The Bingham County news. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1918-1930, 1923-09-21
UNJUST RESULTS
OF MONEY PLANS
Unsound Currency Gives Sellers
Unfair Advantage Over the
Producers.
EXPERT EXPLAINS MONEY
Points Out Dangers in So-CaIled
Energy OoIIarS-Other
Plans Exposed.

How demagogues are using false
doctrines of so-called sound money"
to give themselves or the class they
represent unfair .dvantages at the
expense Of real producers is exposed
In the Journal Of the American Bank
srs Association by H. Parker Willis,
expert on the money question.
There is NO subject In whose name
more crimes against truth have been
committed than that Of sound cur
rency." Mr. Willis says. The term
IL always resorted to By dsmagogues.
At the present moment there seems
to be danger that 1t will be used
by q potential presidential candidate
IS representing the platform upon
which he expects to run. There 10
NO question that moro nearly and d.
rectly touches the immediate welfare
Of every class in the community"
Purpose Of Money ~,
Primary functions Of money and
currency, 1t ia explained, are to servo
Is . means Of exchanging goods and
IS q means Of measuring the value
Of goods. Mr.. WILLS continues:
"Demagogues and those who are
disposed to mislsad the public for
various Interior reasons have suc
ceedsd In disseminating an entirely
different view Of the purpose OF
money. Some Of them contend that
the soundest or best currency 10 that
which Is 20 arranged As to bring
about = fair redistribution Of wealth
They want q constantly depreciatins
currency-one which keeps playing
into tho hands OF the seller Of goods.
BY enabling him to count confidently
upon higher prices in terms Of money
20 that he pays the producer from
whom he has obtained them less and
less. TT Is A STRANGE THING
THAT THIS KIND OF CURRENCY
lSs OFTEN HIGHLY PRAISED OR
FAVORED BY THE PRODUCER
HIM SELF, NOTWITHSTANDING
THAT HE IS THE GREATEST SUE.
FERER FROM IT."
Energy Currency
~ There is another popular view Of
sound currency which aims to base
It upon natural products" or mat /
ural forces "-usually It is true, speci
Tying products or forces which have
been monopolized or can be con
trolled by the advocate Of such cur
rency. Thus from time to time there
have been schemes to issue cur
rency based upon or protected by
farm products stored in warehouses
or occasionally representing units Of
energy" or horse power.
z The rulers Of Soviet Russia at one
time attempted to Introduce cur
rency representing "Iabor time" each
man receiving a check representing
the number of hours of time he had
put n at work, while goods them =
selves were to be valued in terms OF
hours Of production time. Thus one
man who put in an hours time in .
street cleaning received the same g
control over goods as he who put in
an hours time at surgery. The
theory was that this kind of Sound"
currency enabled the poor man" Ia
get larger supply Of goods.
1.-THE trouble was that when those
Who could perform a certain kind OF
abor were not paid In proportion 70
heir effort they stopped making
foods. So it was not very long in
Russia before the sound currency
which was issued in favor OF the
,oor man had brought it about that
he poor man could not buy anything
With the currency. This was an un
ortunate kind Of 'soundness.' We
10 not want something like it in the
United States today, yet very SINH
ar proposals are now being made in
good many quarters that ought to
now better" says Mr.. Willis.