The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1910-02-03
NO ACTION ON CURRENCY,

When President Taft was in this city,
he dweIt with considerable confidence
upon the point that we should have a
revision of the currency laws during the
present session of Congress. and he
seemed confident that Senator Aldrich
was n great currency expert. was ear
nest in his endcavor 10 cure the existing
evils, and that he would evolve con"
sistent, thorough plan for bettcrment,
We are now, however, in the beginning
of the third month since the opening of
this session of Congress, and nothing is
heard about any proposed currency legs
lation. In fact, Congress is reported as
marking time" and apparently de-
termincd TO do nothing except TO pass
The appropriation bills and indulge in
certain Investigations of more or less
political importance.
That our currency system needs thor
ough renovation on consistent lines
which viii give us complete cure for
imperfectons, does not admit Of The
least doubt But who is going to draft
Surely Senator Aldrich can not do il,
and surely a vague, mystical proposition
| for central bank will amount to but
| little, AS it is now, the Government is
| compelled to maintain a costly debt in
order that basis may be furnished for
the. issue of national bank currency.
This debt is constantly at a figure ap
preaching the billion dollar mark.
Counting the interest at per cent, il
costs the country $20000,0O0 yearly to
maintain this basis for bank note issue
The Government obligations form that
basis. If il were not for the need under
the law Of keeping ont these Govern
mcnt bonds for banking purposes, this
country could have been ont of debt
long ago, 1t ought to have been out
of debt at the earliest practicable time.
a currency or banking system which
nccessitates the continued indebtedness
Of the Government is radically wrong
in its foundation and basis. The people
Of this country can not afford to pay
$20,00o,000 a year TO supply the banks
with currency. There is no reason in
it. There is no fair equivalent for the
money. The bankers tell us, to be sure.
that il Will not do for the Government
TO issue currency direct, Still, the Gov.
eminent IN effect and really issues this
bank currency. 1t stands at the back
Of the private business Of banking, and
its bonds are responsible for The bank
note issues. That is TO say, the bankers
think there is a great financial wrong
for the Government TO issue currency
direct but it is exactly the thing for
the Government to back the issue OF
private currency. This is because
there is profit in the issue of bank
notes. If there were no profit in it
the Government would be allowed to
issue these notes without the least pro.
Test But since there is profit. the bank.
ers consider il an unsound proposition
for the Government TO issue the cur
rency.
1t is simply the staple form Of the
old general proposition that where there
is profit to make, private parties or cor
porations must make that profit. Where
there is loss TO be sustained, the Gov
ernment should stand in and sustain
that loss. Under no circumstance do
they consider it sound for the Govern
ment 10 make any money. The only
sound thing is for the Government to
stand for any doubt or actual loss and
to altruisticallv back private enterprise
that is profitable. We insist, on The
other hand. that the Government should
either be out or in, Leave the Govern
ment out of the proposition altogether.
or let the Government do it all. The
idea that the Government must remain
continually in debt IN order to form a
currency issue is fallacious not only in
reason but in practicable operation. 1t
is fallacious in reason. because the Gov
ernmept has no real interest or func.
tion in backing the issue of private
notes, aud should not be called upon to
guarantee those notes any more than il
should be expected to guarantee any
other private business. 1T is faliacious
in practice, because the more currency
is needed, the less basis there is for it
in Government bonds,
But there is not the least indication
that Congress is going to bother itself
about the currency at all during the
present session, and there appears to be
so much nonscnsical talk about what
the Government ought to do for the
banking interests, with no correspond
ing return from those interests 10 tho