The herald., 1897-11-08
THE REAL MONEY QUESTION

THE REAL MONEY QUESTION
The money question, stripped of its
many disguises. comes down to this;
Shall the government itself provide the
money which constitutes the circulating
medium of the country, or shall bankers
and private parties be entrusted Will
that duty? Many times since we have
been a nation has this question, in one
form or another, come before the Amer
lean people. 1t has come up in connec-
ton with national bank acts and state
banks of issue, and it is really the ao-
sorbing question today. Its agitation
has caused panics and will continue to
cause panics until it is finally disposed of.
The nature of the question is such that
| quiet in the financial world is almost
| impossible while it remains unsettled.
The making and issuing of money is a
function of the government which the
Constitution was intended to protect,
but it has failed to do so. Bankers and
private parties have been striving for
the privilege ever since the republic has
had an existence, and that strife is now
going on more earnestly and in a moro
subtle manner than ever before. 1t is
pretended that this money-issuing pre-
rogative is banking business, and 1t is
loudly proclaimed by interested parties
that the government ought to go out Of
the banking business and permit them
to supply the circulating medium of the
country.
This is the real ground work of
the present monetary agitation, and il
is apparent enough to every thinking
person (who is not himself striving for
the privilege of exercising this preroga-
tive) that quiet in reference to the sub
ject of money cannot prevail until this
matter is settled, and settled in favor of
the Constitutional prerogative of the
government. When it's exercise is so
from citizens to produce fluctuations
and panics by restricting the volume of
the currency, which they can always do
when controlling it's issue. 1t is propo-
sition too plain for argument that the
authority that issues the money, be it
the government or the bankers, has the
power to control the quantity and to
create a stringency 1t can make money
scarce or plentiful at pleasure, and as
money, like any other commodity, de-
pends upon supply for its value, it is
within the reach of the money-issuins
power to seriously affect the prices of
all property the value of which is meas
ured by money.
To be more specific. when money is
scarce it is more valuable and prices are
low; when plentiful it is cheaper and
prices are higher. To be perfectly clear,
and at the expense of repetition, we will
say that when money is scarce and there
fore dear more property of any kind will
be given for a dollar than when money
is abundant and cheap. All money
dealers understand this proposition we'll,
whether the plain people do or not The
very important figure in all business
transactions, and this also is well un-
derstood by the moneydealing frater-
nifty. 1t is this that gives such vast i'm
portance, in their estimation. to the
proposition to enlarge the volume of the
currency by the reconciliation of silver
There is this grand difference con-
stantly operating between the issuance
private parties: The government Is
without motive for reducing the guam
tity of currency below the requirements
of the people, and thus producing q
stringency, while private parties have
the direct inducement of profit for them
selves in creating fluctuations in the
volume and value of money. To that
end, as occasion offers, they will restrict
the quantity by Withholding it from cir
culation and regard the same as strictly
legitimate business transactions!
AS it must now clearly appear that
bankers and private parties, when in
trusted with the important 1unctlOn OIL
supplying the country with the circulat-
ing medium, have it within their power
to seriously affect the value of all prop
erty, is it not strange that the people
have not long since restricted the issu-
ance of money to the government, as is
clearly contemplated by the Constitu-
tion?
1t will be a sad day for the republic
when the government goes out of ''the
banking business" as the money-chang-
ers call it, and delegates to them the
issuance of the circulating medium OF
the country.
CALIFORNIA NORTH AND SOUTH