The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1896-07-17
HOW 1T WILL WORK.

The last report of the bank examiner
of Maine showed that the savings banks
of this State are indebted to their deposit
tors in the sum of S57, 600, 600. The num-
Der of these depositors is about 160, 900,
making the average Indebtedness to each
depusitor about $3.50. Today. when
depositor presents himself at the bank
counter and calls for bis deposit he re-
ceiyes money equal in purchasing power
to the money he deposited. Almost all
the depositors are men of small means
laboring men and wage earners-who
have laid aside something for a rainy
day. While our currency remains on its
present basis thu depositor is sure of the
return in full of all his sposit-barring
of course the failure of the bank.
But what will happen il the standard
of money measurement is changed, as
the free silverites propose to change it,
by coming in unlimited quantities aud
making legal tender to an unlimited
amount 63 cent dollar? The contract
between the bAnk and the depositor SIM
ply specifies that the former shall return
to the latter his deposit in legal tender
dollars, and the contract which the bank
makes with the parties to whom it loans
its accumulated funds in the great ma
jority of cases also calls for legal ten
der dollars. Hence when silver is coined
into dollars at the ratio of 16 to In I'M
limited quantities and made legal tender
TO any amount the savings bank is un-
der no legal obligation to return it's de-
positor anything but silver dollars; and
if it felt that it was under moral obliga-
lions to return dollars of equal purchas-
ing power with the dollars deposited it
could not fulfil it because it's debtors
would not return it anything but silver
dollars. 1t is therefore inevita bio If the cur
renoy standard is shortened, as it will be
by free coinage. that the extent of the de-
positors' deposit will be measured by the
new standard, and though he may re-
ceive az many nominal dollars in return
as he deposited they will be greatly re-
duoed in purchasing power. 1t will be
just the same as If he had deposited
thousand yards of cloth when the yard
measure was thirty six inches in length,
and after the yard had been shortened TO
twenty inches and declared the standard
of measure he should call for thousand
yard of cloth. He would got the same
number of yards, but with each yard very
much shortened. After the standard of
value is charge he will get the same
number of dollars, but dollars very much
reduced in exchange value, which is the
only real value which the dollar posses
SOS.
The free silver people recommend free
silver as an especial boom to the poor
man and the man of small means. They
do it On the assumption that these people
belong TO the debtor class, and that the
cheap silver dollar will enable them to
pay their debts more easily. The fallaoy
Of this lies in the assumption that the
poor and the people of small means con-
stitute the debtor GLASS. AS a rule they
Belong to the creditor class. We have
shown that 10000 of them in Maine are
owed on the average py the savings
banks, $3.50 each, and that the cheaper
ing of the dollar would enable the saw
ings bank to discharge their obligations
to them for but little moro than half
the real value of the money they depos-
tied. 1t Ia quite true that debtor will
derive temporary advantage from hav-
ing the dollar cneapened, but creditor
will be hurt by 1t, and the great mass Of
wage earners and men of small meeus in
the State of Maine are creditors. 1t ls
the savings bank. the trust companies,
the steam and electric railroads that arc
the debtors. They arc the concerns that
viii really profit from the cheapening of
the money standard.