The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1896-08-20
THE NEED FOR
MORE MONEY"


produce more, or do more labor to ex-
change for them. If a farmer has
raised a crop Of 1000 bushels of wheat,
l can get some of it only by offering
him something in return for it. When
the government prints paper money
In Washington, or coins silver bullion
for silver owners in our minis, that
would not enable me to get the farm
ef's wheat. The silver coins belong
to the silver owners just the same as
the bullion did, and unless work for
such persons as these silver owners,
or give my property ito them, / can get
no more silver with which to buy this
farmers wheat. If the money is good
and of full value, I must always give
full equivalent for 1t just as for any
other thing of value. 1t is only when
the money itself Is worthless that one
can get it for nothing.
If one has things of value-eggs. but
ter, corn-one will have no trouble in
getting other things for them, through
the medium of money. If any one
speaks of lacking money" he really
means that he lacks corn, cattle and
stock to be exchanged for money If
he has these forms of salable wealth
he can get money to the value of this
property easily enough. To cry for
money, when one has no goods to sell,
is like an infant crying for the moon
Indeed. the truth is simple enough
when once stated. When we speak of
man being worth 100000 we do not
mean $4,000 in money, but only that he
has property which, expressed in terms
of money, counts UP to $4,000 and that
he probably never has at ordinary
times in his possession more than $50
of actual money. In fact, actual money
in his hands is never earning anything
1t is only when a man parts with his
money for materials, machinery, ETC.,
that he puts his wealth into the form
where 1t can earn anything To every
one, then, it is not the quantity of
money which is important, but the
quantity of goods and property one
controls.
Since the possession Of articles which
everyone wishes to consume is the re-
suit of prosperity, the mere exchang-
ing of these goods is a secondary-al-
though ecessary-process. To trans
pert goods by railway is necessary,
but you cannot transport anything I'M
less first of all there are goods to be
transported. So, exchanging goods is
process secondary to their produc-
ton. Money is merely a machine for
the more convenient exchange Of goods
Ihere is no more need of money in
amount equal to all goods than there
would be need for as many gates to
walled city there are inhabitants
Through one gate you can pass thou
sands upon thousands, in small num-
berS at a time. And that is what takes
place in exchanging goods In ex-
changing goods first for money, and
then giving the money for goods, we
pass the goods, so to speak, through
the gate of money, a few at a time
All goods are not being offered at once
at the same place. So small sum Of
money will serve for large transac-
tions in goods. Hence what we wish
TO accomplish in public legislation is
TO further the measures which will in
sure that quiet.s steady condition Of
business likely to help in keeping pro-
auction constantly growing. Tinkering
with the currency is like working at
the wrong leVer-it does not start the
engine; and if you pull too hard it may
break, and the engine be disabled, so
that 1T cannot go at ALL
Ii one would go into a great city and
see now goods are exchanged it would
be understood that very little money
is actually used. The practical busi-
ness men have ingeniously devised
methods so that, by help of the banks,
they offset what they sell (Which is ex-
pressed in terms of money! against
what they buy (Which is also expressed
III terms or money),-and thus little or
hand. Indeed, in large wholesale
transactions actual money is used only
Tor paying balances, and 80 to 95 per
cent or the transactions are settled
without any money whatever In one
year the amounts are enormous: $50 TO
500 billions of transactions are settled
without money, and solely by the aid
OF banks and clearing houses The
amount of money needed, in such meth
lod foY ~
toners in the smaller payments where
checks are not used, and to convince
all depositors that they can have cash
whenever needed. 1t is only in times
OF business alarm and panic that much
cash Is called for; and reserves are kept
mainly to secure confidence
1t must now be clearly apparent that
the amount Of money needed by
trade is dependent on the business
habits of the community No one can
say just how much 1t will be; with a
proper system, it will regulate itself.
The monetary needs of civilized coun-
tries do not increase in any proportion
Whatever to transactions, as Mr.. BRYAN
would have us believe in his speech of
acceptance. Who says there is not
money enough? How does he know2
II he thinks there is not enough money.
because he Is poor, the difficulty with
him is that he lacks goods, not money:
that he confuses property with the
means OF transferring property. The
vague feeling that we can secure pros
perity by more money has no basis
OF reason either on grounds of the
functions of money as a standard. or
as a medium Of exchange, as was
shown above. To propose free coin,
age Of silver at Is to l." therefore, on
the ground that 1t would give more
money is doubly fallacious; a It
would contract, instead of expand the
circulation; and (2) even if it could ex,
pand the circulation it would not pro.
dIce prosperity
The silver-using countries Of the
world have smaller per capita cir
culation of money than the gold-using
countries. Great Britain has SPOTS;
France, $35.77; Belgium, $27.S2; Germany,
Sl7.59. These are on the gold standard
But Russia has only $849; Mexico, S4.95;
China, sos. These are on the silver
standard.
The theory that prosperity cannot be
produced by increasing the quantity
of money in circulation is a fundamen-
tai proposition of political economy:
therefore on this ground free coinage of
silver cannot be justified. What as
founding folly to propose q measure,
not only unsupported by economic reas-
oning, but certain to bring overwheIm-
ing disaster to business. There is
nothing to be gained for prosperity by
artificially increasing the quantity Of
money-absolutely nothing to counter
balance the devastating commercial
ruin sure to follow the change of the
standard from gold to silver.
j. Laurence Laughlin.
THREE KILLED.
Particulars of the Mine Accident mt