The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1897-10-21

Val hSN supply q ouAhNAChb NOluAhO Va
money for the needs OF modern COM
merce. You know we must have some
form OF paper money, and you have
seen that this now consists Of about
$1,000, 100000 The new bonds, then,
with which this form OF government
paper money is to be retired would also
amount to $1,000, 100000, and the rate
OF interest these said bonds are to bear
It has been suggested shall be per
cent.
What II Would Cost.
It is proposed that the bonds run for
80 years If all of them were taken by
the banks it would cost the people $780,
100000 per annum in the shape of in
terest. This multiplied by the years
to run, viz, So would make in interest
alone $1,500,000,O0O that this scheme
will cost the people when the bonds be-
come due, to which add the principal,
viz, $1,000 100000, and this would
bring the total sum up to$25OO 900, 900,
which the people of this country would
be forced to pay for the privilege they
would thus give the banking corpora
tions Of this country under the name
OF sound money and sound finance for
furnishing them with a circulating me-
dium of not over 100000 A
good scheme, you see, for the banks
or the people-which?
-. Another feature of this plan to which
attention should be called is, that as
only gold is to be a legal tender, then
not only the new bonds which will be
issued, but all Of the outstanding gov
ernment bonds, they would claim,
were payable in gold alone, when
today there Is not a single, soli-
tary obligation of the United
States government which can not be
legally and honestly discharged in Ell
ther gold or silver. Every holder of
a United States bond knew that this
was the contract when he bought the
bond. 1t is no excuse to say that he
did not, for 1t is explicitly stated that
this is so on the bond itself.
When he demands money better
than the contract calls for, say,
as John Sherman himself once said,
that he is an extortioner Of the worst
character. Suppose that any one OF
you had entered into contract with
your banker to pay him in either
wheat or corn when the debt became
due, and suppose further that when
the day OF payment came wheat was
worth four times an much as corn, and
that the aforesaid banker demanded
that you should pay him in wheat,
would you consider yourself dishonest
II you insisted upon his taking the
corn and canceling your debt? And
would you consider him honest IL he
refused to do so, but still demanded
and insisted that you should give him
wheat?
1t Perpetuates the Debt.
But all this means still more. 1t
means the perpetuation of the national
debt. The whole national banking sys-
tenn Is based and rests upon the ma
tion's bonded indebtedness This in
debtedness now amounts to only about
$900,000,0O0. If general prosperity
should ever return and become perma-
nent this form of indebtedness would
soon be thing OF the past. And when
this is accomplished 1t means the end
of our national banks as banks Of issue,
and it is only as such that they are
Objectionable.
This power Of issue, however, is the
one above all others that these insti-
tutions as a whole wish to retain, and
II they can succeed in forcing congress
to pass bill on some such plan as is
now advocated by them 1t can not help
but result in the country never being
free from a national debt. And still
there is more. The population, and
therefore necessarily the volume Of
business of the country, must continue
TO increase enormously, and this being
80, in the nature Of things either more
willing to see continually falling
prices.
There is no escaping this PROPOSE
tion, for property buys money just as
money buys property. If any form Of
property Is scarce and there Is a great
demand for 1t, more money must be
given by those who wish to obtain IL.
So, on the other hand, II money 10
scarce In relation to the exchanges 1t
has to effect It will be come dear, and
more property than before will have
to be given IN exchange for It. Now,
under any Of the plans that have been
proposed for the revision OF the cur
rency, how are the bankers going to
furnish the necessary increase to meet
this increase OF population2
is the government TO continually
Issue bonds for this purpose7 Now,
what Is q bOnd2 Why IL Is ainlnlu a