Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1900-05-02
THAT .soUND MONRYn FAKE,
II the Government Must Guarantee Ma.
eionai Bank Money Why Not Issue
ALI Money Itself3

All money Itself3
| A great deal has been said and
written in the last four years about
sound money!" but what was ex-
actly meant by the term none of its
most earnest advocates, as far as we
have been able to learn, have sue.
ceeded in explaining. The term has
a catchy sound. and that seems to
have been the principal object of its
use.
If it may be judged from the work
of the most ardent advocates OF
sound money, we ought to find it in
the currency law recently enacted
by its friends in congress. We only
find in that law provision for a pro.
longed national debt and its in.
crease drawing ''two per cent. In
.terest," to be used as security for the
payment of national bank currency, in
case national banks fail to have suffi-
cient assets to liquidate their cur
rency debt which has been circulated
as money.
To common sense view that does
not have the appearance of very
sound kind of money. If the govern
ment must stand as surety for this
bank money, and pledge it's credit
for its payment in some other kind
of money, it seems far more sensible
for the government to issue it's own
notes in place of issuing paper cur
rency in the name of the first ma.
tional bank of Owl Creek, or the Sec
ond national bank of Raccoon Hollow,
and having the presidents and cash
iers of these institutions sign the
bills for the sake of identifying their
issue when the banks become insol-
vent or their charters expire.
If the government issued the cur
rency with Uncle Sans signature in
place of the president and cashier OF
the aforesaid Owl Creek and Coon
Hollow banks, there would be no ne
cessity for government bonds for Sc
curity. Uncle Sans known wealth,
| power and Importance in the world
| would answer asprincipaI and security
and greatly simplify the business. II
Uncle Sam as surety is competent
| and necessary to make the currency
| of the national banks 'sound money! q
Uncle Sam as principal would GER
talnly serve every purpose of making
money sound.
This Postulate not being denied
| and because it can't be denied with
out the sound money man is con-
founded by his own theory and ar.
gument, then there would be no fur.
ther use for national bonds for a
currency. Having no further use fol-
bonds to serve as money basis, the
| next most sensible and business-like
step for the government to take would
be to offer legal tender currency in
exchange for the bonds. to those
who owned bonds, whether banks OF
individuals. The national banks
could call in-or the government:
would-their circulation, deliver their
bonds, receive Uncle Sans legal ten.
der greenbacks and go about their
business of banking or whatever elso
they chose. No national bank charter
would then be required. A state char
ter with state regulation would an
swer every purpose and the govern
ment would be ''out of the banking
business" and what would be of in
finitely more Importance the banks
| would be out of the government bust
| ness.
If the principal, which is required
to stand behind and go security for
the national banks in order to make
their money sound, dispensed with
his agents and issued the currency
direct, it would be the very soundest
of "sound money AS sound and
strong as the government itself
But gold! What about gold? All
yes, what about it? The banks
wouldn't want gold as they would
have no notes to redeem. The people
wouldn't want any gold as they
would make all their exchanges with
the government paper money, as they
now do and have been doing for over
a third of a century. But our for
eign trade! How could the gov
ernment ever get along without gold ?
Well, the government isn't a trader.
1t doesn't act the merchant and deal
in foreign merchandise. The shippers
do that business and may be lef.
alone to manage as they always have
done. The trader who deals in for
eign goods never experiences any
difficulty in finding means to pay for
them, and probably never uses dol
lar of gold in his business transac-
tions, except in an incidental way.
Any one who chooses to look into
this "sound money" catch phrase will
not fail to discover that it is one of
the worst bunco swindles on large
scale ever practiced on an honest, con-
fiding people. Those 'sound money
frauds never mean gold as money
for the use ot the people, but bank
credit. Gold is to be used to corner
the money market, to work contrac-
tions and expansions and panics with.
In short, to cerve as gamblers chips
in Wall street stock gambling.-Ris-
ing Sun (Md.) Midland Journal.
When the People Rule.
The trusts are charging the govern
ment $545 per ton for armor plate for