Little Falls weekly transcript. (Little Falls, Morrison Co., Minn.) 1894-19??, 1895-10-11
POOR MEMS SAVINGS.
THEY WILL SUFFER BY A DEPRE-
GATED CURRENCY.

Fsllscy OF "Cheap Money" Argument Made
Clear-Laborers Arc Not Debtors-Free
Silver viii Enrich Wealthy Mine Own
ers 1t tho Expense Of the Poor.
The honest people (and they are a ma
jority) Of this country will have nothing
to do with "free coinage at 16 to IT,
when they understand what it means.
Secretary Carlisle, in his Memphis
speech, made it clear who the real debt
ors and creditors are. Read this part Of
his speech and then ask yourself if you
think it right and just and fair to de.
clare that dollar debts shall be paid
with half dollars. Here is what Carlisle
said:
One of the most effective arguments
made by the advocates 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
purpose Of discharging their obligations,
and in support Of this argument the
most exaggerated statements are made
as to the depressed and suffering condi-
ton of our farmers, wage earners and
other producing classes. This argument
comedies that under the proposed system
of free coinage at the ratio Of 16 to all
the various kinds Of currency in use by
the people, including the silver dollar
itself, would be worth less than they are
row, for, of course, if this is not to be
the result money would be no cheaper.
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 acquaintance, have lent
them money on time and sold property
to them without demanding immediate
payment in cash, and that in this way
they have enabled many people to carry
on a useful business and live in comfort
able homes who otherwise could not
have done so. If it is crime to lend
money to man who wants to borrow it,
or to sell property on credit to man who
wants to purchase it and has no ready
money to pay for it, let the perpetrators
be properly punished, but let Us not in
volve 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 in
jured as would be apparently benefited
by scaling the obligations down to sill
yer standard. The indebtedness Of the
farmers, mechanics and other laboring
classes Of our people, although large in
the aggregate, is quite small in COM
parison with the whole indebtedness of
the great railroad and manufacturing
corporations, the national and state
banks, savings institutions, trust COM
panies, 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
many billions Of dollars, and while it is
true that many Of the people are also in
debted to them their debtors and cred
itors are not the same persons, and there
fore the debts cannot be set off against
each other and extinguished in that way.
I deny that there is any such thing as
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 cred
itor. The laboring people, as a rule,
owe very little at any one time, while
their employers are always indebted to
them, because wages are not paid in ad-
vance, and besides many Of them have
small deposits in savings and other
banks, in trust companies, in building
associations and large numbers Of them
have their lives insured for the benefit
Of their wives and children, and conse-
quently they are creditors of the banks
and the insurance companies. The saw
ings bank depositors in this country last
year numbered 4,777 ,697, and the wives
and children Of the depOsitors who de-
pended upon these accumulated earnings
for future support doubtless numbered
10000, 900 more There were 1895, $40
depositors in the national banks last
year, and 1924, OF Of them had deposits
of less than 81 900 each, while state and
private banks and loan and trust COM
panies held deposits for /, 436, 63S peo-
ple Our life insurance companies, to
say nothing Of companies insuring prop
erty against loss by fire and otherwise,
had 1868 policies outstanding last
year, upon which the premiums had
been paid, or were being paid, by the
people, and the mutual benefit and as
sessment companies had BATS, 900 men,
bers. The building and loan associations
had nearly 100000 members, all of
whom had paid their money in as re-