The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1920-05-27
TOPEKA STATE JOURNAL
Information Bureau
FREDERIC j. HAsKIN, Director.
Washington, d. @.
sIMpLIFIED CURRENCY.

average american VINO goes dDOut
with rubber band around his roll of
money or who carries lone bill or
two in his vest pocket, little appre-
ciates the fact that there are 10000
varieties of paper currency printed by
the federal government. The average
individual pays almost no attention to
| a detail of the sort of bills he accepts
as legal tender. He is likely to be
surprised if he opens his wallet and
finds that of the five bills contained
| in it no two are alike. He pays no
attention whatever to the fact that
some of those bills are silver certHi-
Gates, some of them are national bank
notes. end some of them are federal
reserve currency He merely has the
feeling that the United States govern
ment is back of them and that they
are consequently al good as gold.
In this last impression he is entirely
| correct. All of these bills are equally
good and if anybody uses as money,
paper which is not of proper issue.
paper which is counterfeit, the federal
government will trace that paper TO
! its origin and punish those who are
responsible for it, Occasionally, how
ever, the mere individual stops to
wonder if this extremely complicated
currency is q necessity or If 1t would
! be possible to get along with much
simplified method of issue.
Reduce 10000 to Six.
Judge James H Moyle, an assistant
secretary of the treasury, having
charge of the bureau of engraving and
printing, has been doing a bit of WON
dering and converting his speculation
| into investigation to find out If 1t is
not possible to simplify the govern
ment's issue of paper money. He has
reached very definite conclusions.
Those conclusions are to the effect
that it would be possible, advisable
and economical to substitute for the
10000 varieties of notes now issued
by the government, six varieties. he
believes that six varieties of currency
would serve the public purpose and
the banking purpose of the nation as
effectively as do the 10000 varieties
He believes that reducing very com
plicated currency to very simple
currency would be in the interest OF
the whole people. He demonstrates
that such a simplification of money
manufacture and issue would save the
government at least 100000 year.
Having become convinced from an
investigation in the treasury depart
ment of the advisabilfty of simplifying
the issues of currency Judge Moyle
took the question up with many in
dividual bankers and finally with the
American Bankers association HIS
plan has met with almost universal
approval from the members OF this as
n. n
in surmountable difficulties in the way
of this proposed simplification.
Experts Favor Simplification.
AS matter of fact the proposal is
not entirely new. Experts in the
treasury department have put it forth
from time to time for the past ten
years. John G. Herndon, one of these
experts still in the treasury proposed
a. similar reform in 1912 and Dill
was at that time introduced into the
house of representatives by John Q.
Tilson of Connecticut. The proposal
TO simplify the currency. has often
arisen since but has never been fought
to an actual ena ctment into law.
The currency issued by the govern
ment, the paper money which every
body uses, is a Topsy affair which
merely grew of itself. Every develop
ment of the banking system of the
nation seems TO have called forth
new issue of paper money. So compli-
Gated has grown the structure that few
people have the temerity to say that
they understand it, that, 1t is ridicu-
lousy complex and that it may be
easily siInplified.
The chief element in the multiplied
ton of notes is the fact that each
bank has considered that it must have
a. distinctive issue. Take the case of
the federal reserve banks, as an eX-
ample. This case is comparatively
such banks. For each of the twelve.
however, the treasury depart. ent
prints federal reserve notes. The notes
are different in each case. each having
upon it the name of the particular
bank for which it is printed. Thus it
is necessary that for this work twelve
different sets of plates be rnanufac-
tured, twelve different lots. of money
be printed, kept in stock, redeemed
and reissued. The same purpose
would be served if this currency were
not made peculiar to the given banks,
were exactly alike. It's issue would be
one-twelfth as complicated as at pres
emit.
Ono Bill for All Banks.
Where the kinds of notes issued by
the federal reserve banks are twelve
times as many as are necessary. the
varieties issued by the national banks
are s, 900 times as great as are needed
There are more than 5000 national
banks. Each of these has the au-
thority to deposit with the treasury
certain securities and have issued to it
certain amounts of currency. On an
average national banks ask for two
notes of different denominations, thus
making 10000 varieties altogether.
The United States treasury prints for
each of the national banks the differ
ent kinds of bills for which it asks. It
puts the name of the individual bank
on those bills. Then it accumulates a
stock of the bills of that bank that it
may respond to any further demand
for the currency. 1t also files away
the plates from which those bills are
made and keeps them against any
future demand. In every phase or the
handling of the money of that bank it
must be assorted and an individual
record kept of il.
Now, this whole process. says Assis-
tant Secretary Moyle, is confusing,
complicated. unnecessary and expen-
sive. No purpose is served in printing
a special currency for a special bank
and putting the name OF that bank
upon the currency. All national bank
notes are guaranteed by the federal
g6V ernment- They are dipped out of
the same general reservoir and event