Evening star., 1897-04-30
WITHOUT A DOLLAR
How q San Francisco Wholesale Busi-
ness is Managed.
CONDUCTED BY CO. OPERATION
Checks Are Issued That Locally
Circulate as Cash.
THE LABOR EXCHANGE IDEA

| The Attorney General of the United
| States was recently called upon to de-
! eide whether checks not redeemable in le-
| gal tenders could be taxed. The conclu-
sion was reached that they could not.
Connected with this question is one Of
the most interesting labor problems of
| the day. and the leaders interested, one
Of whom was in Washington a few days
| ago. gave the following account of the
! enterprise to a Star reporter:
There is" said he. "at No. 322 Davis
| street. San Francisco. large wholesale
business house that has done q business
OF $4,000 withing the last eight months
wholly without money. Nor is it in debt
for one dollar. 1t expects to go right along
doing business in exactly the same way
without money. 1t has grown from a very
small affair, year ago, to its present
healthy proportions by the same methods.
ana bases its future expectations upon
what 1T has accomplished. 1t claims to
missing money entirely-having nothing to
do with it.
The Labor Exchange.
This business concern is the Labor Ex-
Change 1t is not a mere local cooperative
affair. The Labor Exchange is a national
institution that. in spite of the sneers and
prophecies Of failure that 1t met at it's
inception and that have followed 1t along
Its course seems to have reached a point
where 1t may demand respectful study and
consideration.
The idea upon which 1t is founded is
very simple. It's purpose is to employ every
man who has an opportunity to produce
anything by finding a market for the pro-
duct-to find some other man who wants
the product, and who has something to
exchange for it. 1t is by this means that
the use OF money is dispensed with.
shoemaker. for instance, wants bar
rel OF Hour. He gets to work and makes
a whoie lot of shoes Of the value of the
thing he wants. takes them to the ex-
change and receives the -four II he wants
sonetning sor ,g that is not in the exchange
for instance, If he wants a new set of
teeth-he Is given a check or checks of
the value OF the product he leaves there
ana gees away to some dentist vino be-
lore, Will accept the checks for his work
Inc dentist Is not required to take the
SHOES In exchange for his work-the checks
WI VIII be accepted at the exchange for any
even limited to this. These checks are
accepted by score or more of other busi-
ness houses In almost every line of trade,
SO widely has the movement spread
Labor Exchange checks are coming into
general circulation and serving not merely
as substitute, but in some respects as an
Improvement upon money. They are an
Improvement to the extent that they serve
All the purposes in facilitating exchange
without being subject to taxation
Checks Not Taxable.
This question has been raised at Wash
ington-the institution has reached such
proportions as to have forced such atten-
tion-and the Attorney General has de-
ciared that inasmuch as the checks were
not redeemable in legal tender they could
not be taxed. Every chack n ba hor
Exchange found IN circulation represents
some product of labor. They are redeem
able IN labor or the product of labor and
nothing else. That is the whole scheme.
THE leaders of the Labor Exchange
movement are fond of telling a story that
illustrates their theory plan as well as
ANYTHING can The people of the Island of
Guernsey felt the need of a big market
place. They did not have the capital to
put up the necessary building ard it was
proposed In their council to issue bonds.
send commission to Paris to sell them
and with the capital SO raised do the thing
they desired. The governor of Guernsey
however. was a long headed fellow and
something of new-fangled flnancier him
self He said:
" If you wish to build market for the
French people that is the very thing to do.
If you wish to build a market for your
selves 1t is very foolish thing
But how are We to build the market?
said the councillors. We have no money .
You have plenty Of men to do the work,
have you?
"'Oh. yes; there are many laborers who
iced employment they said.
You have the timber necessary and
the stone and other materials on the ISL
and?
" oh. yes: plenty of it,
Then why not go to work and build it?
You have all that is necessary. Instead of
issuing interest-bearing notes. which other
people VIII gladly accept. why not issue
notes without interest and accept them
yourselves? The notes may be made ac-
ceptable by the town for rent in the mar
ket, when it is ready for business, and in
this way redeem themselves
1.-The governors advice was taken. the
market house was builded, the notes circu-
lated at par during the process and after
ward until they all finally found their way
had been built and paid for without the
employment of money or without the pay
ment of one cent of interest.
The Present Plan Is the Same.
''This is the plan upon which the Labor
Exchange is working. 1t has met with
great difficulties. chief of which is doub. IS
to the possibility of getting it's scheme on
stable footing. AS it grows this doubt dis
solves, of course, before the proof furnished
Branches are being established all over the
country and especially in the west. There
are fourtshing branches in California at
Fresno, Ventura, Red Bluff. Visalia, Ba-
kersfeld, Tulare, Santa Maria, Eureka Pla-
to. Carpenteria, Santa Paula San Diego
Stockton, Oakdale and a dozen other ,:laces
These exchange all manner of goods
with each other. There are such things as
socks and cigars from distant a point as
Reading, Pa, at the Davis street exchange
broom handles from New Whatcon, Wash.
fruit extracts from Fresno, as well as fruit
from as far south as San Diego. A con-
signment of shirts and overalis is being ne
gotiated for with a branch in Ohio. A lot
of dried fruit was yesterday shipped to
Idaho Falls. Idaho. in exchange for pork
N Arr in
Kings county, N. Y, in exchange for dried
fruit.
1.-The branch at Red Bluff Is putting up
spice mill. the branch at Los Angeles Is
putting up a shoe factory, and the branch
at Olathe. Kan. Is building a grstmill
The branch at Salem, Ore, is a step in ad-
vance of all the others, and indicates the
high water mark of the moyeu.ent
Railroad Proposed.
''These organizations have undertaken to
build a railroad on exactly the plan upon
which the people of Guernsey built their