The representative., 1899-11-23

go = 4 =
The greater this reward, the greater the
stimulus to save. m.
WHAT makes msH willing to pay this
reward or interest? It is the power
such capital gives to increase product
'iveness of labor. The demand for loan
able capital depends upon the amount
of increased earning power that capt.
tai will give. The borrower must feel
1t will bring him more than he has to
pay for its use, On the other hand,
supply ct moneyyto. loan depends on. the
degree to which producers are willing
to abstain FROM present enjoyment Of
the earnings of fheig toll and the
amount of such savings they put aside
and accumulate =. s.e,s $50.
The degree to which men abstain de-
pends upon two things. First, the size
of the reward dof sustaining; second,
the severity of the sacrifices they must
make to save and the intensity of de-
sire to crafty pleasures they must fore
go in saving. 49,:
The intensity Of desire falls with
mans increased earnings and power to
command the comforts of life. The
severity of the sacrifices demanded like
wise declines
Consequently the rate of interest falls
as nations progress.
Socialist-Why not Danish interest al
with interest charges?
Wharton Barker-Because supplying
OF capital adds to the productiveness of
labor. The savings and accumulation
of capital gives to producers the means
of increasing the size of the stream
flowing into the fund out of which
wages and profits are both drawn.
And so does it make possible the
drawing Of larger dividends, as profits
and wages, and SO may those who pay
these capital charges find that they pay
less for the use of the savings of others
than those saving are worth to them.
Indeed, If they did not think the use of
such savings worth more than the price
demanded for their use they would not
borrow. ri
Danish all interest if we can But
the mere increase of money can never
do it, for money! only represents capital.
Such increase OF money would merely
make prices hig her, make each unit of
money stand for lesser amount Of
capital, and then, to acquire a given
amount of capital we would have to
borrow greater number of units. For
each unit we would, be charged less in
terest; but for the total number of units
required we would be charged as much
as before.
Mr.. Millin-As an English Populist,
or Fabian Socialist, not wishing to in
terfere with your American politics.
allow me, nevertheless, to suggest in
this connection how, finally, interest
even with COIN money will be gradu-
ally obliterated l cannot do better
than cite the Bergen method of dealing
with the drink traffic. In that town the
drink trade is in the hands of the civic
authorities who lease it to a private
company, regulating the action of that
company for the public well-being, but
allowing 1t to take profit of five per
cent on the capital. they have invested.
There are all the conditions of the ulti-
mate evolution. of trade. The private
dealers have been absorbed into one
great monopoly under state control
The system has not yet extinguished
the capitalist. But sooner or later the
time will come when the public of Ber
gen, gaining experience in managing
their own affairs, will begin to ask why
1t should go on year after year paying
$25O,O0O in interest for the use of bor-
for itself? Besides, like all other
traders, the capitalists themselves will
nnd las dangerous trusts are one after
another absorbed by the whole people)
tnat hve per cent, reasonable rate at
first, is considered by the people very
high; and so, iIcompetition among the
capitalists getting, keener and keener,
the rate will be- forced lower and lower
What the Bergen, people have done as
regards their beer we here in London
have long done in the matter of our
water supply -at
But before such radical socialistic
changes can come about the whole fab
ric of society must have been recon-
structed, and the opportunities of living
upon Investments: of money will dis
appear, as one by one they will have
been replaced by other opportunities of
a far healthier character.
H. B. F.-That goal will be reached
much faster If, in place of the bankers
dollar that he can increase or decrease
at pleasure, We first get an HONEST
LABOR DOLLAR. Such a dollar will
inspire honest, effective work at max
ing goods that will have demand value
in the market. Such a dollar will not
be issued to millionaires or tramps as
Labor checks" just because they kill
SO much time. Our dollar will not re-
quire Socialistic policeman to stand
over each worker to order him to move
on" A healthful competition will
promptly settle the relative number Of