The labor world. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1896-current, 1898-09-17
Let Us Suppose.

Inc government establishes It's bank
at each county seat, and in each city
having 5000 people or more. for the pur-
pose of loaniug money, the postal savings
bank being in each principal post-office.
The government would not need to put
any money into the bank. It would
simply open a room and say to the peo-
pie. Bring forward your money, leave
it with us and we guaranty you against
loss. Leave your deposit with US for
three months or more and we will allow
you three per cent. per annum interest
on your deposits" That would be high
interest but that rate of interest would
bring out all the hidden money and into
the bank, and forthwith the bank would
be filed with the peoples money-with
gold and silver and paper money:
How easy to get bank full of money.
That offer of three per cent. in long
time deposits would cause Bridget to
open the folds of her dress and take out
the roll of money hidden there for years.
Patrick would unbuckle his belt; the
old lady would empty her teapot and
stocking; the farmer would take his
boarded gold from his cellar; the old gen
tleman and the business man from the
safety deposit drawer; and the hundreds
of millions of dollars would pour in and
the bank would be filled to repletion
with money. The world would be as
tonished at the volume of money which
would come out of hiding when safe
place was made to keep it.
What next? Loan that money at four
per cent. per annum Interest," uniform
rate of interest in every state and terri
tory in the United States.
What an outrage on tax burdened
people to prounce down on a poor man
with high interest as soon as he comes
west. What an injustice that the rate
Of interest may be six per cent in New
York, ten per cent in Minnesota, twelve
in Dakota and eighteen in Idaho. It is
thus that money loaning sharks have
Slapped the vitality of western enterprise
and kept the western people under op.
preston. When man gives the re-
CURED security in the west why shall he
be taxed double the rate of interest
which his brother pays in an eastern
state?
Even four per cent. would be high in
terest hut we will concede that the gov.
eminent may start at that rate in order
to fit into present methods and rates OF
interest without creating any great
financial change.
Let us see now how the government
bank would do general banking bust
ness.
Jones wants to borrow one thousand
dollars. How will he get it?
The government has established a
rule, we will suppose, that each borrow.
or must give to the bank actual bona
fide security worth twice what he wants
to borrow. Thus government apprais.
or comes to town once year, and, assist
ed by the assessor, carefully decides
what all kinds Of property is worth un
der the hammer at forced sale. A record
is made of this appraisement. Jones
knows the appraisement placed on his
property. On the morrow when he
wishes to borrow he submits two thous.
and dollars worth of his securities to the
inspection of the local appraiser who
certifies that it is as valuable as when
appraised last spring and with this Ger.
tificate from the local appraiser and his
security, he goes Independently over to
his bank and our bank-everybody'e
bank, marches readily up to the paying
teller of the bank who examines the
security, and, seeing that the papers are
all right, receives the security and gives
Jones deposit slip indicating that he
has deposited to his credit one thousand
dollars; or, to make it easily understood
the clerk counts Jones out thousand
dollars, not in gold, not in silver has
no use for either of these metals he
prefers and receives paper money.
Yes, paper money. He has forgotten
about the metals; forgotten even that
they we're ever in existence; forgotten
them as we have forgotten the currency
of old colonial days-the currency which
consisted of skins and shells, the latter
of which, strung on a belt, were called
wampum, the white shells representing
one value, the black another.
X
Behold what Jones does with this
thousand dollars which he receives in
the government bank. Today he would
put that thousand dollars of currency
into recepticle of some kind and take