Aberdeen herald. [volume] (Aberdeen, Chehalis County, W.T.) 1886-1917, 1903-07-06
FOR MORE MONEY
NOT A DEMOCRATIC OR POPU-
LIST CRY THIS TIME.
Harpers Weekly, Staunch Supporter of a
Scarce Standard Of Mone,', Wants a More
elastic" Currency. Short Time AGO
II Was Pleading for the Letting Alone
Of the Money Question.

Who would have thought it? Harper's
Weekly, that thick and Thin exponent OF
scarce money, dear dollars, cheap goods
and plutccra,y in general, has at last
recognized that we need more nloney !!
1t says:
"The vision Of financial reform and OF
a mucl,-AeedAd plaeti, i'v Of currency,
held out before American husir.ss mer.
has passed in Il political wrangl. in which
jealousy and the spite of factions have
unfortunately figured. 1t was hardly to
be expected that short session Of con-
gress could have passed measure OF so
much moment and one So radical in COM
parison with our own Anticipated system.
But the crisis OF last fall demanded that
legislative precedent be set aside in the
universal clamor for ways and means Of
conducting the business of a constantly
expanding nation
Financial reform is needed and an
elastic currency. There is universal
clamor" for ways and mean. OF conduct
ing the business OF constantly expand
ing nation" What are the measures
advocated by Harper's Weekly? First,
an asset currency. This is defended on
the ground that we need an elastic cur
rency, one that the hanks can let out and
draw in at pleasure, currency that will
put the people still more at the mercy Of
the financie,s than they are today. If
an elastic currency is needed why do they
not provide that any person having a
government bond shall be permitted to
deposit i. and draw the money, foregoing
the interet while he uses the money?
This would give instant relief IN case OF
str;ngency. 1t would simply convert an
interest bearing non-legal tender obliga-
ton into a non-interest' bearing legal ten
der obligation. Nobody would deposit
the bond unless the money was needed
worse than the bond, and he would
withdraw the bond as soon as money
became easy.
According to the republican plan the
banks are to issue the money when
money gets scarce and then they loan it
out to the people at the high interest
rate which money strinyency makes.
The democratic plan allows person
having government bond to obtain re-
lief without the aid or consent Of any
banker. No advocate OF asset currency
will claim that an asset currency is as
safe as greenbacks, or as convenient or
as certain in its automatic action. Why,
then, is an asset currency favored? Be-
cause the bankers want it.
Harper's Weekly also wants the Aldrich
bill, which provides for the loanng OF
government money to the banks. Why ?
Because we need the money in circula-
ton. is the reply. 1t is less than seven
years since we were told, in the campaign
Of 1896, that we had plenty OF money in
the country and did not need any more.
Since that time the volume OF money has
been increased over five hundred mil
lions, and yet money is still SO scarce
that the financiers insist upon The loan
ing OF all surplus money to the banks in
order to keep business going-this, in
addition to the asset currency defended
by the same arguments. Ii we need
more money, as we certainly do in spite
of the enormous increase since '96, why
not use good money instead OF bad
money! A Nebraska banker who went
over to the republican party in 500 to
deprecated currency" made speech at
banquet recently and denounced the
asset currency. He said: "The silver
dollar which we condemned had nearly
fifty cents worth OF silver in it, but the
asset currency which they propose may
be absolutely worthless. left the demo-
cratic party to protect the country from
bad money. Is the republican party
going to reward me with an asset cur.
rency, which is infinitely worse than
silver" He ought to sue the republican
party TO, breach OF promise.
The democratic party believes that
more money is needed and it believes in
supplying that need with standard
, money-money that has been used for
thousands of years. The republican party
! first denied that we needed more money
and now it sets up universal clamor'
for an increase OF the banks promises to
pay. How long will it be before the
people OF the country recognize the il
reconclabe contradiction between the
arguments made against an increase Of
good money in 1896 and the arguments
made in favor of lot OF bad money