The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1898-01-26

!
/ Of its paper. 1t matters little what is pro-
posed the effect is the same: universal ces-
! sation of business. universal closing of
/ shops, universal bankruptcy and universal
! distress. On the other hand, no political
! party viii suggest anything else than that
/ the bank shall redeem its issue. dollar for
/ dollar. in the best money known to man,
| and not much the fraction of a far
\ thing in amount. nor the fraction of day
/ in time, will be allowed. The public IS right
fully a Shylock in its dealings with banks.
and demands its pound of flesh every time
md always Suppose Off such thing be
| SUPPOSEDLY that some political party
! should successfully advance scheme by
which the bank would be permitted to dis
| charge its liability with deprecated coin,
or with irredeemable paper, the courts
would hold it unconstitutional as viola
ton of existing contracts. Not so with the
| government
SOME POSSIBILITIES.
The government can suspend specie pay
ment any day of the calendar year, and no
one can be heard to complain. The govern
ment may repudiate it's debts, change the
value of it's money, or provide for an ire
deemable currency. and no one has a claim
on which he can obtain even hearing else
where than on the floor of Congress. 1t is
true that foreign countries might compel
the payment of our foreign obligations but
! there is no tribunal of competent jurisdic-
! ton except arbitration war.
Does any one suggest that these consider
ations present very remote possibilities?
Not So Who will read the party platforms
of the last quarter of a century and say
| that any financial policy is safe which is
| made to depend upon the continued success
! of any political party? Who will insure the
/ perpetual Vindication of any policy? Then
! during all the tendency of a political cam
| paign, when the credit of the Nation is IN
/ Volved, run is sure to be made upon the
| government treasury and the entire bust
| ness interests of the country stop and with
! bated breath await results. What business
/ men demand is not protection for the banks
1 but protection for neutrality-suspicious.
| against political agitation The body of men
| before me are not engaged in banking but
| in manufacture, in trade and commerce,
| and think l voice their sentiments when
| / plead for a monetary system based on a
contract, enforcible in the courts, rather
| than one the toy of every political adVen-
| turer
There seems to be a widespread impress
sion that the banks will reap a great mar
vest if they be permitted to buy interest
| bearing bonds and deposit them with the
| government, and then issue a like amount
| of currency to be loaned out at interest
Armed with an argument based on these
suggestions the OppoSerS OF sound money
and currency reform seek TO arouse pregu-
dice, and l think we are too apt TO dodge
| the issue when we ought manfully TO meet
| it, fearleSSly to combat it, and Logically ana
successfully to refute it. Suppose, IL you
please, the government should refund It's
! entire public debt at per cent. interest
and turn the bonds over to the banks at par
/ tOf course i am assuming something i WOulu
not advocate, nor consent to, but m 40
! ing it for the sake of the argument) L say,
suppose il were to issue per cent. bonds
sell them to the banks at par, ana allow
| the issuance of currency to the full face
there of. What would be the result? 1t
would appear exceedingly profitable ana
would invite capital very rapidly into bank
ing channels.
Does any one suppose that the rate of in
terest would remain where 1t Is now t In, Inc
paying 8 per cent dividends for the last
five years. In very short time competi-
ton would force the rate of interest so low
that banking would be no more profitable
than at present. 1t would have the same
| effect as a bounty on sugar; the price to the
consumer would be reduced to the extent OF
the bounty There has been no scheme de-
Vised, whether involving the subtreaSury
system or warehouse certificates or loans to
| individuals, that would so certainly reduce
| the rate of interest as the one / have Sug-
| ges%ed. 1t is, of course, impossible and inn
| practicable, and is suggested only as illus
| tratiVe of a great principle that underlleS
the whole subject. 1t is necessary that some
! measure be adopted which shall ultimately
transfer the issue of paper currency, other
than coin certificates to banks under ma
tional control to the end that currency
shall be issued the parity OF when , can pc pc
secured by good and approved assets, am
pie to insure the safety of the issue.
MONEY AND PRICES.
An impression exists in some localities
that the volume of money has something to
do with the price of commodities. No ar
gument is more fallacious and none sup
ported by more sophistry. What is the pri-
mary purpose of money? Is it intended that
it's volume shall balance all property? By
no means Enough currency is needed to
supply the demands of a great commercial
| people, and to afford them a medium of eX-
change Money is not consumed by its use.
Suppose the whole Nation to be a great
/ xxba far n
| the South, tomorrow in the middle States,
the next day in the North. and on the Pa
| cific slope by and by. How many half
bushel measures will be needed to handle
| the crop? Will we require enough to hold
the eltire yield? Not at all. There will be
a demand for enough only to accommodate
every machine every seller, every buyer,
| every shipper, every warehouse man. Must
| they all be of government standard test?
| Certainly not. They must be of the same
| size, of the same dimensions as the govern
ment standard, but they may be of tenn
| porary make, and yet serve the purpose as
well as if they We're made of cast steel 1t
would be well to have few of government
test at every threshing station, with which
| to compare each of the Others So with our
money. 1t is well to have enough gold
aye, it is necessary to have enough gold to
measure and determine that every dollar of
contract and every dollar of bank issue is
of the exact value of the gold coin. To
make the test absolute the paper currency
must be redeemable directly or indirectly.
Whenever one can exchange paper for gold
the fact is established that it is of the same
value as gold; and there is no other test
possible. 1t is not necessary that our cir
culation shall balance our property. 1t is
only necessary that we have sufficient for
| the accommodation of every man, woman
and child who desires to use it, and who has
some for it.
He must have some commodity to measure
or he needs no test of measurement. He
must have something to exchange or he
needs medium of exchange. If he pro-
poses to exchange the labor of his hands for
food for his children there must be provided
for him sufficient currency to measure the
amount of his earnings. every penny of
measured by the same standard as the in
come of the millionaire. The fact that his
employer has much or little currency on
hand does not add to or detract from his
wages or the purchasing power thereof,
provided only his employer has enough TO
pay him. So 1 say we need sufficient vol
ume of currency to meet the requirements
of q great commercial country, enough to
supply every man, woman and child with a
medium of exchange who has anything to
exchange
AN ELASTIC CURRENCY.
This currency must be elastic. There will
be more half bushels needed in the South on
threshing day than will be needed seeding
day. The same thing is true of the East
and the West and the Pacific slope The
n cnetary system that shall stand the test
| of all time must be automatic in it's opera
lions. Wherever the demand exists there
| the currency must spring up in volume suf-
| fcient to meet the requirements of trade
| and commerce. This can be accomplished
| only by clothing the banks with power 70
issue. Then a small tax should he levied