THE POPULIST MOVEMENT 685 



future time. These facts, coupled with the position of money in 

 the economy of all governments and its effect upon the people, 

 cause us to turn with great interest to this part of the subject. 



Looked at from the standpoint of purpose, the financial views 

 of this party can be divided thus : 



(a) Incidental schemes. 



1. Postal banks. 



2. Income tax. 



3. Government income. 



4. Relation to industries. 



(b) The expansion of the currency. 



1. Free coinage of silver. 



2. Increase of currency to at least $50 per capita. 



(c) Modes of distribution. 



1. Not by banks. 



2. Sub-treasury. 



3. Or a better system. 



The first section (a) concerns us little, since the objects con- 

 tained in it are not essentially Populistic, neither are they neces- 

 sary to any particular system of currency. The income tax was 

 passed by a Democratic Congress ; and the matter of postal banks 

 does not concern us very much. In reality these are minor details 

 which do not change the position of the party. But the second 

 (b) and third (c) are of the utmost importance. 



The claims and demands of the party are to be found in the 

 platform and in the bills which have been presented by its repre- 

 sentatives in Congress. The platform demands free coinage of 

 silver at the ratio of 16 to 1, and the increase of the currency 

 to at least $50 per capita. These two planks can be regarded as 

 requests for an inflation or perhaps, in juster terms, an expansion 

 of the circulation. The bills introduced in the Senate by Sena- 

 tor Peffer are similar to those offered by his colleagues, and are 

 to be interpreted as evidence of the intention of the party, should 

 it gain power enough to bring about such legislation. These bills, 

 twelve in number, would increase the monetary circulation of the 

 United States to an amount ten and a half times as great as that 

 of the currency now in use by all the nations of the world. They 



