The evening times. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1895-1902, 1897-04-17

In former article appears to be the key
note OF the new Campaign of education"
proposed 10y Senator Hanna and his Sound
Money League. SO called.
II Mr. Mahleman's contention is to hold,
he ought to he able to show that business
conditions are at their worst where credit
facilities are at the minimum; that is, ac-
cording TO his table and chart, in thirteen
Southern States; with thanking power"
ofoaly ST. 80 per capita of the populations;
and comparatively ameliorated in thirteen
Western States, where the banking power"
is S34 50 per capita. We have exposed the
fallacy OF that idea, by citing the notorious
fact that material conditions in the South
are, and have been since 1898, more
favorable than in the West.
But, granted that the situation is equally
hard and distressful in both sections, in
order to convince the country that it is
due to deprivation of the credit blessing
and not to contraction of the currency, or
Nldb C'BublItu N1ll pO1tt tCOuOIliC tduSts
OF less Importance, it would be necessary
to show that like conditions obtained when
the nation enjoyed plethora of the money
of redemption, the credit facilities OF the
affected sections being then as poor or
worse than they now are.
At this point the argument of the single
gold basis contractionists becomes ridicu-
ICus on its face. Nobody needs 20 be told
what every reading American knows. that
the Western Empire grew up, flounshed
and only was made possible by the AIDE
quacy of the currency volume, to meet
enormous demands and sustain the strains
incident to the sudden development OF vast
resources and the establishment of innum-
cradle new enterprises OF vanous kinds In
like manner it is repeating trite history
to say that Just as long as money was
plenty in the country at large, prices were
good, business profitable, and agriculture
nourished in the West.
AT no time within the memory of man
has the mass OF American citizenship
enjoyed as large share of material pros
perity as immediately after the Civil war.
TIE Southern States, obviously. must be
excepted from this statement, since they
had been wrecked in the struggle, and
were yet destined to the pillage of re-
construction days; but elsewhere the state
nsent holds good The volume of currency
in use in 1865, by the 24,000,000 people
at the North. amounted to $50 per capita.
or, if the seven-thirty notes he included, to
$50 per capita. At that time the total
actual amount of currency in use by the
nation aggregated 160,197,l47, AMI
this vast sum was at the service Of
$4,000, 900 people They made good use
of it. and for the short time that elapsed
before contraction came, prosperity smiled
on everybody; and the poorest laborcr had
money in his pockets. This condition or
affairs actually alarmed she Hon. Hugh
McCuHoch. then Secretary OF the Treasury,
but soon TO become a London banker. In
his report for 1865 ne declared: There
is no fact more manifest than that the
plethora OF money is undermining the
morals OF the people by encouraging waste
! and extravaganza
! Later, through contraction and deuioue-
| tization, the morals OF the people doubt
less have been restored to their pristine
| purity, and all temptation to waste and
| extravaganza" removed. by the with
drawal from them of all means OF tn
diligence.
on JulyI, 1896, the Il zoo, 900 popula-
| ton OF the United States had the benefit
OF d total volume of currency. including
| Sl57 900, 0GO of bank credit money,
| amounting To 81 ,132, 652,s6 or $ IL ,544,-
a7e less than $4,000 600 people had in
| 1865 This would give per capita Of
currency in existence OF S15.95. But TO
find the net volume Of currency available
| for use, we should first deduct S51 ], 1885,
T3q held by banks, and that would leave
free, outside Of the Treasury and banks,
S559, a6s. 129, or less than eight dollars
per capita.
Mr Muhlernan, Senator Hanna and the
Sound Money League are all wrong Tie
greatest contraction OF currency possible,
and the widest extension OF banks and
a.credit facilities beyond any question
will always serve the purposes Of barAs
and credit lenders: but that is not the
ideal good toward which the plain people
of America are struggling. What they
want is more money, and, with that in cx-
istence and susceptible of circulation. they
will manage to prosecute the activities of
national life and progress, with mini
mum of credit facilities, which always
mean debt and interest-and tribute to
Mammon.
Tough Republican Hides.
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