The Elk Mountain pilot., 1922-12-14
Edison's Plan to Reduce Cost of Living

the earliest year of the twenty-five is
dropped.
'In four or FIVE years the twenty
five-year average would be lses and
the three year high war prices will
bring the averages down so if wheat
sold at even SO cents it would not i'm
pair the value of the unit money.
"If person wants peanuts he buys
peanut certificates, or if he wants
rice he buys rice certificates, or any
thing else which the government ac-
cepts for storage; hands in the cer-
tificate and the amount of unit mon-
ey loaned, and the commodity is at
his order for shipment. The unit
money you notice is common to all
articles.
"The unit money cannot fluctuate.
The capacity or possibility of huctu-
alton is entirely transferred to the
certificate, which is subject to the
prices due to supply and demand.
1T is not necessary for the gov
ernment to pass any laws, legal ten
der or otherwise, with unit money.
This unit money, together with
gold for paying foreign balances,
might we'll be the basis of our cur
rency. The business of the world is
rapidly increasing; in a few years a
single commodity like gold will not
be sufficient
"1f it were not for the war, we
should not have probably more than
40 per cent of our currency backed
by gold, and even that subject to be-
ing partly taken away from US. We
should have behind every paper dol
lar commodities of the warehouse
type, including gold worth more than
81 on forced sales.
with credit money, which is also
based on credit and commodities,
there seems to be no reason why the
present reserve bank and system
should be distributed. The commodity
or unit money could be made the le-
gal reserve instead of gold alone.
"You note that unit money is re-
deemed and again paid out probably
every fifteen months. When wheat
and cotton comes into warehouses,
unit money is issued in huge amounts,
just when needed by the farmers.
This automatically solves the bank
ing problems which now arise at peak
demand, for currency expansion and
contraction of unit money can never
do harm. There is not any illusion
in it. 1t can't stay out because they
must have the unit money to get
their cotton or wheat out.
again these commodities are quick
liquidators. The certificates can be
sold on the exchange by telephone.
'In books on the history of banking
1 find for eight centuries it's the
same old story-'suspension of specie
payments. This need never take place
in an agricultural country. There
are a number of administrative de-
tails, such as if the stored material is
not removed within the time allotted
the same will be sold at public auc-
tion. The equity after Storage charges
is placed to the credit Of the owner.
as shown ON the duplicate certificate.
THE warehouses are to be built
gradually over period of years by
money received from taxation. The
warehousing charges include depre-
citation and per cent interest on
the cost of warehouse and handling
machinery"
In the light of current events, the
working of Edison's plan in regard to
coal is interesting.
A coal producer would mine ton
of coal. This he hauls out to the
nearest government coal reservoir.
The government gives him a certifi-
cate for one ton of coal and pays him
half of it's value, on the twenty-five
year average basis, in cash. This en-
ables the producer to mine coal every
day the year round, practically
financing his operation on the money
the government turns over to him
every day.
Now, a buyer wants 100 tons of
hard coal. He purchases certificates
for 100 tons on the open market at
the prevailing price which has been
determined by supply and demand,
turns these certificates into the gov
ernment with the amount of unit
money that has been advanced on
them and the government delivers
100 tons of hard coal to him from the
nearest reservoir. He, in turn, deliv-
ers this to your house. adding rea-
sonable charge to his cost for ship
ping and handling.