The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1896-09-02
BR YAM A FIATIST.
Chicago Nominee Populist on the
Money Question.

Bryan says: "The Populist platform
indorses some policies do not approve
Of" What these policies are he does not
state, but it is safe to say its fiat scrip
policy is not among them. The POpu-
lists demand:
"A national currency issued by the
Intervention of banks, to be full legal
tender for debts, public and private, a
just, equitable and efficient means of dis
tribution direct to the people, and
through the lawful disbursements of the
government"
Bryan believes in all that In a
speech made by him in 1894 he declared
that
'The Issue of money by the govern
ment directly to the people gives us
safer money, and saves to the people as
whole the profit arising from it's ISSUE
When bank issues money you must pay
the market rate of interest in order to get
it, but when the government issues the
money the people save the interest If
the money is afterward called in, and
they save the principal also if the money
is kept in circulation"
He doubted the wisdom of loaning this
money, or scrip, directly to the people,
as proposed by the Populists in 1892.
His plan of getting it into circulation
was through the disbursements of the
government" He put it thus:
THE money can be used to pay the
expenses of the government, as the
greenbacks now in circulation were is
sued to pay the expenses of war. If
congress decides to increase the currency
a certain annually il
lustration, $50,0OO,OO0 a year, it can re-
duce the tax levy to that extent, and the
people will receive the benefit of the is
sue just in proportion as they pay taxes,
for they will save to that extent the taxes
which they would otherwise pay"
Scrip could be issued, he stated, to
pay for the construction of the Near
aqua canal, ship canal from Buffalo
to the Hudson river, and another from
the Mississippi river to Lake Michigan.
All these improvements could be had,
according to him, without costing the
people cent.
Furthermore, he asserted any avail
able coin in hand-cheap silver preferred
could be used to take up matured
bonds, and the coins SO used to be re-
placed with paper money.
Bryan was fiatist then, and is one
now, like all Populists. He is ready
to add to the paper currency, not merely
$50,00O,O00 year to tighten taxes, but
the greater number of millions which
would be required to construct the canals
spoken of.
He does not contemplate the redemp-
ton of this flood of paper money-not
even in 50-cent dollars. He assumes
that additional circulation is needed,
and that these copious issues will take
care Of themselves.
They would not. They would begin
to fall below the 5O-cent level. Then
there would be complaint that there
was not enough money" and more
shinplasters would be issued AS the
volume increased the value would come
to be worth about five cents on the dol
lar.
Bryan is full fledged fiatist If he
and his hackers get into power the first
thing they will do will be to coin So
cent dollars. The next thing will be to
issue what they call money to Tighten
the burden of taxes" and to give en-
ployment to labor" The Populists favor
the latter mode of distributing their pa
per trash and SO does Bryan, their NOM
inee.-Chicago Tribune (Rep)