The Grenada sentinel., 1903-09-12
"ASSET CURRENCY" :"

"ASSET CURRENCY"
Financial Schemes of the Republic
ans Are Devoid of Sound
Business Judgment.
The stand of Uncle Joe Cannon
against rubber currency" is evidently
having some effect on the republican
leaders, and it seems quite possible that
the asset currency" idea may be
dropped, and the scheme of loaning gov
eminent funds to banks without secur-
ity may be taken up in it's place. A
very significant utterance indicating
this, says the Indianapolis Sentinel, is
made by the New York Ffnancier. which
would hardly say anything detrimental
to Wall street interests, but it comedies
the general distrust of asset currency"
as follows:
The possibilities which a flood Of new
money invites are not pleasing to the ma
jority. Wall street has been its worst en-
envy in this particular. Treating Wall
street representative Of the speculative
craze which has swept over the country
within the past several years. the reluct-
ance to- open wider the gates of gambling
solid interests Of the nation view Wall
street with apprehension. They see In
currency expansion merely another 1nVl-
tation to a burst of speculative mania.
with its inevitable diversion of the nations
wealth from its proper usages. The farm
er and the merchant are not suffering be-
cause of any specific lack of money. They
have been hampered by the draining Of cur
rency into Wall street. Doubtless 1t would
be good thing for the farmer II, In the
,I~ y H4c h1y,l =
could issue him negotiable notes on Its
pledged guarantee, to meet his wants.
but instances where crops go to ruin be-
cause of financial inability to harvest
them are rare indeed. The farmer gets the
money somehow, and Wall street has to
stand back while legitimate needs are be-
ing satisfied. In a word, the feeling is that
any considerable expansion of currency
at this time would benefit speculative ana
not mercantile interests
The truth of this will not be questioned
by many bankers or business men who
have given any attention to the question.
and the belief of the general public that
asset currency" is speculative propo-
sitiou is we'll founded, for there has not
been scheme Of issuing it proposed that
would not limit it's issue to the big spec
ulative banking institutions. But the
Financier further says:
If congress will make it clear that the
treasury funds are not to be regarded as
4 fetish: If it will confer on the treasury
the privilege of disposing of it's current
funds as the merchant manufacturer
does, the great weakness OF our currency
system will have been met. True. times
may come when even such optional safe
guards will fall but let US not forget
that speaking in general sense. prosper
ity is beyond the power of law to CONTROL.
"Disposing of it's current funds as the
putting them in bank. without security.
But the difference is that the government
funds are held for the protection of it's
credit In the stability of credit money,
and the utility of the funds depends on
their constant availability. If they were
in banks, and were needed, the call for
them would aggravate the need and
could not be met by the banks. During
the recent decentralization in Wall street,
the government has had over $151 ,6OO,-
900 on deposit in national banks, mostly
in Wall street. It did not prevent the
decentralization, and If at the time the
the merchant. or manufacturer does"
IL "OuAu nave pl0C1plLaleU general
panic.
The unsecured loan scheme is just az
fully Wall street measure as the asset
currency scheme. The loans would nat
urally be made to the big institutions,
just as they are now, and would be used
to promote speculation. 1t would enor-
mously increase the power of the big
syndicates which have just shown their
power to control the market price of
securities without regard to merit. And
the safety of the government would
be linked to their success. for if the
syndicate using the governments
money should get worsted in the con-
test, the government would be out The
scheme is not supported by solitary
consideration of sound business jrig-
ment.