The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1908-02-11


/ have read in the Congressional
Record of February the bank credit
currency scheme proposed by Mr..
Fowler, chairman of the committee
our banking and currency.
| How to say in a few words what
! the objections are to this 20 pages
| in the Record, SO that your readers
! who have not given money much
thought can see it's defects, Is a diff
| f1cult task.
He says: Every depositor of a
! bank should have the option of TAX
! ing his credit at bank in such form
as will best serve his conveience-
either book credit subject to check
or current credit in bank notes"
This proposes an unsecured unlinit-
ed issue Of bank notes, insured by a
gold fund of five per cent of the de-
positS in such bank, deposited with
the government, which gold fund shall
also be. drawn upon to secure de-
pcsitor in banks against loss if any,
he says: Credit currency does
not mean expansion, nor does it mean
imitation"
Expansion of what? Surely he
means OF gold. He can not mean of
paper money; because why issue an
unlimited quantity of bank notes IN
less they are to be used as money?
Why initiate the lOanable dollars
when you do not increase the debt
paying dollars?
A credit dollar is lawful to loan;
but not lawful to pay the debt Dor
rowed. 1t violates the quantitiye
theory of money as to debtors, to
make creditors the opulent.
1t makes a large and unlimited
quantity to loan and a very limited
quantity to pay the debt. 1t is trap
money, by which gamblers and money
Boaners rob money borrowers.
But he says: do we not know
that We are carrying 500, 100000 of
bank notes, $500, 100000 of silver, and
$346,OOO,O 900 of greenbacks, ON a mere
pin point of gold, amounting to only
$l5O,O0O,000 And yet, it is suggested
that we may with safety add $3.50, 000,-
900 more of government quantity of
paper, $500,000,000 more of govern
ment paper; yes, a billion more of
government paper, which must in the
very nature of things lead ON to other
hundreds of millions and billions more
of fiat"
First, he calls promises to pay gold,
fiat money. Now, a promise to pay
gold is not fat money 1t is credit
-AAOAAOS- NO4u 40 IuO Ol1lg udL uIOlSy
we now have. But every dollar,
whether gold, silver or paper permit
ted to circulate oughtato be fat; that
is, lawful money. 4
Second, he would drive Congress
out Of coming money and regulating
its value" by turning that business
over to the banks
Congress can not divest itself of
that power, even if it agrees to do so;
because it is in the constitution. No
contract of any kind by anybody can
destroy that power. The supreme
court in Hepburn VS.. Griswold fell
down over that; but in Knox VS.. Lee
they took it back and declared that
the legal tender applied to debts. con-
tracted before as well as after its
passage. Every body knows the DOW
er to coin money and regulate its
value belongs to Congress as a con-
stitutional power, and every contract
they make is subject to that knowl-
with constitutional power, even by
contract with Congress
There may be less folly in a banks
promising to pay gold than there is
in governments promise to do so.
Because the governments promise
Is dangerous, because Congress has
the power to levy direct taxes, on
laHQ Improvements and dwelling
houses, payable in gold. Congress has
power to levy direct taxes as we'll as
to coin money.
The governments promises to pay
gold is not only dagerous, but, in
view of the pin point of gold.''
criminal against the taxpayers, who
as a finality can be called upon by a
direct tax to pay in gold. This fact
is another reason why the government
ought not to donate its promises to
pay in gold TO banks for their use and
benefit.
Donating government promises to
pay gold to banks without considera-
ton, is such a foolish act as to border
on congressional criminality Mr.. |
Fowler said:
The people in this country, in Con- |
gress and out-of it, seem to be think |
ing of isolated facts, of isolated cir |
not at all realizing that |
great laws, as certain in their opera |
tion as the law of gravitation, must |
inevitably control the situation and |
that the measure of our misfortune |
and misery will be the degree of our |
folly"
Does he mean that disaster is GER