New-York tribune., 1907-11-18
THE MONEY PROBLEM.
Il Solution Suggested-But GoUern-
mtent Is Not Hoarding Cash.
To the Editor Of The Tribune

Sir: The stock Of money in this country is
S25ooOoo00o, or SIT a person (nearly as low as in
European kingdoms), and has not been diminished
or increased Gas appears by the money laws OF
Congress IN 1887 1888. 1861 1852 1863 1854 1866 and
1870 FOR generation. when it about $40 per-
son. Our present ninety million persons found
1t for several insufficient to carry their myr-
lads or transactions. One fair way somewhat to
Increase it would be for our government to coin
into money all gold hereafter offered and actually
extracted from mines within our country and to
charge it's offerers the services of our mint an
adequate seIgniorage.
Gold and silver coin, only legal tender money
should be deemed and made not a commodity or
property. but medium which to float and
move transactions and with which to do away
with the necessity Of exchange by barter. Dealing
in money should be made as Improbable it is
immoral. Every man who deals In money is op-
posed TO increasing its stock and TO export tax
upon money leaving our country. Every man who
deals in property is in favor OF increasing and
keeping here the stock Of money the that
thinks he is not surely would be if he saw the dis
tncton between money and property which wise
men have for centuries. and which the Penal
Code (SectionS 52S and 3TS) and Every
dealer in money should be forbidden by penalty of
felony from preying upon the necessity of fall
ing borrower. He needs and makes panics and
failures. He gets rich from outrageous rates of
interest. His specious schemes for "an elastic
rency," for CHECK currency for bank credits
currency and for assumption of a function of
government should be condemned He wants real
dollar rare and dear that 1t will buy a hearts
blood. He should be whipped out of the temple of
money. There is not in the world any legitimate
business dealing in property for the borrower to
invest his loan in that pay more than six cents
for the of 81 in it for the full 365 days, and If
he borrowed his call loan at greater rate he must
fail mo greater rate of interest upon a loan Of
money shall be charged" says the law (Chapter 53S
OF the laws of 1879, than &c upon 800 for one
year" That wise law has exception Chapter
237 OF the laws of 1882 and Section IS Of the bank
I Ing 1gu~A
banks and bankers may charge interest at any
rate" That evil exception is the chief cause of all
panicS and failures 1t makes this oppressive and
dishonorable trick and gamble of dealing in money
a lawful business 1t creates and presents the
spectacle of call loans bearing bankrupting rates
OF interest. of the borrower abandoning his collat
eral pledge OF stocks and bonds and of the banks
and bankers unable to sell his stocks and bonds for
money, and OF helpless depostors unable TO get
their own money back. That ruinous exception
should be repealed
Conversion helps to cause pancs and failures If
an executor or any other fduciary receives a de-
post Of money and falls pay 1t he is guilty
and punishable. But II banker or bank receives
deposit of money from his depositor and fails to
pay 1t over to him he is not punishable on the
theory. says the law, that the deposit erects be-
tween them merely the relation OF debtor and cred
itor. Plainly the law for the guilt should lay
the same punishment. The quanfcations possessed
and the stock owned by a stockholder in a banking
corporation other corporations to be eligible
for director in it should be great enough TO be
Quired by additions the Penal Code) to in
sure public confidence in his character and capacity
and that he will never compel his corporation to
commit usury. bribery. check kItlng. conversion,
waste. overcapitalization, merger and such kinds
OF crimes. 4 director and his corporation should
be prohibited from holding stock, bond. salary
other interest in a similar. rival competing
parallel corporation Otherwise, radical reformers
will arise and will, perhaps. get law giving only
one vote to each stockholdcr. instead OF, as at
ont vfntn -rI Of Gfnn ~h
would wreck all corporations at least drive them
down to the level OF partnerships
So that banks and bankers should never be supe.
rior TO government. they seem TO be as
sumng one of its functions at present, they should
have a competitor. say. in every branch postoffce
which should be a place for deposit of money
the extent OF 5000. without paying any interest
and which. of course, would be sound as our
government itself At times poor persons may not
like to risk their ready money with banks for any
rate OF interest nor be able TO pay rents for safe
deposit boxes. They would trust our government
with It. thus keeping IT in circulation. The in
come of government. roughly S2,000OO0 a day,
instead OF being deposited in bank is boarded up
in our governments vault. If It is a good thing
TO hoard up its income until It is ;jOOO00O. why is
IL not good thing TO hoard II up until IT IS the
entire $25o0,OJO.0O) leaving every without a
dollar and the prey Of foreign bank usurers?
In word, let laws be enacted coming money.
abolishing usury making conversion a crime
establishing postal banks and directing the deposit
the chief causes of panics and failures will be de-
stroyed. w. II. X.
New York. Nov. II. 1907
Tho writer in his first paragraph makes the
stock of money in the country $2,J0O,OO0,OOO
and circulation per capita of SIT. AS a mat
ter of fact. the amount of money in the country
exclusive Of Treasury holdings according to
government figures in the November circulation
statement. is S2,S76, ,36S 696 and the circulation
per capita $33 30 Since November 1 the
amount OF money in the United States has been
increased through arrivals OF gold from abroad.
II the writer consuts the daily Treasury report
he viii: find the government does not hoard it's
money. 1t has in national banks $227.-