San Antonio light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1911-1993, 1923-08-25
DRAFTING MONEY


eminent to forcibly take possession of
all gold coin and foreign money in Ger
many and to replace it when seized with
the worthless German paper money and
securities is an eXpedient foredoomed
to failure. Possibly the Germans know
that it will not work when reduced to
a practical application but the plight of
the country is such that they believe it
can not be greatly hurt by the expert
mcnt.
There is little difference in the ulti-
mate in this plan and the late Villas
famous ukase wherein he forbade the
Use of American dollars in his military
district during revolutionary days and
declared that his paper money was worth
its face value in gold.
The Villa proclamation had only the
effect OF producing starvation wherever
he tried to support it by military force.
That is what the German scheme will
do. While worded more carefully than
Villas proclamation and of course
pitched Upon much different plane. the
German plan amounts to nothing more
than the seizure of all the gold and
foreign exchange it can lay hands on.
The fact that it is going to issue in re-
turn. obligations OF the German govern
ment means nothing. The obligations
are worthless. In fact they are even
more than worthless. they are liability.
In effect then, the German decree, if it
is reported correctly in the cable mes
sages. merely amounts to forced loan
of all the money it can find having a
value and its replacement with paper
money and securities worth nothing.
II the German government can mus
ter enough foreign money having tan
pible value. it can temporarily stay the
disaster which threatens Germany be-
cause it can use this money abroad for
the purchase of food stuffs and raw
materials that are sorcly needed and
otherwise give temporary aid to its
lost credits. Just how it expects II
profit by the transaction in the final
outcome remains to be exposed. If 1t
sells focdstuffs and raw materials to
anybody in Germany it will have to take
its paw in worthless German money be
cause il its forced loan succeeds. there
will not be any other kind OF money III
Germany. That will eventually upset
the whole proposition unless some
scheme is behind it all whereby the
Germans can rehabilitate their fortune:
in the interim.
The fact remains that money is worth
only what it will buy and it can no
be made worth any more by all of thu
political tricks, proclamations and clap
trap in the world.
In this country, senator has bill
which provides for the drafting of al
wealth and profits in war time. He ha
attempted to work his measure out alon|
lines that will prevent unpatriotic PEG
pie from cashing in on the life bloo
of soldiers But he does not go so ia
as to undertake to have the government
seize all of the money for war making
purposes. When nobody has any none
with a value to it, then other medium
of exchange quickly come into use an
money is entirely discarded. Ono
money is discarded as valueless, it ha
, no value in fact. 1t is then somethin
. that has no influence on interchang
. of commodities. That is why all effort
of governments to make money carr
4 fictitious value have failed throughot
. history. Villas proclamation was Jul
as sensible as any other scheme OF II
kind. 1t didn't work and that is a
+ that can be said for any of them.
r If gambling is "a game of chance