Birmingham state herald., 1896-01-05
WORKING sIx-INCH GUN ON MAIN DECK.

hints to the people. The issuance of
 paper substitutes for money is worse,
 because a government should supply it's own need for money by taxing its people, or for temporary extra purposes by bor-
 rowing, and it should not force upon it's
 creditors any mere promise to pay, or
 mere flat wrongly called money. The es-
 sential evil of direct issue by the gov
 ernment is in the amount being purely
 arbitrary
 Paper substitutes for money are of two
 classes. One has dollar for dollar, or sov-
 ereign for sovereign, in reserve behind it,
 and is purely for convenience in han
 ding.
 The other is based on credit, and it
 may be accepted that every sovereign
 of this sort is living witness that the
 volume of money is not sufficient and
 that an expedient has been devised for
 increasing the amount artificially.
 Indeed, the great objection to gold and
 silver as money is in the fact that both
 together-and how much more so one
 alone-are insufficient in quantity to
 supply the worlds need for money. If there were sufficient actual money in the
 states, or any other country, for the needs
 of the people, there would be no excuse for any issue of paper currency. But there is not a sufficiency anywhere and
 to meet the need credit is utilized, prom ises to pay are put out and called money,
 the issuer trusting to luck and deft man. agement to avoid run.
 Until the ability of gold and silver to
 supply our people with money is ex-
 hausted and still leaves a deficiency. no
 paper ought to be issued except for con- venience, each dollar of paper having a
 dollar of money in reserve. But gold and silver still leaving an unsatisfied de- mand the necessity arises for utilizing
 credit as medium of exchange, and only then can the question properly arise shall the governments credit be utilzed or shall the government simply provide safe and proper way by which the peo- pie can utilize their private credit? As I said above I don't think the govern ment should issue any money or paper substitutes direct. because the quantity IS bound to be purely arbitrary. It saouid be left to banking institutions, through which the volume would be automaticai- ly regulated by supply and demand, don't see how the national banks can DC improved on as a means of supplying pa per substitutes for money, ana l heartily sympathize with the idea that the regu- lations should be so amended as te al- low them margin of profit, when they would become agencies of the much de- sired expansion. Why then, do you ask am opposed to retiring the greenbacks? Are they not direct issues by the government tenn norarv war expedient and purely arbi- trary in amount?
 T,ue But in the attempt to establish the gold standard in the United States our whole money system has become a natchwork of expedients, the outcome oi inc supreme crime os trying to force !o.- GOO 900 of the most enterprising; act1ye o,,d Snrosnerous people on the globe to dc their whole business on $500 .00t basis A very powerful interest is try ing to perpetuate that crime. to wipe away every obstacle that the rebeilious people have erected against it. or which remains as the legacy of the old system