St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1895-08-23
SOUND FINANCE.
MIR. A. II. Ankeny Makes Some
Valuable Suggestions for Cur
rency Reform.


Valuable Suggestions for Cur
rency Reform.
To the Editor of the Globe.
1 have read with much interest
your late articles urging the early
retirement of the $346, 900, 900 of green
backs. There can be no question
that this is now a. most important
matter for discussion and one which
demands an early solution
Just as long as this relic of the
war and its necessities shall remain,
so long will the government have
failed to perform a grave duty. The
greenback should long ago have been
retired by the issue of bonds. That
this has not been done we must at
tribute largely to the fear of a, some
what too severe contraction of the
currency; and the times through
which we have passed would have
made it not an easy matter. In ad-
d1tlon to this positive duty Of retire
ment there are also the grave diff
culties from their remaining which
you have so clearly portrayed. AS
long as the stock jobbers and gamb-
lers of Wall street are allowed to
daily raid the treasury, by present
ing greenbacks for redemption in
gold, there will be a scarcity of gold,
With all the bad effects to the bust
ness interests of the country. I de-
sire to say that 1 heartily concur
With the Globe in it's effort to get rid
of the greenback
The question, however, as to how
this shall be brought about is one
equally important. In my Judgment
something like the following course
Will have to be pursued:
flrst-Let congress at it's next SEES
sion provide for new bond issue for
tnls purpose to the extent, say of
two hundred and fifty millions: the
bonds to bear a rate of interest of
Two, two and one-half or three per
cent, and to be in small denominations
say as low as ten dollars. Let there
then be a fair division of the amount
among the several states; the loan to
be emphatically a popular loan. Does
any man doubt for a moment that such
loan would be taken up by the people
within ninety days2 The one hundred
millions now held as a reserve would
take up that amount of greenbacks. for
only very small reserve would
then be necessary. Such a plan sue
cessfully carried out would be worth
millions to our paop1e in teaching them
that we are not Obliged to depend on
the Rothschilds or any other banking
syndicate in Europe
Second-ThiS done, there should then
be provided additional currency to take
the place of the retired greenback.
How shall this be done? 1 answer by
removing the tax on circulation. AL
low any one who has obtained a char
ter under state banking laws to de-
post with the government his bonds
and in return receive the face value
in currency issued by the government.
In this way the government will have
nothing to do with the banking bust
ness except to provide and regulate the
circulation. This, of course, would
require a complete reconstruction of
the national banking system, and the
substitution of a better one, and one
not nearly so obnoxious to the people.
These two things, as it appears to
me, are essentially necessary before
we can reach any satisfactory adjust
ment of the money question. Then by
a rigid adherence to the platform of
the National Democratic convention
of 1892. and just now reaffirmed
by the Democratic convention Of
Ohio, the Democratic party could
restore prosperity and procure thereby
an indefinite lease of power That
platform, as we all know, recognizes
both gold and silver as the standard
money of the country" and upon equal
terms both of coinage and debt-paying
power. The paper issued to be re-
deemable in such COIN Such a line
of procedure scrupulously followed.
all factions and diversfties of interest
in the party could stand together and
the result would be an overwhelming
victory for Democracy in 1886.
A T. ANKENY.
Minneapolis, Aug. %. 1895.