Evening star., 1923-10-19
'Neplies to Gotham Banker
w. j. Dwyer Takes Issue With
George Z. Roberts Article.
N the EN:tor of The Star

To the EA tor of The Star:
In an article in The Sunday Star
George IN Roberts, vice president OF
the NatiorNtl City Bank Of New York.
makes some statements which ] can
not pass unlA 'ticsd. He says: f'Money
| is simply a m y asure of production, and
the answer " nigh prices Is sum.
There is no suciA thing as overproduc-
ton. 1t Is an Nimpossibility." But
when the goods already produced are
not bought and ctNaspmea the ssnsi. !.
J TO cease production "a It'll consumption
catches up with prSduction. NOW,
why are not the ti1 ngs produced
bought and consumed?
! Because of the lack of = uying power
on the part of the peoplA not thaI
| they do not want the thinA proouceo
which make for happiness o. IKE; pvt
they have not sufficient of 4 lie titlitg
called money to buy with. . he fact
of the matter is, we have very
peculiar and abnormal financial con-
dttion In this country at the pe sent
| time. There are three times as IL any
dollars and one-haif Of the gold in
the world in this country than e
fore the war.
Naturally, the dollar is nearly one>
| third less valuable in purchasins
power: and yet there is lack OF
hand In hand with production Or re-
verse IT, and production goes hand
In hand with consumption. Every
one else gets less In purchasing
excepting the banks, which ask you
to pay more for the use of a 60-cent
dollar than before the war they
| charged for a 10p-cent dollar.
You can prod'tce goods to your
hearts content, out you cannot sell
the production. however much the
people might want IL, unless they
i have the money to buy with, and gem
thew VA
: is proven by the fact that the last
. reporIS OF lne director of the mint
showed the per capita circulation was
not much more than before the war
around s39 Git was s72 during the
war)-although there are billions of
| idle dollars In the banks and trust
! company vaults of the country which
ought TO be in circula tion, but re-
main inactive because the people will
not pay the excessive rates of inter
est demanded for the use of a 6o-cent
dollar.
Again he says: During the war
| evenly because there was a huge de-
mand for practically every COM
modify" True. Then the people had
money-the per capita above shown
cause money was one-third easier to
get than now. Now their desires are
the same and they would buy as
! freely, but they have not got the
1
| of the Federal Reserve Board, aided by
MIR. Roberts and the big financial in
] stftutionS, whose policy is TO make
money scarce in order TO charge
usuTious rates of interest.
III Mr. Roberts wants to know the
| real cause for present business condi-
! tionS and the lack of consumption for
/ the production which he refers TO, let
! him study the banking business, not
from the banks point of view, but
| the peoples, and he will learn that
manufacturers will not produce un-
! less the people buy. The present
| banking system of the country is all
wrong. The issuance of money should
! be entirely taken out of the hands of
; banks and issued by the government
1 the people-and loaned TO them at
| per cent interest on good security.
Then the people would borrow money.
there would be plenty in circulation
and the things produced would be
; consumed instead of lying on the
! shelf. w. J. DWYER.