The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1896-03-18

STRONG POINTS WELL PUT.
L. Gerry Browns Discussion of
Money at New England
Town Meeting.
A REMARKABLE LITTLE BOOK.
CHAPTER III.
(COpfip pnad from laCt veal.


banker.
Confidence in theory that one gold
unit can play redeemer for a dozen or
more of promises to pay gold unit; con-
fldence that not one promise In twelve
will ever ask to be redeemed in gold,'
interposed the editor.
But urged the banker, "the people
will not ask for a gold unit in exchange
for our credit unit. Our credit units are
absolutely essential to business men, and
we regulate the supply so as to keep them
too busy in effecting exchanges to seek
other redemption. Demand creates
value, you say, and demand gives value
to our credit People use money units
principally as method of keeping ac-
counts and of facilitating exchange. The
people in reality are bartering commo-
dity for commodity, and labor for labor,
as they did in the days of barter; the
money unit is merely convenient me-
dium for that purpose. The people think
the money unit is wealth, when it is
merely title to wealth, and by which
wealth is transferred from one to an
other. The people buy the money units
with their labor and their commodities,
and the commodities which others pro-
duce. We bankers have the vested
right by law, to coin our credit into
what serves as money units; it does the
work of money units: and as labor must
use it, to exchange it's products, we alb
sorb portion of labor's product as our
toll for furnishing the money tool for
moving those products
81 hope" said the editor "that all who
are present will take note of the fact that
this banking credit, which the banker
speaks of, comes out of nothing, and goes
s-,%~ l.: :r - l., - hovo
yet it does the same money work as
metal money unit coined by the govern
ment In other words, the banker coins
his credit, thereby adding to the volume
of money units, and effecting the value
of every unit in the volume which govern
the price Of your property, your labor.
and the products of your labor. He has
the power to add to the volume, or take
from the volume, at his pleasure, and
whichever may be for his profit; and,
while it costs him nothing to produce
this credit unit as yet it enables him to
share in the actual wealth which labor
alone can produce"
And why not?' asked the banker
'The law so provides, and labor elects
the men who made the laws"
you ask why not?' and I answer"
said the editor, that the volume of units
which affects the price of every mans
property, should be controlled by con-
gress, as representing the people, for
the common welfare and not by a few
men who have the special privilege of
growing wealthy at the expense of the
many. The founders of our country de-
MED, even to a sovereign state, the right
to emit bills of credit or coin money;
but you bankers claim the vested right
to coin dollar out of your credit, and
force it into circulation, because the
quantity of other dollars is not sufficient
to meet the demand for dollars. Every
dollar of credit coined by bankers, al
ters the value of every dollar coined
by government because you have al
tered the supply of dollars that answer
the demand for dollars. Your privilege
is in violation of the inalienable rights
of man; because you take from him
portion of the proceeds of his toll which
you could not take if you had not COR
rupted congress to vote you this priv
ilege 1t violates the doctrine of equal
rights. Our Constitution expressly
gives to congress alone the power to coin
money and regulate the value thereof
There you go again." shouted the bank
er Il tell you that the law cannot fix the
value of money!
itor
"Value in anything. [ don't care
what" blurted the banker.
There again the facts within the
knowledge of every man are against you"
replied the editor. THE United States
laws of 1892 says
"'Dollars or units each to be of the
value of Spanish milled dollar, as the
same is now current, and to contain 371
and four sixteenth part of a grain of pure
or 416 grains of standard silver
There's your unit of 1892, and it was
! fixed by law, in silver, and the language
| is plain The law provides further for
Eagles each to be of the value of
ten dollars or units and to contain 247
grains, and four-eights of grain of pure
or 27O grains of standard gold.
There's the value of gold in money
and the ratio of the two metals, gold and
silver, as money fixed by law
The editor paused as the banker COM
menced. "Confound your ignorance" he
said 1T is TO wonder that the farmers of
the West and South, who have too much
/ time to think, are yelling for free silver
and more money if this is the sophistry
that is given them. 1t is fallacy. It's
nonsense. Gold has value of it's own,
in ITSELF it's intrinsic value Gold has
a value in the United States and it has
the same value in England. Everybody
knows that gold has the same value in
all countries; and law has nothing to do
with it"
AS the banker finished it was evident
that he was slightly disturbed. and he
became more uneasy as the editor re-
Piled:
mo argument is more common in the
East than the one you now make; and
with such sophistry and fallacy it is no
! wonder that your cuckoos are yelling for
a gold basis and denouncing Southern
and Western producers and thinkers as
knaves and lunaticS.'
''Fallacy. sophistryv circulated the
banker with surprise; that's the way