The inconvenience of so bulky a metal in large amounts would almost necessitate its deposit in vaults and the issue of paper money in its place for actual circulation. If this paper were issued only to the amount of the silver deposited, it would be a most uneconomical system, since the greater part of the silver might evidently just as well be in the ground from which it was dug, so far as any real use was concerned. If paper were issued in excess of the silver deposited, it would not make a market for very much more silver than we now use, and the value of silver would be raised but little. The value of the money would therefore depend largely on the use that was made of paper in connection with it. Without some control of the volume of the money besides the control the supply of silver would give, its value would continue to fluctuate at all times, and greatly so in times of panic, as it always has done. With proper control the silver is wholly unnecessary, as its only use is to limit the volume of the money, and this can be done far more cheaply and efficiently in other ways. Little need be said of the "Greenback" or fiat money proposals, so prominent some years ago, though they are seldom advocated now. Their only merit was a dim perception of the fact that gold and silver are not necessary to a money system. Their errors were that they failed to provide any standard by which money value could be tested, or any control had of its volume. They also failed to recognize the fact that money value is wholly dependent on money volume. Various plans have been proposed for changing our money system by increasing the issues of bank-notes. One of these plans is to repeal the present prohibitory tax on State bank-notes, which would, of course, result in the issue of such notes to any extent that was profitable. Several other plans propose to increase the issue of national bank-notes by removing some of the present restrictions, and allowing the banks to pledge other securities than United States bonds as a guarantee of their circulation, or by allowing their capital to serve, in part, as such guarantee.