Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1900-02-07

What we need is a system of gov
ernment banks, which shall place the
credit of the entire people behind the
individual deposits and loans and like
the bank of Venice, make: credit ON
the books of government bank, as
GOOD as actual money, based upon the
nations credit. 4G5s ei,afi-
There is no way of dispensing with,
or avoiding, the continued utilization
of the peoples surplus credit, or saw
ings, enormously termed ..bank
Credits unless we should adopt the
altogether absurd and impracticable
policy of issuing new money to take
the place of the money. or token
credit, saved by the people; leaving
such savings to constitute an un-
certain, though potent, factor in pro-
ducing intermittent periods of infia-
ton and contraction. Specially fall
lacious is the theory expressed by Mr.
Harvey that if the volume of money
were increased to $4,000, ,0oO,o there
would be no borrowing done.
Under our present system of bank
ing the result of such policy would
be that bank deposits and loans and
discounts would be multiplied by
three, as expressed in terms of money
| units, or dollars, although, as de-
posits or loans, representing and be-
| ing secured by the same amount of
wealth-capital. 1t is a popular mis-
conception that this fund of $4,000,-
oeO,O0o.' enormously called sbank
| credits," is fictitious. Tt consists of
individual holdings of the common
| credit of the people, evidenced by
entries upon the books of the banks
who. under the present system, are
the nations bookkeepers. Money, in
its simplest analysis, is a certificate
| that the holder thereof has performed
certain services for or parted with
tcertain commodities to the commu-
that the community, severally and
collectively, owes him like value in
return. This fact is as well. and
surely recorded by an entry upon the
books of a bank as by the possession
of a money bill, provided the bank is
good. And a borrower wishing to use
another's credit thus held had as well
borrow through a bank as from the
individual, provided the rate of in
terest is no higher. Were there three
times as much actual money, or even
of gold and silver coin, in existence
as at present, this commonwealth
fund of the community would con-
! tinue to be-, as it is now, four times
as large in volume as the volume of
money. The issue is not the elimina-
tion of the factor termed "bank
credit but by whom and for whose
benefit shall such fund be controlled
and distributedAby private corpora
. tions for their own benefit, OF by the
people and the banks. AS to money:
shall it be based upon bank credit, or
upon the credit of the nation-the
peoples wealth? As to the deposit
and security and loan distribution of
the peoples several surplus savings,
tor token-credit-mo shall its
safe keeping and judieious, careful
loan distribution be undertaken and
guaranteed by irresponsible banking
; corporations, or by the people them
: selves, in their sovereign capacity, as
u cooperative banking corporation,
through governmental agencies, which
shall charge a rate of. interest barely
sufficient to pay theeexpense of trans
acting the business. Give us govern
GEORGE ~ wARD