The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1897-01-11
AN OUNCE OF COMMON SENSE.

AN OUNCE OF COMMON SENSE.
The New Ulm News characterizes as
absurd the argument that there is no
need of an increase of the circulating
medium by the unlimited coinage Of
64-cent silver into 100-cent dollars, for
the minor reason, aside from it's inner
ent wickedness, that checks and drafts
nave superseded actual money in max
ing the exchanges of the country, even
in the case of those which represent the
retail, hand-to- mouth transactions.
This latter invasion of the domain of
actual money by credit instruments is
especially absurd" because the editor
of that paper has made inquiry among
the business men of his town and found
that less than per cent of the store
bills are there paid with checks. "Any
person with an ounce of common sense
and experience" knows, therefore. that
Comptroller Eckels' summary Of the re-
ports from several thousand banks Of
the nature of the deposits made by the
retail dealers with them, showing that,
the country over, 81 per cent Of the re-
tail trade is paid with checks, must
have been made in total ignorance Of
practical business affairs" We are
quite willing to admit that no more
than an ounce Of common sense is need
ed to qualify an editor to thus sum-
marily dispose Of the facts thus sub
stantiated. A larger allowance would
enable him to realize their value and
significance, and also to recognize that
New Ulm is not quite all of the United
States
We are agreed with our New Ulm con-
temporary that more real money would
be beneficial, but we differ very ma
terially-as to how it should be supplied
and what it should be. Real money is
composed of those metals all the world
has agreed are suitable for that purpose
and is willing to accept as money. No
other money can exist than that so ac-
cepted and approved. Such money is
provided solely by private industry. The
raw material is, for general convenience
and security of quantity and purity.
made into suitable shapes and weights
by the common authority called gov
eminent. Its value, like that of the
material it is made Of, is determined bv
the same laws that fix the value Of all
other commodities. These laws are be-
yond the jurisdiction of congresses TO
control. With governments minding
their business and not assuming the
functions Of omniscience, there cannot
be too much Of such money, and their
minis should be open to the transfer
| nation Of such metals into money
shapes in any quantity the producers
| care to bring to them.
mere would not then be enough real
money made to make the exchanges of
| trade and commerce. There never has
been and probably never will be. Hence
| the same distinction exists that exists
| in real money, the supply of the ma
| terlaI belonging to private industry
with the government exercising the al
| lied function Of insuring solvencv
| Credit is private individual product
| of those possessing the needed facili-
| ties. AS all men cannot produce gold
and silver, so all men cannot produce
credit. Many can produce none. One
| who can create 1t has.as- much natural
right to use 1t as has another one who
| has produced wheat, say. But when
he would use it to represent money.
then the government, which is only all
OF us, has the right to see that it is so
used as to injure no one. Not every
one who produces gold or silver changes
1t into money FORM and so not every
one who creates credit would use if as
q money representative; but if he
would, he should be as free to do so a.
the miner is, subject only to the analo-
! gous regulations assuring it's perna-
nency. This is the common sense of
the money question, and we really have
confidence that it does not reouire
much more than an ounce of that much
needed quality to understand it.