THE following is a carefully prepared collection of quotations from the writings and speeches of eminent statesmen, jurists, financiers and economists, ancient and modern, foreign and American. It will be found not only interesting and instructive to the casual reader, but of extreme value to the student for reference: _Alexander Hamilton_ (report on the mint, 1791): “To annul the use of either of the metals as money is to abridge the quantity of the circulating medium. It is liable to all the objections that arise from a comparison of the benefits of a full with the evils of a scanty circulation.” _Benjamin Franklin_, April 3, 1792 (Jared Sparks, page 255): “Want of money in a country reduces the price of that part of its products which is used in trade. A plentiful currency will occasion the trading produce to bear a good price.” Page 185 of his autobiography (speaking of his pamphlet on “The Nature and Necessity of a Paper Currency,” for the purpose of increasing the circulation): “It was well received by the common people in general, but the rich men disliked it, for it increased as well as strengthened the clamor for more money. The utility of this currency by experience became so evident as never to be much disputed, so that it grew soon to be £55,000, and in 1879 to £80,000, since which it rose to £350,000, trade, buildings and inhabitants all the while increasing.” _Daniel Webster_: “A contraction of the currency, even if not sudden, contracts business, discourages enterprise and restrains the commercial spirit. A sudden contraction aggravates these circumstances.”