The times., 1899-06-11
CURRENCY EEGfSLATI0N.
senator stewart Analyses the Plan
of Allison and the Committees.

gfesSlOnaI Flnance COmHltteeS, tnhl tue
plan for monetary legislation devised by
the Republican House Caucus Committee
on Finance at Atlantic City will be adopted
by the Republicans. The plan is under,
stood to have the support of the Admins
tration, and although the Senate Commit
tee did not adopt 1t formally at its meeting
in New York on Friday, various members
OF the committee have spoken OF II as
meeting their ideas on the subject thor
oughly. The four provisions OF this plan
are stated as follows:
First-Government obligations shall be
redeemed in gold on demand.
Second-When greenbacks are redeemed
in gold they shall only be reissued for gold.
Tbird-National banks may issue notes
to the par value OF their deposit of Gov
ernment bonds, instead of to 80 per cent,
as at present.
Fourth-NationaI banks may start busi-
ness with a minimum capital OF $4,000,
instead of $4,000. as at present.
There is much difference of opinion
among Republicans as to the advisability
of taking up any financial legislation what
ever during the coming Congress. Promi-
nent Administration men have expressed
the opinion that the interests of the party
will be better served by allowing the en-
tire money question to drop out of sight as
long as the country will permit, and pros
porous business conditions continue. The
above, however, in all probability, will be
the scheme embodied in the measure pre-
sented by the party if action is taken.
Senator Stewart, of Nevada, the cham
pion of bimetallism, in discussing the pres
ent attitude of the single gold standard
party last night, said:
II do not believe the gold party desires
to take up currency legislation at this
time. In accordance with the doctrine of
letting well enough alone, it will prefer
to postpone action of any kind as long as
possible. While crops are good and man
dfacturing industries are furnishing the
! laboring classes with regular wages, even
| If they are small. 1t is hoped by the par
ty that there will be no overwhelming pub
| lie insistence on a change OF the laws. The
present laws do not entirely suit the
money classes. the banks. but they are
very fairly satisfactory.
/ This plan of the Republican finance
committees is along the old line of the
| conflict between the people and the banks:
Shall the Government retain and exercise
It's sovereign power to issue money or
delegate it to its favorites? Take this
question out of the controversy and there
would be no underhand plottings OF COM
mittees about the currency. These Sc
cret maneuvrings are all for one purpose
and that is to find a way TO further usurp
the functions of government without let
ting the people know what they are do
| ing.
The banks desire to ISSUE money and
to take the power away from the Govern
| ment because 1t is profitable. There is
| nothing so profitable as iss&ing money. If
| a man can print motiey on paper or any
| thing else and put it in circulation, barring
slight drawbacks. he makes so much
| money clear, and the nearer he can come
to putting his own token money out and
keeping 1t out. the enearer he can come
to getting something fors nothing. Bank
ing business is as muchs private business
as farming, and the Issuance of money is
no part of banking Business,
The banks issueS money secured by
Government bonds on which the Govern
ment pays interest. TheaGovernment thus
pays them to be allowed to give them
| credit with the people. 1t takes all the
risk and they all the profit. They draw
interest on what they owe. Practically
their notes never return TO them and are
| thus so much money created for them.
THE creation of more banks on smaller
capital might and undoubtedly would make
| more bank credit but there are already too
many banks. III there were fewer banks
with larger reserveszt the caypmunity would
| be just as well accommodated, the depos-
| itors better protected, and the calamity of
| panics less frequent. The swelling of bank
credits is great temptation to banks and
| 1t ought to be restrained within reason
able limits by law rigidly enforced.
| Currency reforms which ignore the
| fact that all Governments should reserve
| to themselves the exclusive privilege of
| creating legal tender money are bungling
makeshifts. The highest tribunals of all
! civilized countries hold that the power to
create legal tender money is a necessary
| attribute of sovereignty. 1t Is the Gov
| ernment that makes legal tender money
| in the same manner that it makes mu-
nicipal law. Municipal law in a general
sense commands what is right and pro-
| hibits what is wrong The law of legal
| tender simply commands creditors to re-
| ceiye in discharge of debts paper metal,
or any other material, It makes no differ
! ence upon what the law is printed or
| stamped. The law of legal tender creating
| money has no operation outside OF the
| country creating II any more than the
| criminal statutes of such a country has
| Foreign commerce is exclusively conducted
by an interchange of commodities. Bal
| ances between countries are not paid in
money. They are paid in gold, silver,
wheat, rye, corn, potatoes, or any other
commodity. The best money in any coun-
| try is the money which the law DEGREES to
| be full legal tender, sand that money is
| worth as much all over the world as il is
in the country creating it, less the differ
| ence OF exchange. IL the Government is
( so feeble that it cannot enforce its laws
against criminals it may not be sufficiently
| powerful to enforce laws compelling the
receipt of money in payment of debts.
But every Government that can enforce
| law can create money, to be good as long
| as the Government remains. Money does
not depend upon credit. but upon munic-
(, ipal law.
! The other great object in view in all
| the schemes for currency reform is TO
more thoroughly commit the United States
to single gold standard. The value of
each dollar of money when created de-
pends upon the number of dollars in cir
culation compared with the property for
| sale. If dollars are few they will be
| dear: that suits the creditor If dollars
are plenty, they will be cheap, and that
suits the debtor. Over this question of
dear or cheap dollars there has been ire
4 prcsstbie conflict since prehistoric times.
The ricn who invest In bonds, which are
money futures. always contend for as small
| volume of money as possible. The rea-
! son why they want one metal is because
it will furnish less money than two metals.
In the fifties there was a violent attempt
| to demonetize gold because the creditors
thought it was furnishing too much money.
When the great sllvermnes of Nevada and
other Western States were discovered then
| the creditors thought that silver ought TO
| be rejected because II furnished too much
money. The question OF the quantity of
money is all there Is in the gold or silver
question. and as long as metals are used
there will be contention to adopt the
metal which is scarcest and dearest, be-
cause the. dearer the metal. is in which the
debt is to be paid, the more property and
labor it Will require to pay the debt and
the richer the creditor VIII be and the