The Bingham County news. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1918-1930, 1923-09-07
THE PERIL OF
EDISON-FORD'S
MONEY SCHEME
Would Create More Paper Money
Than Russia's TrilIions But
Add No Real Wealth.
SOME DANGEROUS PALACES
Would Remove Safe Restraint OF Gold
Dasls and Open Way to Endless
Issues Of Paper Money.

Dasls and Open Way to Endless
Issues Of Paper Money.
How the United States would b.
swamped, under q greater volume o
worthless paper money than hal
ruined Germany and Russia, BY tn
Ddison-Ford commodity currency plaI
IL pointed out in tho present article
concluding the reviews, prepared By
the American Bankers Association
Of the recent exposure Of the folly Of
the whole scheme BY william T. Eos
ter, Director Of the Pollock Founda'
tion for Economic Research. M
Foster says: - .-.,.-. ~ ,.-~,- -.y ,
The supply Of nopsy.' says Mr..
Ford, - Inadequate There 10 more
wealth thai there II money to move
H. He drawn . vivid picture Of The
eoldsa dam 70 the stream Of pros
psnty.' From . hundred ouartsrs
comes the demand for he govern.
mont TO speed up the printing. presses.
In order to crush the money monopo-
IT, reduce interest rates, and make
It easier for everybody to get money.
'.Inhating the currency. however,
though 1t enables people to get more
units of currency, does not enable
them to obtain more purchasing
power. and It does not reduce interest
rates. In all her history Germany
never had 70 much money or a. high
interest rates - in 1917. Money. IN
like other forms OF wealth, IL not
easier TO obtain simply because the
total supply ID increased. On the con-
trary. increasing the supply Of money
ordinarily increases the demand for
money, and interest rates depend not
on supply but on the relation between
supply and demand.
...z A Dangerous FaiIacy
I'VE are assured, however, that the
Ford Edison plan provides money for
the farmer at virtually no expense to
tho government or to anyone else.
All the government has to do u to
print the money. What could be sim
pier? Here We como to the most dan
gerous fallacy in the whole project.
It Is dangerous because OF the uni.
versal desire to get something for
Here is the gist of the matter:
Money will buy whatever Is produced,
not particle more by any trick Of
alchemy, or legislation, or finance.
The Russians, having multiplied their
$4,000 times, cannot buy as
much with It as before. When We
print more money there are no more
goods for money to buy; not single
additional pillow, or hat, or potato.
Some of those who get the newly
printed money can buy more goods
han before; all other people can buy
'ewer goods than before, because their i
money has fallen OF in purchasing {
power. Since there are no more S
blows, and hats, and potatoes, and &
10 on, to distribute, II some people
get more, others must get less. {
Imitation under the Edison plan is
limited mainly because, on account OF
Is indefensible discrimination, most
,roups Of producers Of goods and
ervices are not allowed to partici-
'ate. II all groups we're included, as (
q fairness and in politics they would
ave to be eventually, the possibilities
t imitation would be vast.
The Deadly Spiral
1.-THE total income Of the United
tates is now in excess of fifty bill L
ons Of dollars. The total money In u
including bank deposits
ubject to check, is not far from N
twenty-five billions. 1t follows that a;
lie annual production, II used as a H
asis for new issues on the Edison fc
Ian, could at once greatly increase It
lie volume Of money In circulation. B
very addition to the monetary supply in
ould tend to raise prices. The higher es
-ices became, the higher would be or
Ie loan value of a given volume Of ~
,ods since the size Of the loans is Ia
lsed on values and not volume. The 20
eater, therefore, would be the vol "
ne Of new money that could be is
led on the basis Of a given annual =.
oduction. Prices would become still -,
CHER; and SO on up an endless -
iraL
Even in Russia, where financial 10
hitting presses hold the worlds rec -
d for volume, where now issues OF ~,
o hundred trillions of rubles per Nv
,nth stagger the Imagination, the
opls complain that there II not
ough money to do businsss with
lthout the arbitrary restraint Of the ga
ID basis. AID With Muscle Shoals "a
lationists, and sundry other Kinds pc
in1ationists constantly pressing "a
II, eie31s upon Congress. It IL not
al certain that the United States, OF
- well o. he rad 10 A1a1oial Sal
~, would - tie saA - ostTun By Of
oGaa" of
the
1or