The daily morning Astorian. [volume] (Astoria, Oregon) 1883-1899, 1896-10-07
CHEAP MONEY
IN SWEDEN
RuinOus Result Of the Effort to
Make the People
Accept IT,
THE CALAMITY COIN" PANIC
Dld For Sweden what Free Silver
WIN Do Tor the United stntcs--R Royal
DEGREES Cannot Turn the Tide
u Natural Law.

WIN Do for the United sthtcs-Royal
DEGREES Cannot Turn the Tide
u Natural Law.
'rhc following account ~ AN Instruct
i've experiment by the Swedish govern
mrnt IN the eighteenth century Is ab-
stiactrd from Hemlandet. ono Ot tho
oldest and best known swedish news.
papers printed In the United States.
II vas written by Dr. John 4. EnRnder,
whose attachments as a historian have
kivcn him II wide reputation. The spe-
cial interest ~ the article. however,
grows out OF the parallel between what
did occur IN sweden and what would oc-
cur In the United States should We
adopt the unlimited coinage Of silver at
the fictitious ratio OF l6 to /.
In the era Of the Karollns. In the be-
ginning of the eighteenth century. the
wars u Charles MI had wasted the
population OF Sweden. Impoverished
the country, and destroyed the indus
tries, The financial question. there
fore, assumed unwonted Importance
under the existing circumstances OF the
nation.
AT that date the circulating medium
consisted OF silver and copper. The
largest coin was the rixthaler Tin Swe-
dish. riksdalcr,. The rixthaler was a
coin about the size of the original
American silver dollar OF 4i6 grains.
but It's value. until about l7ig. was two
thnlers silver a. three thalers copper
After ijiN q, WAS worth three silver
thalers or nine copper thalcrs &C
mnrk0. Ahout l756 it was valued nt
six thaleTs silver or eighteen thRlers
copper a. marks In consequence OF
successive alterations in the quantity
of copper with which IL was allpycd In
the course ~ 100 years the value Of the
silver thalcr had fallen to third or
fourth of what IT WAS in 1924
when that sanguine. obstinate auto
crat. Mir GortE. was made minister OF
finance. there was still considerable
stock of money In the kingdom But
owing 60 lack " confidence it was
boarded and little money was In clrcu-
lailon Mr. Gortz was political ad-
vcnturer ignorant Of financial laws,
and he devised a scheme to Induce the
wealthy citizens of Sweden to purchase
government bonds secured by mort
gage upon the real estate OF the entire
nation. but placed upon II without the
knowledge or consent OF the individual
owners \ royal decree compelled all
trustees of trust funds for church,
10: schools, and for the poor to ex-
change their money and their securities
for these bonds. whose value necessar-
ilv declined In proportion, and the flood
OF cheap money rvise 10 IA higher and
yet higher level
MIR Gortz. like our own Mr. Bryan,
conceived the Idea the Sweden could,
without waiting for the aid or consent
OF any other nation establish its own
financial system upon an independent
basis, He proposed to remlnt all copper
coin upon which ne could lay his hands.
and give To the new coins an arbitrary
and false ratio In comparison with sill |
yer The copper thaler ne said, was
the money OF the poor the debtors |
dollar The value OF the copper bullion
which II contained, he thought would |
rise In the market and the production |
OF copper would be stimulated and in
creased
1T was further claimed that with the
depreciation Of the copper coin OF the
country prices would rise, the farmer
would receive more money in exchange
for farm products and industries would
revive, so there would be a demand for
labor and the number Of unemployed
would be greatly reduced.
Charles XII was too experienced
man Of the world and too wise Il mon
arch to be deceived by these represen
.ations and It was with the greatest
hesitation he signed the decree present
ID 10 him by his minister Of finance. He
YOU'D not allow this cheap money to be
stamped with his e1igy nor would ne
permit II to bear the national es-
,utcheon.
THE new coin soon received the deTis-
Try title Of calamity COIN on account
Il the financial ruin which 1t wrought.
\ piece Of copper worth half cent was
tamped L daler s. NJ Is. NJ. stands
or silver mynt or silver money! The
'arious mlntages were popularity known
" the name Of the engraved devices
(which they were distinguished-th
Crown 'Publica Eide Jupiter Wis {
ON Armed, Rough and Ready Sat
rn,' 'Phoebus, Mars to which were
dded in the reign Of Ulrika Elinora /
Mercury and Hope
Not even Mr.. Gortz imagined that II
would be possible TO float an unlimited
lumber Of deprecated copper thalers. l
I was decided to limit the number Of S
,O00OOO but once on the downward !
Dad no place was found for halt short
( the bottom Of the preclpice. By 1717 {
here were 100000 of these thalers in I
REGULATION, At the death Of Charles I
III, in 171S 100000 had been minted,