The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1933-01-31
Opinions Divide Sharply
On Problem of Initiation
Printing More Money, Lowering
Gold Content. Romonetiz.
ing Silver Suggested
BY RODNEY BUTCHER

VIZ SssV0s o~6AOOs0N
BY RODNEY BUTCHER
Copyright, 1888. NEA Service, lnc.)
Washington, Jan. 3l.-Currency in
fation Is in the air. You are going
to hear and read lot about 1t, for It
directly affects you and everybody
else.
To understand initiation, you must
first recall Just what money Is. When
you sell anything Of value, or get paid
for your work, you receive money,
usually paper money. This paper has
no value in itself. any more than any
other printed paper. It Is valuable
only IL, and because. you are sure 9TH
ers will accept 1t from you on the
same terms you received It.
You feel sure Of this because the
government has definitely set down
the terms on which 1t Is to be used
in paying debts, and on which 1t will
be exchanged for gold. thing every
body agrees Is valuable.
Most kinds Of U. 8. money you can
take to the mint and, on your de-
mand. Uncle Sam Will give you gold
coin for them containing 25.8 grains
Of fine gold to the dollar.
That is the nucleus Of the present
system. But the whole system Of pa
per money is an artificial, created
system. What the government creates,
it can change. Initiation means a
change In this system by law to
achieve certain results.
How Currency ID Inflated
Many ways Of getting these re-
suits have been proposed. Here are
the chief ways:
Printing more paper money and
putting 1t In circulation without put
ting any more gold in the treasury
vaults to redeem 1t on demand. No
government has ever had enough gold
in its vaults to redeem instantly every
paper dollar in gold. Long experience
has proved 1t isn't necessary, because
governments are sure everybody in
the country won't be wanting their
gold at the same time. The y. 8.
government has usually had from IS
to SIS per cent Of all its money in
gold. The whole question here Is:
How much paper money can you is
sue for your gold without undermin-
ing peoples confidence in it and caus-
ing them to refuse to accept the pa
per at its face value? It IS here that
opinions on this initiation plan differ
widely.
! 2-Lowering the gold content Of the
dollar. The government now says
that there shall be 25.8 grains Of gold
in a gold dollar. It could say &c
grains. or 10. and issue more dollars
against the present stock Of gold coin
or bullion. The question here is tied
up with the world price for gold bull
lion and other complicated factors.
The probable effect Of such q reduc-
ton on the value Of the dollar IS what
causes difference Of opinion here.
3-Remonetizing silver, the plan
iust shelved in the Senate. Undet
the present law. the government guar
antees to give to anyone who brings
gold bullion to the mint gold coin
corresponding to the weight OF gold
!, rendered, regardless Of the price fol
5 free gold used for other purposes The
. gold coming value and the CONNER
5 cial value are about the same, how.
ever. The silver advocates believes
advantages would follow similar "fret
: and unlimited coinage OF silver" at
:, fixed ratio to gold. usually l6-1, ane
: regardless Of the commercial marke,
t price of silver. It Is assumed thai
3 such coinage and "pegging OF TN
price" of silver by the government To-
coinage purposes on definite ratit
: TO gold would raise its price. woult
Z also. obviously, enable the government
; to issue q great deal more papel
t money against deposits Of silver, JUS
as It now does against gold.
i AIMS OF INITIATION
: These are the three principal plan
for imitation. But all the initiation
= plans have one aim: to raise commoo
8 ity prices, enable debtors to pay OF
with cheaper dollars debts that wer
niled no when dollars were cheaper
enable the farmer to make Nvin
j from what he produces by boostin
U its price. increase the whole country
purchasing power, and thus rewv
1. business and industry as we'll as agri
= culture. !,
) Now there IS no doubt at all tina
$ II enough paper dollars are pumps
d into circulation, prices will rise. Tn
b whole question is. how much Will the
rise. and how many paper dollar
n must YOU issue to make them rise
proper amount? In Germany an
K, Russia after the war prices rose
ID high that the mark and the rubi
became worth nothing at all. MID
b way between those extremes. says tn
d inflationist, 1t Is possible to reach
l. relationship between prices and dol
lars that will be just to everybody.
re opposed to initiation are Secretar
Is Of the Treasury Ogden Mills. Senate
= Carter Glass, Professor Kemmert
he and nearly ali conservative economis
and financiers. Among those In favt
are John Maynard Keynes. 1rvir
Fisher, Stuart Chase, Senator Bora
and many western and southeI
members Of congress.
The inflationists say initiation ca
be controlled, admitting the gre
danger In any uncontrolled inflatio
Their opponents say it probably car
be controlled. Some inflationists 81
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