Seventeen Talks on the Banking Question: Between Uncle Sam and Mr. Farmer, Mr. Banker, Mr. Lawyer, Mr. Laboringman, Mr. Merchant, Mr. ManufacturerFowler, Charles N. (Charles Newell)
History
Seventeen Talks on the Banking Question: Between Uncle Sam and Mr. Farmer, Mr. Banker, Mr. Lawyer, Mr. Laboringman, Mr. Merchant, Mr. Manufacturer
Fowler, Charles N. (Charles Newell)
Banks and banking -- United States; Currency question -- United States
MR. MANUFACTURER: Well, I assume that we have another guess coming yet,
haven't we? You know this same Court has guessed four times already
on the Sherman Anti-Trust Law. In the Knight case, they declared that
manufacturing was not and could not be considered as United States
Commerce. Then came the Trans-Missouri case, then the Northern Security
Co. case, and last the Tobacco and Standard Oil cases, wherein this
august body ran amuck the word "reasonable," although that very word
was not in the Act at all, and although it had been impossible to get
Congress to put it into the Act. But after all, is it not the very soul
of the whole question? And is it not a fact that the Supreme Court of
the United States ought to be constantly interpreting the Constitution
of the United States in the light of changed conditions, and ever
advancing public opinion?
MR. LAWYER: It looks as though it might be well to give the Supreme
Court one more chance to guess; they might possibly guess right next
time. It is certainly "reasonable" to hope so, both in accordance
with the Constitution, and in accordance with economic law, and in
accordance with the experience of the whole world.
MR. MERCHANT: Well, what would happen if, when the Supreme Court
guesses again, it should guess right? Would the fact that the Court
declared that Congress had no power to make paper money a legal tender
render the greenbacks unfit for reserves, or illegal, as reserves?
MR. BANKER: Congress cannot, by law, make anything fit for reserves,
which by economic law is unfit for reserves; but Congress may make
anything, however unfit for reserves from an economic point of view, a
legal reserve; they might make potatoes, wheat, corn, a bale of cotton,
or a bundle of hay reserves. Therefore, although the Supreme Court
should declare the Legal Tender Act unconstitutional, as it ought to,
the United States Notes might still be held as reserves. The silver
certificates and the gold certificates are both legal reserves, but
neither of them are made legal tender by law, nor should they be, as
nothing but gold, which is our standard of value, should be made legal
tender. However, all of these barbarous forms of currency, United
States Notes, Silver Certificates, bond-secured National Bank Notes
should, and must be maintained upon a parity with gold, if possible,
as they now are; because the faith and honor of the Government is at
stake. It is this very fact that is the source of our weakness from a
national point of view, for the United States has no assets with which
to meet these enormous liabilities. The United States has no resources,
such as a bank has. It has nothing to sell in the way of grain, meat,
cotton, or manufactured goods, or personal property of any kind. It has
no capital, and no deposits, as our banks have, whose resources today
exceed twenty-five billion dollars ($25,000,000,000). The individual
deposits of the United States today exceed seventeen billion dollars
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account