Birmingham state herald., 1895-10-17
PER CAPITA CIRCULATION.

Last year the per capita circulation of money in this country was $24, this year 1t is $22. 57 The friends of the admin istrations policy say that this year is better year than last and therefore smaller circulation is demonstrated to be better than a larger circulation. If we accept such reasoning the country gains in prosperity as the volume of money diminishes Such is not the teach ings of history and the policy of civilized nations. We are taught by the ablest statesmen and the most profund philoso- phers that an increasing circulation of money is accompanied by an increasing prosperity, and that a contraction of money is attended by distress.
 Sir w. Petty was of opinion that the amount of coin required by a country was one-half the rent of land, one-fourth the amount of building rent and one flfty-second part of the annual wages ot labor. Locke's view was that one-fftieth of laborers' wages. one-fourth land own CTS revenue and one-twentieth of trad CTS yearly returns was the proper amount.
 It is now pretty generally agreed that the quantity of money is measured first by the increase of population. second the amount of transactions; third, the habits of the people and the facilities for com- munication. There are other considera- tions, such as the amount of credit, the intercommunication of traders, and the extent of commercial and banking or ganizations The habit of hoarding also comes in as a condition, also the paying of wages in kind and the custom of barter.
 These various conditions illustrate the difficulty of laying down any exact rule by which the circulation of money should be measured, but it is very evident that a diminishing circulation is hostile to growing country Our present monetary circulatio is wofully deficient if we measure it by any of the rules we have alluded to. It diminishes as the country grows in population and commerce. There is no increase in silver and none in bank notes. The volume of gold dimin- ishes. In one year our per capita cireu- lation has diminished at the rate of nearly one and a half dollars, which equals a total of nearly $100,000,000. All of the silver in the world, not demanded by the arts, would have failed to fill up the gap left by this diminished cir culation. Must we remain in this atti- tude, content to see our precious metal basis constantly contracting and relying solely upon paper promises to pay. to be issued under some problematic system to be announced hereafter by the Secre- tary of the Treasury? This is the pitiable condition in which the Honorable Secre- tary of the Navy would leave us. He congratulates us on a diminishing cur rency. He sees no benefit in a growing currency. In his eyes checks upon banks take the place of 95 per cent of money, just as though every check upon bank has not behind 1t the actual amount of money called for. The check simply calls upon the bank to go around and pay the money to various parties It does not supply money or do away with the ne- cessity for money. It simply acts as a porter to convey the money from hand to hand. And yet the Secretary, in z narrow way, sees in the bank check a
 substitute for the volume of money Truly we have fallen upon hard times when we are compelled to listen to the teaching of tyros upon questions which lie at the foundation of business, society and civilization.