Daily capital journal. (Salem, Or.) 1896-1899, 1898-04-09
The Gage P|aR'
For Increasing the VoIumn of
Bank Currency,
And Retiring Greenbacks and Treasury
Notes Now in Circulation.


(From the Philadelphia Americana
The Gage plan deserves attention, for
it is one further step towards the
elimination of the desires of the
speculative cliques aiming at the ex-
ploitation of mankind by the creation
of bank currency monopoly, and
though there is little chance of this
step being furthered during the pres
ent session of Congress, 1T is quite
probable that it will be favorably
acted upon by the by the full commit
tee. and not at all impossible that IL
will be given serious consideration
when Congress meets next December
after the election of a new House.
1t is plan that if lnaugurated would
change bad to worse. 1t would not
change worse to better, but quite the
reverse, yet it is called plan of cur
rency reform. If it was called a plan
to inaugurate bank currency mono-
poly, plan for the exploitation of
the masses and the enrichment Of the
few it would be better named.
1t is put forth not as a plan to
create bank currency monopoly, but
as plan to more firmly commit the
United States to the gold standard.
This is what is proposed. The plan
is to retire first the greenbacks and
then the treasury notes of 1890 and TO
induce the banks to effect this retire
ment without cost to the government.
OF course, to induce the banks to do
this. TO assume burdens that now rest
upon the government, there is only
one way, and that is to confer privil-
eges upon the banks in return. 1.-THE
proposed bill" says the report of the
committee, imposes upon the banks
the whole burden of carrying and sus-
tanning the debt represented by the
eenbacks," the whole burden Of
providing for the redemption of these
notes in gold. 1t would do so by per-
mitting the banks to impose grievous
burdens upon our people. 1t would
impose a burden upon them, namely,
of providing for gold redemptions, of
meeting che costs of maintaining the
gold standard, "a burden which i'm
posed they would not carry and sus-
tain. 1t would make the banks will
ing to have this burden imposed upon
them by permitting them to impose
burdens upon the people. The bur
dens that the banks would thus be
permitted to fix upon the people
would not be relaxed when the banks
broke down before the burden fixed
them, but would rather become more
grievous,
The first proposition is that if the
banks will deposit with the treasurer
of the United States greenbacks or
treasury notes there shall be issued
to them two dollars in new notes for
eveay dollar deposited, In consid-
Grafton of the banks depositing ma
tional notes that the government now
holds itself bound to redeem in gold
on demand, and thus virtually retir-
ing such notes from circulation and
relieving the government from the
burden of providing for their redemp-
tion, it is proposed that there shall
be issued to the banks an equal
amount of new notes based upon the
security of the notes deposited and
an additional and equal amount Of new
notes based on the assets of the banks.
The notes issued against security Of
The national notes deposited it is
proposed shall be known as National
Reserve notes because Of their Sc
curity, because of the pledge or the
national government to redeem the
notes deposited in gold, should the
demand arise.
In the event of a bank failing to
provide for the redemption in gold. on
demand, Of the reserve notes issued to
it on the security of 1greenbacks or
treasury notes deposited, it is pro
posed that the national government
at once redeem in gold these green
backs, ETC., deposited and thus provide
for the prompt redemption in gold of
the reserve notes Of The failed bank,
such redemption to be followed by the
cancellation of such notes. And thus
it is that the national government
would stand pledged to the ultimate
redemption in gold of the new notes
issued to the banks and against de-
posits Of greenbacks and treasury notes
should the banks or any bank fail TO
provide for the redemption of such
notes. And so IL is proposed that
these notes should be known as Ma
tional Reserve notes, the nation as