on his Richmond bank.
| our friend deposited that check in his
bank in payment of his note. and his
house was released from the obligation
which he had placed on 1t.
/ no
i day our friend was paid his salary
his employer had sold his wheat crop
and the check he gave was on the pro-
ceeds Of that wheat crop. But the
commission merchant who sold it had
not given him any money; he had got
a credit at bank and ne had given the
wheat raiser check on that, and. if the
transactions had been followed at both
ends. It would have turned out that
they went on indefinitely by transfers
of bank credits and without the use OF
any money al all.
| Now. the transactions which we have
| described are the transactions OF all
| business. Business, is DONE therefore,
not by transfers of money. but by trans
fers of credits. The essential thing,
then, is to have financial system that
will enable all men to secure bank cred
! its. and then TO have the dollar UNDER
stood to be something that is sacred. so
| that when an order is given that
specified number Of dollars shall be paid
| no one TO whose hand the order may
come shall nave the slightest doubt about
what will be forthcoming wner the or
der is presented. There must be no
question whether dollars will be de-
livered that are worth 100 cents or dol
lars that are worth only % cents. Every
one must have perfect confidence that
they will be dollars worth 100 cents.
At present a great part of the people
those who live in the country-have no
banks where they can get credits open
ed. Banking is confined to the com
mercial centres. the bank managers
don't know the country people. and so
they will not open credits with them
What the people want is for the tax
on State banks TO be repealed SO that
they may have their banks in every
neighborhood, and then they would have
credits 20 transfer ana every conven-
fence for doing business that the city
of