The Lambertville record. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1872-1968, 1897-05-19
PER CAPITA MONEY.
DO PRICES DEFEND UPON AMOUNT
or UPON KIND or MONEY.

OR UPON KIND or MONEY
facts Whssh WI Hep 10 n..psf 4te
More Money peiu.ion Some rossrs
Tor the Silsesite Professors Vie Are
Conducting the National Financial
Capita Money Low In silver staadard
Countries should Deposits In Banks
lie Included In Estimating Amount Of
Money which Affects rrieess
One Of the numerous fallacies upon
which the free silver delusion is found
ed is the assumption by all silyerites
and cheap money advocates that prices
aIc regulated by the amount of money
in circulation and that there is any nee
essary relation between prices and
amount of money When driven from
one position, the bimetallists take ref
uge III another just as insecure and il
logical, but perhaps little more hid
den by sophistIy. The more enlighten-
ed among them do not now assert that
to double the amount Of money is 10
double prices They generally admit
that the rapidity of circulation and tho
use of credits affects the efficiency of
money and prevents an exact statement
of the relation between amount of mon
ey and goods, but that more money I'M
doubleday means higher prices, and vice
versa.
8
alent with silyerites is disproved i'll
many ways, Statistics of prices and
amount Of money per capita i'll use in
different countries Mt the same or at
different times fail to show any Ger
tain relation between prices and money.
Thus, while prices have declined in the
world and i'll this country very greatly
since 1900 or 1892 or 1872, the amount
Of money i'll use has increased ener-
mously. From u per capita circulation
of Sl.09 III 1900, $lI. G3 i'll 1852 and
SIS. 10 III 1872 we now have one of $23,
and this Notwithstanding the greater
rapidity of circulation of modern dol
lars and the vastly improved and ex-
tended use of credits viii some moro
ih'i'N hhNbNitN IIStNt tNDldiH lliS
great fall of prices i'll connection with
the great increase i'll per capita money?
Again, the per capita circulation of
tho gold standard countries of the world
~ about SIS; that of the silver stand
ard countries only about 81. 30 viii
some of the silyerite professors who are
conducting financial schools" i'll west
and AInf bNVaAtpttn 90 "a ,lai, 10,
their classes why prices i'll silver stand
ard countries are about twice as high
az Ill gold standard countries, although
tho per capita circulation is less than
onc-third as great? Will they explain
that the value of tho material from
which money is made has much more
TO do with prices than the amount Of
money i'll use? Will they tell their class
rs that gold has always been more val
liable, weight for weight than silver,
and that ii has recently become SO times
AZ valuable while most of the coming
ratios of the world were established
when gold was only / 3 or 10 times MS
valuable rs silver? viii they then ex-
plain that the value of both gold and
silver bullion is fixed in the long run
by the cost of production and that there
fore the value of bullion does not de-
pend upon tho quantity of money in cir
culation?
Will they try to mako it clear
that If ii takes five hours of labor to
produce Il bushel of wheat and five
hours of labor to produce 90. % grains
of gold one product will exchange for
tho other-that il, the price of wheat
will be 81 per bushel under our present
standard? Will they then add that if it
requires only 2le hours work to pro
duce enough silver t371t4 grains) to
make u dollar that tho bushel of wheat
will not exchange for less than two sill
Yer dollars, and that this is the reason
why prices are higher i'll silver standard
countries Will they explain the origi-
nal American financial policy, (which
was to keep the coinage ratio as close
as possible 10 the market ratio? Will
they ask the members of their classes to
vote to restore this thoroughly Amer
lean financial policy"
IL the corps of silver professors and
cheap money statesmen who are CON
Quoting the national financial school"
tan to answer the preceding questions
perhaps they are willing to explain
what kinds of money are included in
making up the amount of money which
affects prices, Does it include all kinds
of government or state paper money, as
well rs gold, silver and copper coins?
Does 1t include bank notes, which form
considerable proportion of our present
circulating medium? If you include
government and bank notes, why not
include bank credits? Are not more ex.
changes and greater exchanges effected
by means of checks than by means of
either paper money or coins2 Is it not
as easy for one who has credit" (de-
posits) i'll a bank to buy and sell as if
he had money III his pocket? Do these
credits or deposits necessarily consist of
money mt allg If man has that amount
of property, can he not have 81, 600, 600
credit with his bank ON which to draw
checks ut any time? Cannot such a man
buy and sell en- large scale without
the use of ordinary money? Why, then.
should bank deposits not be included in
making up the per capita circulation Of
country?
When the classes of the national
financial school, can pass an examina-
ton on these per capita" questions, we
will prepare set of questions ON other
subjects, as, for instance, the cause of
high and low interest rates, the advan-
tages of high prices, the blessings Of
cheap money, etc. Byron W. Holt.