The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1897-11-09

Whatever may be the practical out
come of the work now being done by
the volunteer currency commission au-
thorized by the Indianapolis conven-
ton, the suggestions it is receiving
from men prominent in business of all
uds will not only be valuable to that
body. but should be helpful to congress,
on which rests the duty and response
bility of action. The work of the COM
mission and the publication Of the let
tiers of advice and suggestion it re-
ceives form a continuation of that cam
paign of education in finance in the
necessity of which we have been hay
ing such severe lessons ever since the
rise of greenbacksm. The letters pre-
sent all shades of opinion from those
that would radically change the existing
system, if so good a word may be APP
piled to so patched-up a thing, to
mere notifications of it, correcting its
worst features.
We gave yesterday the communica
lions of three gentlemen whose points
of view are widely apart. Mr.. j. J.
Hill writes from the viewpoint of a
man of large experience in railway
management and financing; Mr.. Bull
lit from that of an astute lawyer who
has given to the study of economic
questions a large portion of his life,
and Mr.. Leech from the position of a
conservative banker, who takes &C
count of things as they are rather than
of things as they might be, realizing
the difficulties in the way and, we
think, giving them undue weight. Mr.
Hill would provide an issue Of inter
convertible bonds, into which the gov
eminent notes might flow during
periods of redundancy, and out of
which they would come when cash
could be used more profitably. Bearing
a low rate of interest, they would not
be likely to command that premium
that the present longtime bonds bear,
which renders them Improbable as a
banking basis and makes them a ia
vorite permanent investment with men
of means. This evidently assumes a
continuance of the greenback and
other forms of paper representatives.
Mr.. Hill is in accord with the best
opinion of the country, however, when
he suggests that our monetary system
would be put on a stable basis were
the government to restrict itself to the
issue of coin and remit the issue of
paper substitutes to private enterprise,
under such governmental supervision
as would secure it's absolute and I'M
questionable sOlvency, leaving the
quantity to the operation Of the in
flexible law of demand and supply that
serves to regulate all other enterprises
of men. The furnishing of credit
money is as much the province Of in
dividual enterprise as is the production
of the bullion that forms the basis OF
our metallic coinage, and the govern
ment might as properly assume the
monopoly of our gold and silver mines
for the conversion of their product into
complete monopoly of the supply OF
credit money. Mr.. Hill is unquestion-
ably correct in assuming that, were
the government to do this. the gen
eraI financial conditions Of the country
would soon adjust themselves to a per
manent basis, which would provide ad,
equate means for carrying on the bust
ness of the country"
With the remission OF note issuine
under such supervision to private en-.
terprise; with liberal provisions thai
would encourage while safeguarding
the issues, such as the establishment
of branch banks; with all notes made
promptly redeemable in gold, the sug-
gestion that the odious tax of 10 pei
cent on bank notes, so repugnant tc
the spirit of our institutions, might be
safely repealed, is we'll founded. Its
ostensible purpose the prevention OF
wild cat banking, could be as readily
secured by the supervision by the gen
eral government of all note issues