The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1897-03-17


there might be chance for the re-
naming member to agree upon some
bill.
OF course there is no end of schemes
Of monetary reform advanced from
the standpoint of the gold contrac-
tionists, The trouble for the Repub-
licans is that no two men agree on the
same scheme. That this should be
so is not unnatural, for there are very
few men who know what the small
group of men who constitute the
pivot Of the contraction movement
are aiming at. These men aim at
what they cannot get If they espouse
1t openly, namely, a currency Of ire
deemable paper Issued and controlled
by the banks. So they set out to hide
their purpose and aim to attain their
ends by gradual steps and by the use
of blind tools. And so as they set out
to keep their tools blind and only in
struct them as to one step at time,
should not work out broad plan Of
monetary reform on which they can
all agree. The only plan that can put
our currency on sound foundation
under the gold standard is one Of Sc
we're currency contraction, which
means bankruptcy, and ultimately an
irredeemable bank currency. or
course there is no general agreement
on such plan, for as soon as blind
tool works out such plan the scales
fall from his eyes, he sees the enOr-
nifty of such policy, and thereafter
he can be counted to oppose all
schemes of the currency monopolists.
Thus 1t Is that the gold mono-met-
allists can evolve no mutually satis-
factory plan of monetary reform. Yet,
as we said, there is no end of schemes.
The latest plan is submitted by Ex-
Senator Farwell Of Illinois. His first
proposition is to fund all our green
backs. Treasury notes and silver certif-
icates, in a word all the paper cur
rency issued by the Government. into
bonds running one hundred years and
bearing two and one-half per cent in
terest. This much of his scheme
would be eminently satisfactory to
the currency mOnOpOlists.
the banks to use these bonds at their
par value for the issue of currency,
and to free this issue from all taxation
other than sufficient to pay the cost
of printing the notes at the Govern
ment printing offices. This part of
his scheme would not be so satisfac-
tory to the currency monopolists, for
it would put a limit to the iSs ue and
control Of our currency by the banks,
to which the currency mOnOpOlistS are
opposed. What they want is cur
| rency based on the general assets Of
the banks without any specific secur-
ity and over the issue and volume Of
which they could have untrammeled
control. This sort of a currency they
need to enable them to freely expand
and contract the volume OF money
which is what they aim at. for it is
this power that would confer on them
the ability to raise and depress prices
at will.
But the most noteworthy of Mr..
FarWells propositions is his last. 1t
is to melt up all the silver dollars In
what it would bring. This would
mean the throwing on the market of
close to 400, 100000 ounces of silver, an
amount Of silver equal to about one
eight of all the silver in use as money
in the world. The effect on the price
Of silver of throwing such an amount
of silver on the market to be sold for
what it would fetch can readily be
guessed at. 1t would depress the
price Of silver and thereby raise the
premium on gold as measured by sill
yer, thus further encouraging the ex-
port Of products, that come into COM
petition with the products Of our
farms, from sllver-using to gold using
countries. Thus we would have loss
to the government from depreciation
in the value of the silver thrown on
the market, loss to our silver miners
from fall in the price OF silver, loss
to our farmers and planters from low
er prices for their products, and, pro
tanto, loss to our manufacturers from
a curtailment Of the market for their
goods consequent on the impoverish-
ment of our agric ultural classes.