Amador ledger., 1900-08-31
DEPARTMENT OF ISSUE AND
REDEMPTION.

The new currency law which con-
Rress enacted this year, and for which
the Republican party is responsible, es-
tablishes two new departments in the
United States treasury. Perhaps it
would more nearly accord with the ex-
act truth to say that new system Of
bookkeeping is established for, as mat
ter of fact. the money will be kept in
the same vaults just as before and the
separation of the funds will be only in
keeping the accounts and in the control
over them.
One Of these new departments is the
| department Of issue. This department.
will have control, under the instruc-
hons of the secretary Of the treas.
ury, of all the national currency the
government may cause to be issued and
paid out to the people to be used as
money.
OF course this currency so paid out
is not real money, real basic money,
money of ultimate payment or "prim-
ary" money as gold is. Gold is the only
real, basic, primary money recognized
by the commercial world, but gold is
heavy to carry around and the people
east Of the Rocky mountains are not ac-
| customed to using it as we are In Cali
fornla. The Democratic party, which
before the Civil war established the old
state bank system of counterfeit shin
plasters, spoiled the people of the east
for using hard, or metallic, money by
driving it all out of the country with an
inflated bank currency, so currency of
| representative money has to be furn-
ished them i'll place of the nice, clean
metal itself. They want this currency
because they want it and not because
it is good for the country to have it for
it is not. The actual coin would be
much safer in the hands of the people
than in the treasury vaults at Washing
ton and elsewhGre.
All the currency that is issued has to
be redeemed whenever the holder wants
the gold for the paper, so the new de-
partment of redemption is the twin
| sister of the department of issue and
must keep the faith of the department
of issue with the people of the country.
To do this rather complex system Of
depositing, and exchange back and forth
between the redemption department and
the treasury is resorted to.
AS basis for redemption $3.50, 100000
in gold coin and bullion is placed to the
credit of the new department of re-
demption.
This is very considerable sum Of
money but outstanding against this sum
of primary money are the following
forms of currency debt of the govern
ment drawing no interest) directly re-
deemable in gold, on demand.
United States notes green
backs) $346, $50, ,016
Treasury notes June !, 1900. 82,629, 900
Total ......... ......... -. .$429, ,3O9, ,O16
The treasury notes above mentioned
are fast disappearing from circulation,
silver and silver certificates being sub
stituted for them SO it will not be long
before the department of redemption
will have only the greenbacks to sus-
tain in circulation by the $3.50, 100000
in gold set aside for that purpose, a per.
fectly easy thing to do SO long as the
control of the national treasury is in the
hands of financiers and not conhed to
the untender mercies of financial ad-
venturers.
But Mr.. Bryans's platform speci-
fically demands the withdrawal from
circulation of the nearly 800 millions
of national bank notes and the substi.
tuition for them of greenbacks and sill
yer certificates. AS the silver certifi-
Gates already out constitute the most
vulnerable point in our financial system
Bryanite congress would doubtless
double the burden of greenbacks to be
Sustained by the department. of redemp.
ton and so place in peril the entire
circulation system, bringing on another
era of want of confidence. AS the law
now is the national banks must redeem
their own notes and the government is
relieved Of that burden.
In the hands of its friends the na-
tional currency is perfectly safe. In the
hands of its enemies it will prove un.
safe. 1t is based on the theory that a
currency is safe only when it is re-
deemable on demand, that it is not
money, but promise to pay money and
that the ability to pay on demand is the
test of its credibilty among the people.
Mr.. Bryans party is made up of f.
atists who hold to the heretical doc
trine that it is the government stamp
that makes money and that the more
paper afloat bearing that stamp the bet
ter. This is mania rather than a
theory than which nothing can be more
destructive to any monetary system.
It means financial anarchy.
Now that the country has only just
gotten upon sound financial basis, a
basis whose soundness is attested by all
of human history, to have great pc
.itical organization declare its intention
to kick that basis from under the ma
TONS feet and substitute financial chaos
for it is reprehensible. Why not let
well enough alone?
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