Iron County news. [volume] (Hurley, Wis.) 1913-1950, 1923-07-07
PAPER MONEY
PIPE DREAMS
BY JOHN oAkwooo

Hitting the pipe seems like the
greatest way in the world to get
something for nothing,-a whole para.
disc full of Joy for q few whiffs Of
opium smoke. But
BY the way, the big lure about nat
money is that II seems to promise
about as much for nothing as a Whit
on the pipe. They are Just coming
out Of such q dream now in Germany.
Here is the way that German soft
money dream goes. Say in 1918 a
man put ten year mortgage for 20
900 marks on his farm. Marks were
then worth. in gold. about four
to the dollar. The debt. therefore,
was equivalent TO about $4,000.
In the ten years since that debt was
contracted, the German Government
has published, 80 to speak. trillions OF
paper marks. What happened? What
would happen to the price of eggs If
they had hen at Washington laying
a billion eggs a day,-even If they put
a government stamp on them saying
eggs were worth a quarter a piece?
German marks have gone down from
four 10 the dollar to 10000 to the
dollar.
Here is where the pipe dream gets
particularly good. The 1918 mort
gage is now due.-~20 900 marks are
TO be paid. Marks are quoted 10000
TO the dollar. Twenty-thousand
marks, one-sixth OF that. therefore
equal one-sixth Of a dollar,-16 2-S
cents On the theory that "a mark
is mark" the debtor could wipe of
his $4,000 mortgage for 16 23 cents
less than the value of dozen eggs.
That is, he can unless the pipe
dream comes to a sudden end. For
one thing the German courts are rul.
ing that the theory "a mark is a mark"
doesn't go.-that a debtor has to give
back fair equivalent for what he re-
ceived and that present paper marks
worth 10000 to the dollar are not
the fair equivalent Of former gold
marks at four to the dollar.
Furthermore all pipe dreams are
too good to be true. They are not
what they seem. The smoke is wear
Ing of In Germany and they are com.
ing down to earth with a dull thwl
1t ia beginning to be realized that the
net result OF a paper money night
mare is that producers are robbed
and spectators enriched. Farmers
are unable to raise prices for their
products fast enough % keep up with
the falling purchasing power Of IN
sound money. The value Of such
money slips away from them like q
handful OF dry sand. 1t brings back
to them less In purchases than they
gave Of their products to get 1t.
The farmer as result can't make
ends meet and when he gets into DIFF
fculttes the unsound money specu
lator steps in and buys up mortgaged
farm lands cheap-and thus 1t 10
mostly the Spectator who profits by
paying of the mortgages with cur
rency worth less than dozen eggs
unless the courts stop him.
More than that, II farm mortgage
debt can be paid of with almos,
worthless currency, SO can corpora.
tons pay OF their bonded debt,-the
bonds in which many farmers saw
4 ings, ana many a widows and or
phan's inheritance, are invested.
/ Before the war, with marks worth
I "a cents gold. the deposits Of the
thrifty In German savings banks wers
worth over FIVE billion dollars. Today
although these deposits have multi
I Piled many fold in terms Of marks,
/ their real value is only about half q
million dollars gold That Is what a
loose money" plan does for common
folks
Pipe dreams are wonderful while
they last-but shattered health, mis-.
/ cry ana despair are the final penalty
! The ones who profit are the dope
sellers. Unsound money is a pipe
dream--and the penalty is economic
ruin, misery and despair for the ma
tority. The ones who profit are the
spectators.
7. Hammer has charge Of Am